Only payments made/ grants distributed within the operation period will be eligible for matching. Universities/ Institutions should enclose the supporting bank statement/ transaction record with the application.

No, only donations received within the current processing cycle (i.e.“1 January – 30 April 2026” in this example) will be processed, except for eligible donations within the $60 million annual limit that universities/ institutions applied for matching but eventually not fully matched (i.e. in 2025-26 in this example) because of exhaustion of funding of that applicable financial year, the unmatched eligible amount can be roll-over to the next year for application of matching (and for avoidance of doubt, the annual upper limit of $60 million for each university/ institution will continue to apply in that year).

Universities/ institutions will be notified around mid-November in that year.

If it is announced by the UGC/ RGC that a processing cycle is open for November and December, any donations received during these two months but not applied in the processing cycle concerned will not be eligible for matching in the next cycle.

In the event that no processing cycle is open for November and December, any donations received during these two months can be applied for matching in the next cycle (i.e. the cycle from 1 January to 30 April in the next year).

The matching results will be announced normally in August (for the first processing cycle of years 2026-2028) and February (for the first and second processing cycles of year 2025, as well as the second and third processing cycles of years 2026-2028).

Universities/ Institutions may refer to the list of broad categories of research-related purpose in the Operation Guide/ application form. While the list is not exhaustive, the key element is that the donation should be dedicated for research and development.

Universities/ Institutions may refer to the list of broad categories of research-related purpose in the Operation Guide/ application form. While the list is not exhaustive, the key element is that the donation should be dedicated for research and development. Universities/ Institutions should provide brief description of the usage of expenditure or, as far as practicable, information on the research project/ initiative/ activity to be supported.

Under the principle of no "double matching" or "double subsidies", government funding/ public funding/ donations already matched with public funds (regardless whether they are from Hong Kong or non-local funding source) will not be eligible for matching under the RMGS.

No. The purpose of launching the RMGS is to incentivise the private or non-public sector to increase its share in research and development (R&D) expenditure. Hence, public/ government funds will not be matched, regardless of location.

Research grants/ research contracts coming under the non-local extension arm(s) of UGC-funded universities are not eligible for matching under the RMGS.

A research project or the part(s) of a project related to research is/are eligible for matching. A service provision project without relation to research will not be matched.

Yes. As long as the research fellowship or research award is not from public/ government funds, the fellowship/ award funding will be eligible for matching under the RMGS.

The scope includes but is not limited to research scholarship, students visiting overseas institutions for research-related work, visit for research collaboration with overseas institutions, as well as attending academic conferences. University/ Institution should refer to the Notes of Application on the RMGS application form and provide detailed information on the research activity(ies) as required in the application.

Examples of "capital works" that are eligible for matching under the RMGS include but not limited to building service works, alterations, additions, repairs and improvements of research facilities, renovation/ space re-organisation of laboratory for research, etc. (while excluding erection of new building(s)). In terms of utilisation of matching grant, it should be noted that matching grant can be used by local self-financing degree-awarding institutions to support capital works on campus in Hong Kong, while this is not applicable for UGC-funded universities as there are established capital works programmes for them to apply for.

Yes. As long as the external funding is not from public/ government funds, it will be eligible for matching under the RMGS to top up the research project concerned.

Under such circumstances, the university/ institution concerned is required to exercise tight monitoring to ensure the teaching quality and that the academic staff released is redeployed for the research project/ work under the application concerned.

Under such circumstances, the university/ institution concerned is required to exercise tight monitoring to ensure the teaching quality and that the academic staff released is redeployed for research projects/ work under the application concerned.

No, under the principle for matching, only the research-related expenditure (rather than revenue) will be eligible for matching under the RMGS. The matching grant so provided should also be designated for research.

For such cases, only the expenditure of the part(s) related to research is eligible for matching. A service provision project without relation to research will not be matched.

Expenditure of the innovation activities with proven research relation will be eligible for matching.

The matching grant should be used to support research directly, rather than for setting/ topping up any endowment fund by a university/ institution. Donations for setting up endowment fund will not be eligible for matching. That said, a specific amount drawn from an endowment and deposited in a separate account dedicated for a particular research project is eligible for matching.

Genuine donations made by university/ institution staff in an arm's length and in their own personal capacity will be regarded as private donations and eligible for matching. However, if the staff makes donation to their own project, even in their own personal capacity, the business will not be separate as the recipient is indeed the donor. Under this circumstance, the donation concerned is not eligible for matching.

Matching grants will only be provided for research-related purpose/ R&D expenditure. Universities/ Institutions should separate the research part for application as appropriate.

Applications for matching from self-financing research arms/ units under/ owned by a UGC-funded university will be treated in the same manner as applications from other departments/ units of the same university.

Only R&D expenditure arising from donations/ research grants/ research contracts from non-governmental/ non-public sectors will be eligible for matching under the RMGS.

Donations/ matching grants under the RMGS should primarily be used in undertaking research work/ activities/ projects/ initiatives in Hong Kong in order to train and groom research talent in Hong Kong. If the university/ institution would like to outsource a small part of the research work/ activity/ project/ initiative to be conducted outside Hong Kong, full justifications should be provided for consideration by the UGC Secretariat.

As long as the support/ donation is not from public/ government funding, it will be eligible for matching under the RMGS. Funding support from organisations like The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and MTR Corporation Limited will not be eligible for matching under the RMGS.

