Why
Monitor and Assess?
Under
its Terms of Reference, the Council is required to monitor the implementation
of research funded via the Earmarked Research Grant, and to report
at least annually to the Government through the University Grants
Committee.
The
Council considers that the monitoring of on-going projects and assessment
of completed projects is necessary for reasons of public accountability.
Each
holder of a Council-funded project grant is therefore required to
submit annual progress reports and a completion report on the project
for monitoring and scrutiny by subject panel members. In addition,
policies and procedures for the monitoring of Council-funded projects
are constantly reviewed to ensure that project grants are used properly.
How
Monitoring is Carried Out
Under
the existing monitoring mechanism for the assessment of Council-funded
projects, one subject panel member is assigned to each funded project
with the responsibility for monitoring, on the basis of annual progress
reports and completion reports. The objective is to ensure that
the project is proceeding on schedule and that any problems identified
are followed up.
Monitoring
of On-Going Projects
On-going
projects are monitored by the members of the appropriate subject
panels through annual progress reports submitted by Principal Investigators
(PIs) through their respective institutions. The panel member reviews
the annual progress report and, where required, any comments are
conveyed to the Principal Investigator for reference and follow-up
action.
Assessment
of Completed Projects
Within 18 months of the scheduled completion date of a project,
the PI concerned is required to submit a completion report detailing
the outcome of the research project, the results achieved, students
trained, and publications produced, as well as reporting on the
use and application of the grant awarded. These completion reports
are passed to the responsible panel members for final assessment.
Completion
projects are rated either as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.
Results of such assessments are also taken into account when assessing
new grant applications from the PIs concerned.
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Central
Allocation Sub-Committee members visit institutions in December
2002. |
Feedback
on Assessments
Feedback
is an important part of the Councils effort to encourage and
assure quality standards in research projects. The feedback forms
an essential part of the peer review process and enables researchers
to improve and refine their research methodologies.
It
also represents a valuable input into Hong Kong academia of new
ideas and expertise from the international research community.
As
a matter of policy, the Council arranges to feed back all unattributed
comments of external assessors to applicants in CERG exercises and,
where necessary, convey additional comments from the subject panels.
Review
on Monitoring and Assessment of Projects
In
the interest of public accountability, the RGC attaches great importance
to both the monitoring of on-going projects and the assessment of
those that are completed. As part of its efforts to strive for improvement,
the Council constantly reviews its monitoring and assessment system
with a view to streamlining the relevant processes and enhancing
overall effectiveness.
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