- Funding
5. The Scheme aims
to support research projects for up
to four years. For Hong Kong applicants,
(a) for projects up to three years,
the grants sought for each project should
not exceed HK$0.9 million (exclusive
of on-costs); and (b) for projects lasting
over three years but up to four years,
the grants sought for each project should
not exceed HK$1.125 million (exclusive
of on-costs). The RGC has reserved an
amount of HK$21.25 million for the Hong
Kong applicants in the NSFC/RGC JRS
2012/13 exercise. On-costs will be granted
to the related Hong Kong institutions
of funded projects on top of the awarded
sum. For Mainland applicants, the average
funding amount per project is 0.8 million
RMB for Mainland applicants.
6. The RGC
funding will provide support for :
-
the salary of research support
staff hired by the Hong Kong researchers;
-
equipment in Hong Kong;
-
general expenses, including consumables
that are directly related to the
research work;
-
expenses for receiving the Mainland
collaborators in Hong Kong;
-
passage for Hong Kong researchers
and research postgraduate students
to visit collaborators in the Mainland;
and
-
grants for Hong Kong researchers
and research postgraduate students
to attend international conference.
7. The NSFC
funding will provide support for :
-
research expenditure (reagents,
materials and consumables, computation
charges and scientific research
service charges);
-
expenses for receiving Hong Kong
collaborators in the Mainland;
-
passage for the Mainland researchers
to visit collaborators in Hong Kong;
and
-
other expenses allowed by the NSFC.
8. The Hong
Kong and the Mainland partners of the
supported projects will receive funding
from the RGC and the NSFC separately,
and the grants can only be used in Hong
Kong and the Mainland respectively.
- How
to apply
9. Parallel
submissions of both initial and formal
applications by the Hong Kong and the
Mainland applicants are required. While
applications must be submitted before
the deadlines as outlined below, Hong
Kong applicants should check with their
institutions for internal closing dates.
Late submissions will not be processed.
10. Hong
Kong applications should be submitted
to the RGC through respective institutions.
Mainland applications are to be submitted
to the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs
Office of the NSFC. Detailed information
on application procedures of the NSFC
is available at <http://www.nsfc.gov.cn>.
11. It is
the obligation of both the Hong Kong
and the Mainland applicants to ensure
that their respective applications contain
sufficient and consistent information
for evaluation. Incomplete submission
or inconsistent information would lead
to disqualification of application.
The project period of both sides should
have the same start and end dates. All
proposals funded in the 2012/13 exercise
should commence on 1 January 2013.
12. Initial applications
should be submitted in parallel to the
RGC and the NSFC. Hong Kong applicants
should submit 4 hard copies and a soft
copy of their initial applications through
the Research Administration Office of
their institutions to the RGC by 5:00
pm of 3 February 2012. They are
also required to submit to the RGC 4
hard copies and a soft copy of the initial
applications submitted by their Mainland
partners to the NSFC by 8 February
2012 at the latest. The application
to be submitted to the RGC should be
prepared in accordance with the "Template
for Initial Proposal Preparation"
(NSFC/RGC 1a (Revised 12/11)) as set
out in the Appendix
and should be jointly signed by the
collaborators of both places. Each initial
proposal should be confined to three
A4 size sheets, i.e. six sides including
all attachments and references (but
excluding the institutional endorsement).
In order to ensure consistency and fairness
to all applicants, applicants must complete
the applications in the following standard
RGC format:
Font : Times New Roman
Font Size : 12 point
Margin : 1-inch all round
Spacing : Single-line spacing
Failure to comply with the application
format and/or the allowable page will
lead to disqualification of the proposal.
13. After the initial
screening, the RGC and the NSFC will
jointly work out a mutually agreed shortlist
of which formal applications will be
invited. The RGC and the NSFC will separately
notify the shortlisted Hong Kong and
Mainland applicants by end March
2012 for submission of formal applications.
14. Formal applications
should be submitted in parallel to the
RGC and the NSFC on or before 11
May 2012. Shortlisted Hong Kong
applicants will be invited through their
respective institutions to submit 9
hard copies and a soft copy (with size
up to 5 MB per proposal) of formal applications
using the specified form "NSFC/RGC
Joint Research Scheme Application Form
for Formal Proposal". Each formal
application must be accompanied by the
following two documents :
- Selection
15. The main
factors for consideration are the scientific
merit of the proposal, the extent to
which the existing strengths of each
side may complement each other in a
proposal and opportunities for training
young researchers.
16. The RGC
and the NSFC will arrange to assess
the research proposals received in accordance
with their respective peer-review procedures.
A Joint Selection Committee, comprising
representatives from the RGC and the
NSFC, will conduct a final assessment
of the applications. The Joint Selection
Committee will only fund proposals which
have been supported by both sides.
- Announcement
of Results
17. The results
of the final selection will be announced
in end October 2012. The results would
also be published on the RGC homepage
under the section "Funding Results
of Other Scheme" at <http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/result/result.htm>.
- Conditions
18. The RGC
will not be responsible for any expenditure
incurred by the project in excess of
the approved funding.
19. Neither
the RGC nor the NSFC will provide any
insurance cover in connection with the
project or the use of the grant for
insurance cover. Applicants should make
their own arrangements. The RGC and
the NSFC will not accept any responsibility
arising in any way from the visits and
the activities undertaken by the researchers.
20. As a
matter of policy, the RGC does not claim
any intellectual property rights arising
from the projects it funds. Researchers,
their collaborators and their institutions
concerned should make their own prior
arrangements with regard to the ownership
of such rights.
- Enquiries
21. All enquiries
should be directed to Research Offices
of respective institutions in the first
instance. Their contact details are
as follows:
|
Ms Cecilia Sun
City University of Hong Kong
83 Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
|
Tel: 3442 6832
Fax: 3442 0136
|
|
Ms Jade Fong
Hong Kong Baptist University
224, Waterloo Road
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
|
Tel: 3411 7940
Fax: 3411 5133
|
|
Ms Connie Lam
Lingnan University
8 Castle Peak Road
Tuen Mun
New Territories
|
Tel: 2616 7683
Fax: 2591 9618
|
|
Ms Carmen Tang
The Chinese University of Hong
Kong
Shatin
New Territories
|
Tel: 3943 1996
Fax: 2603 7414
|
|
Ms Natalie Ng
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
10 Lo Ping Road
Tai Po
New Territories
|
Tel: 2948 8404
Fax: 2948 7697
|
|
Miss Tina Yeung
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hung Hom
Kowloon
|
Tel: 3400 3637
Fax: 2355 7651
|
|
Mrs Jenny Cheng
The Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology
Clear Water Bay
Kowloon
|
Tel: 2358 6946
Fax: 2358 1541
|
|
Miss Annie Ngai
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong
|
Tel: 2859 1911
Fax: 2803 0558
|
22. If Research
Offices require further information,
they may contact Ms Becky Yu, Senior
Research Administrator(1) of University
Grants Committee Secretariat (tel: 2844
9989 or fax: 2845 1183 or email: byu@ugc.edu.hk)
or Mr Wang Yi, Deputy Division Chief
of National Natural Science Foundation
of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan
Affairs (tel: 86-10-6232 7005 or fax:
86-10-6232 7004 or email: wangyi@mail.nsfc.gov.cn).
* * * * * * * * * *
UGC Secretariat
21 December 2011
