(A) The Exercise

1.	Number of applications received:	52
2.	Number of full proposals received:	21
3.	Number of proposals recommended for funding:	8 (including one exploratory proposal)
4.	Success rate (over the number of applications):	15.4%
5.	Total approved budget of the funded projects:	$306.398 million1
6.	Total funding amount from the RGC:	$270 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):

• Most of the proposals were excellent and up to the highest level of international research. They contained several linked projects that were individually very strong and contributed to the overall programme. The comprehensive scientific and technological contents, as well as other important aspects, particularly the educational and public engagement elements, made the projects qualified as theme-based research.
• For proposals submitted under the Health Theme, the weakest aspect was the plan for clinical application. It would be useful for applications with clinical content to be reviewed by an institutional clinical trial board before submission.
• Most of the re-submitted proposals had taken into consideration the Selection Panel's comments. Some were significantly stronger than last year, with improvements in preliminary data, research plans and presentation.
• The Selection Panel was most impressed by the performance of the project teams in the interviews, who addressed well the concerns raised by External Reviewers and Panel Members.
• Funded projects are timely and important and could potentially bring impacts to the society of Hong Kong in a few years. The involvement of industrial partners and user communities in some projects would make the projects more relevant and reduce the chance of failure.

2. Other comments:

• Nil.