Dear President/Vice-Chancellor,

RGC Central Allocation 1998-99

1. I am writing to inform you of the RGC's advice on the arrangements for the RGC Central Allocation scheme and invite your institution to submit bids for the RGC Central Allocation 1998-99.

2. Background

   In December 1997, the RGC reviewed the existing Central Allocation scheme and also took in account the results of the pilot scheme on group research. The RGC decided that the existing scheme of providing funding support for the acquisition of major equipment, facilities or library collections for research should be retained, and that the pilot scheme on group research should be continued for another year. Subject to funds being available in 1998-99, the RGC decided to set aside $20 million for RGC Central Allocation for these purposes in 1998-99.

3. Acquisition of Major Equipment/Facilities/Library Collections

   Objective

   The main objective in providing funding support to institutions under this category is to: -

   1. enable the acquisition of major research facilities or equipment, including major library acquisitions for research, which cannot otherwise be afforded by one institution and which can be used for collaborative research; and

   2. assist institutions in "leveraging" support from equipment suppliers on a matching funding basis with a view to stretching the value of the RGC's funds further than could normally be possible by making small allocations in connection with individual projects.

4. Selection Criteria

   The RGC will take into consideration the following factors:-

   1. the merit of the proposal, its contribution to academic/professional development and potential for application and benefit to tertiary institutions and Hong Kong;

   2. the scope for collaborative research/joint use, and the degree of such usage;

   3. its feasibility in implementation;

   4. institutional support, including that of the sponsoring/collaborating institutions;

   5. the availability of similar facilities/library acquisitions elsewhere in Hong Kong;

   6. value for money; and

   7. the prospect of external funding.

5. Formal proposals should contain the following information:-

   1. sufficient information, comprehensible to both specialists and non-specialists, about the purpose, justification, specifications, performance measures, alternative, etc. about the research facilities/equipment/library collections being requested;

   2. an outline of possible collaborative research projects for which the acquisition is required, and its target usage rate by each of the participating institutions;

   3. an indication of support by at least two UGC-funded institutions;

   4. evidence showing that significant matching funding or major discounts have been secured/are being secured; and

   5. the total costs (with quotations from prospective suppliers for items costing $200,000), the funding being sought from RGC's Central Allocation, other sources of funding already obtained/likely to be obtained if an RGC grant is approved, should also be included.

6. Group Research

   Objective

   The main objective of this pilot scheme (first introduced in 1997-98), is to encourage research groups in UGC-funded institutions to be engaged in collaborative research across disciplines and/or across institutions with a view to enhancing the research output of Hong Kong institutions in term of its level of attainment, quantity, dimension, or speed.

7. Group Research

   Main features

   This scheme has the following special features:-

   1. the grant may provide for staff, equipment and general expenses related to research;

   2. there should be a strong team of researchers and a programme of activities;

   3. emphasis should be on long term support for research staff; capacity building for the researchers involved; and potential to develop or further upgrade to an Area of Excellence; and

   4. evidence of inter-disciplinary or inter-institutional collaboration would be an advantage but not a condition of application.

8. Selection Criteria

   In the light of the experience of the pilot scheme conducted in 1997-1998, the RGC decided that, in view of the nature of the proposals and the larger size of the grants to be allocated to the individual projects, it may be necessary for future proposals to be peer-reviewed, where necessary, by external reviewers and to conduct selection interviews. In making the selection, the RGC will take into account the following factors:-

   1. the merits of the proposal as assessed by the RGC Central Allocation Sub-Committee and/or independent reviewers;

   2. the long term goal of the proposal as demonstrated in the research proposal and the selection interview (if required);

   3. the opportunities for synergism among the participating researchers, research groups and institutions; and

   4. the viability of the proposal, particularly in terms of project management.

9. To facilitate the peer-review process, group research proposals must be submitted on ERG1 (as for the CERG exercise) which is downloadable from the RGC web site (http://www.ugc.edu.hk/rgc/). The stimulated maximum length of the proposal in ERG1 can be exceeded, where necessary, by 50%. Institutions must however exercise sound judgment in the amount of data to be presented.

10. Application procedures

    Bids for allocation from both schemes under Central Allocation should be submitted in the name of the institution or the co-ordinating institution (the proposals will not be counted against the investigators in respect of RGC's one-application-per-year rule in the CERG exercise). Each institution may submit up to a total of four proposals, inclusive of both equipment and group research proposals but there are no further restrictions on the number of equipment or group research proposals to be submitted within the maximum quota. Moreover, some flexibility may be allowed in respect of group research proposals if they involve collaboration across normal institutional boundaries. Each institution is therefore requested to indicate the order of priority of its proposals, regardless of whether it is the single, lead or participating institution.

11. To facilitate processing, each proposal should be submitted with a covering one-page summary on an A4 size paper, including the name of the institution(s), the title of the proposal, the relevant scheme under which it is submitted, the key objectives of the proposal, the names of the researcher(s)/unit(s), and the amount sought.

12. All bids must be submitted in the manner as advised in paragraphs 5, 9 , 10 and 11, as appropriate, to the RGC by 30 June 1998. Please provide 15 copies of each proposal, including the summary sheets. The final selection will be held in or before December 1998. A copy of this call circular will be placed on the RGC Web site (http//:www.ugc.edu.hk/rgc/).

13. Please call me at 2524 3971 if you require additional information.

Yours sincerely,

(Marcus Tsui)
Acting Secretary
Research Grants Council

c.c. Chairman, RGC
Chairman, UGC