A) The Exercise

1.	Number of applications received	26
2.	Number of full proposals received	13
3.	Number of proposals recommended for funding	6
4.	Success rate (over the number of applications):	23%
5.	Amount available for allocation	$150 million
6.	Total funding amount from RGC	$150 million1

 ¹ Excluding on-costs.

B) Assessment Committee’s Comments for Applicants’ Reference

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

• Most of the applications demonstrated a commendable level of quality, with strengths in various aspects such as strong research teams, well-conceived research plans, and within the scope of topics, which were all important to Hong Kong. Fundamental scientific study of the proposals was strong. However, the quality of some proposals was not that satisfactory.
• Funding was approved for a total of six projects. Because the central tool or concept in some projects involved high risk, the duration (and funding) of some projects was reduced to see if the teams can provide proof of concept within a shortened timeframe. The funding therefore was provided to two projects for shorter duration (one Topic 1 Public Health project with two-years funding recommended and one Topic 3 IT project with one-year funding recommended).
• The involvement of industrial partners and government in some proposals was good.
• The Committee found the interviews very useful as teams were able to explain their proposals more clearly. However, the performance of some teams at the interviews was a little disappointing.

2. Other comments:

• Nil