Institutional Development Scheme (IDS) Collaborative Research Grant 2024/25 Exercise
- There was an overall improvement in the quality of proposals as compared to the last round.
- Some proposals attempted to study research questions with high local relevance. However, solid theoretical framework and the potential academic contributions were lacking. Project teams should provide more detailed and specific explanations regarding the research design and implementation plans. Additionally, the sustainability aspects of the research projects required further elaboration to ensure long-term viability and impact.
- Research methodology and sampling strategies were poorly articulated in some proposals. Contingency plans on how to overcome the challenges in sampling should be provided.
- While some proposals were able to identify important research problems to be addressed, such as healthcare, the project teams lacked sufficient knowledge in the related research fields and failed to prepare a well thought out research plan for clinical study which was a vital part of the proposal. Project teams were encouraged to gather preliminary data to substantiate the viability of their proposed studies.
- The budget requested should be well justified. It was observed that some proposals had excessive budget, in particular for supporting staff and equipment.
- Justifications for the subcontracting work should be clearly provided in the proposal. The outsourcing part should not be the main focus of the research project.
- For cross-disciplinary proposals, the project team should comprise appropriate expertise from relevant research fields to ensure the feasibility of the proposed research. For cross-institutional proposals, collaboration plans with other institutions should be clearly articulated in the proposals.