Any indirect costs (i.e. "on-costs") arising from R&D projects/ activities will not be eligible for matching under the RMGS. Staff costs of research assistants or postdoctoral fellows directly involved in the research project(s)/ activity(ies) concerned are covered and eligible for matching under the RMGS. Staff costs of administrative/ executive/ management staff not performing research tasks/ duties should be deemed as indirect costs (i.e. "on-costs"), and are not eligible for matching under the RMGS.

Any indirect costs (i.e. "on-costs") arising from R&D projects/ activities will not be eligible for matching under the RMGS. Universities/ Institutions should separate the overheads and exclude them from the application/ matching as far as practicable.

Commercialisation of R&D outputs as a result of collaboration with the industry is not prohibited under the RMGS. The Government, UGC and RGC will not claim copyright or other intellectual property right of the output/ work produced, or any title or right to all inventions and possible resulting patents arising from the university's/ institution's sponsored research, involving the government matching grants of the RMGS. In general, the arrangements on all copyrights to, and royalties from books, journal articles, and other copyrightable materials produced by the researcher concerned, as well as all intellectual property arising out of any work undertaken under the RMGS by a researcher employed by the university/ institution concerned, shall follow the relevant and prevailing guidelines and policies of the university/ institution concerned. The university/ institution concerned will continue to exercise full autonomy in collaboration with the industries.

Under the principle for matching, only the research-related expenditure (rather than revenue) will be eligible for matching under the RMGS. The matching grant so provided should also be designated for research.

As long as the donations are designated for research-related purpose, the ownership of intellectual property and related agreement between the donor and the university/ institution concerned will be independent of the eligibility for matching.

It is not a requirement under the RMGS to accrue interest income, and there is no specific formula in determining the interest income. That said, if there is any interest income accrued from the donation/ matching grant, it should be booked and reported. The matching grant and interest income from donations/ matching grant can be deployed for other research projects/ activities at the discretion of the university/ institution, if the donation/ research grant/ research contract concerned is already sufficient to cover the full cost of the original project(s).

In-kind donations for research-related purposes, such as research equipment, research system, research software, etc., are eligible for matching. University/ Institution should refer to the Notes of Application on the RMGS application form and provide detailed information on the in-kind donations for consideration by the UGC Secretariat. The UGC Secretariat reserves the final right to decide if an in-kind donation is eligible for matching.

For in-kind donation, universities/ institutions should provide documentary proof dated within one year of the receipt date to substantiate the value of the donation concerned. Matching grants will be provided for in-kind donations only if their value is duly substantiated. Universities/ Institutions should enclose related supporting documents as set out in the Notes of Application on the RMGS application form for consideration.

The shares (or bonds) should be valuated at the closing price of the day when ownership is transferred to the university/ institution.

Supporting documents for the donations/ research grants/ research contracts applying for matching grant are required, as set out in the Notes of Application on the RMGS application form.

In this circumstance, the upper limit of total government matching grants to be disbursed in the next financial year will be adjusted by adding the remaining disbursable amount of last financial year.

To facilitate universities/ institutions in managing related uncertainty, for eligible donations within the $60 million annual limit that universities/ institutions applied for matching but eventually not fully matched because of exhaustion of funding of that applicable financial year, the unmatched eligible amount can be roll-over to the next year for application of matching (and for avoidance of doubt, the annual upper limit of $60 million for each university/ institution will continue to apply in that year).

Universities/ institutions will be informed in the matching grant result/ disbursement letter of an estimated amount of remaining total government matching grants in the financial year concerned.

No, the annual upper limit of a university/ institution will not be adjusted under such circumstance.

No, the annual upper limit of a university/ institution will not be adjusted under such circumstance.

Yes, in the event that no processing cycle is open for November and December, these two months will be covered in the first cycle of the next year, and will be counted under the upper limit of that year.

The UGC Secretariat will only require limited information which should not be in breach of the confidentiality terms of the research grants/ contracts.

Although it is not a compulsory requirement to specify a formal end date at the application stage, the actual timeframe of the RMGS-funded research projects and activities should be reasonable and the deployment progress as well as expected completion date are subject to monitoring by the university/ institution and reporting to the UGC Secretariat (via return of situation reports).

Although matching is not approved on the basis of research deliverables, the UGC Secretariat will call situation reports from the universities/ institutions for update of research outputs arising from funded research projects/ initiatives/ activities/ research-related operations.

Paragraph 33(ii) of the Operation Guide refers to any privilege arising directly from the donation/ sponsorship/ research grants as a result of the research project(s)/ initiative(s) under the RMGS. All IP arrangement/ ownership arising out of any work undertaken under the RMGS shall follow the relevant and prevailing guidelines and policies of the university/ institution concerned.

Due regard should be given to the probity considerations as set out in paragraph 33 of the Operation Guide for accepting donation/ sponsorship.

As stipulated in para. 15 of the Operation Guide for RMGS, “It is the responsibility of the universities/ institutions to notify the UGC Secretariat of any "matched donations/ research grants/ research contracts" (or any part of them) that subsequently turn out to become ineligible for matching ... The universities/ institutions shall return the respective government grants for these ineligible donations/ research grants/ research contracts to the UGC Secretariat immediately."

With agreement from the donor, the remaining balance can be deployed for other research projects/ activities at the discretion of the university/ institution. Universities/ Institutions are required to report to the UGC Secretariat as soon as practicable should there be any changes to the designated purpose of the donation with supporting documents.

Under the said circumstances, the matching grant, together with the interest accrued if any, can be deployed for other research projects/ activities at the discretion of the university/ institution. Universities/ Institutions are required to report to the UGC Secretariat as soon as practicable should there be any changes to the designated purpose of the matching grant.