(A) The Exercise

1.	Number of eligible applications received:	19
2.	Number of full proposals received:	9
3.	Number of proposals recommended for funding:	2
4.	Success rate (over the number of eligible applications):	10.5%
5.	Total approved budget of the funded projects:	$162.104 million1
6.	Total funding amount from the RGC:	$143.821 million1

¹ Inclusive of indirect costs / on-costs
 
(B) Selection Panel's Comments for Applicants' Reference

1. Quality of applications (i.e. strengths, weaknesses and gaps of proposals):

• All proposals were generally of high quality while some were less convincing than in previous years. The best proposals were those that brought together seasoned experts from across the universities on cutting-edge research that could potentially help establish centres of excellence in Hong Kong.
• There were weaknesses identified in some proposals. For example, some proposals were too ambitious, did not provide enough details or clear milestones, and were of quite high risk. For proposals recommended for funding, the strengths far outweighed the weaknesses.
• In general, project teams performed well in selection interviews and addressed questions of the Selection Panel fully and effectively. Project teams of proposals not recommended for funding answered the questions less satisfactorily.
• Funded proposals are extremely innovative and have strong path-breaking potential for the entire field of study. The Selection Panel was impressed by the world-leading credentials of the project teams, as well as their vision to build capacity that could have lasting impacts on broad fields of research and on the research community in Hong Kong.

2. Other comments:

• Nil