Theme-based Research Scheme
(A) The Exercise
1 Excluding two applications which did not comply with the page limit and/or formatting requirements stipulated in the “Guidance Documents on Submission of Full Proposals” and were returned without further processing as endorsed by the CRPSC
2 Including $20 million originally budgeted for “Exploratory Options”, and 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):
| 1. | Number of applications received | 88 |
| 2. | Number of full proposals received | 281 |
| 3. | Number of proposals recommended for funding: | 6 |
| 4. | Success rate (over the number of applications): | 6.8 % |
| 5. | Total approved budget of the funded projects | $380.785 million2 |
| 6. |
Total funding amount from RGC | $320 million2 |
2 Including $20 million originally budgeted for “Exploratory Options”, and 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):
- All proposals were well-written and most presentations were of impressive quality, which made the exercise very competitive. The proposals covered a diverse range of subject matter from novel work to application, and most of them were highly rated by external reviewers.
- The Panel was impressed by the quality of all the shortlisted proposals which clearly indicated the breadth of talents of Hong Kong universities.
- There were a few proposals which contained little information about how key deliverables would be achieved without details and specifics; and failed to show proof of concept. The relevant project teams are encouraged to consider the Panel’s comments to improve their proposals in future rounds of exercise.
- The title of the project should accurately reflect the proposal and be consistent with the resources allocated.
- In respect of project presentation, project teams are advised to stay focused on specific innovations and topics of their projects, avoid repeating content of written submissions, and keep their answers relevant and succinct. Questions from the Panel should also be attempted by subject experts to enhance efficiency. They are also advised that the Powerpoint slides should not be lengthy (e.g. around 10 slides), and should not incorporate video / animation clip.