The European Union (EU) - Hong Kong (HK) Research and Innovation Cooperation Co-funding Mechanism by the Research Grants Council (RGC) aims to foster EU-HK collaboration in academic research and support the participation of researchers in universities funded by the University Grants Committee in HK in joint research projects conducted under the framework of Horizon 2020.
This scheme accepts research project proposals in science disciplines (viz. biology and medicine, engineering and physical sciences), as well as exchange (mobility) proposals in all disciplines. The project duration should normally not exceed five years and should not be longer than that of the concerned Horizon 2020 project. The per-project ceilings of RGC's research project grant and exchange (mobility) grant are HK$3 million and HK$0.5 million (both excluding on-costs) respectively.
HK applicants applying for RGC funding under this scheme must be partners in a successful proposal submitted in response to the 2018-2020 Horizon 2020 call. In addition, applicants should meet fully the requirements for applying for the RGC General Research Fund (GRF).
The assessment criteria are as follows:
The HK Principal Investigator should submit an application, which should include a summary of the proposal submitted to the EU and research work undertaken by the HK team (to be signed by the coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project) and the EU's official notification of the proposals being funded, to the RGC for evaluation. The RGC will not accept applications without the summary signed by the European coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project and the EU's official notification.
Applications should be submitted to the RGC through the research offices of their respective universities by 2 July 2021 at 1700 hours (HK time). HK applicants are reminded to consult their respective universities for internal closing dates, if any.
To view the call circular, please click here.
To download the application form, please click here.