Why Monitor and Assess?
Under its Terms of Reference, the Council is required to monitor the implementation of research funded via the Earmarked Research Grant, and to report at least annually to the Government through the University Grants Committee.
The Council considers that the monitoring of on-going projects and assessment of completed projects is necessary for reasons of public accountability. Each holder of a Council-funded project grant is therefore required to submit annual progress reports and a completion report on the project for monitoring and scrutiny by subject panel members. In addition, policies and procedures for the monitoring of Council-funded projects are constantly reviewed to ensure that project grants are used properly.

How Monitoring is Carried Out
Under the existing monitoring mechanism for the assessment of Council-funded projects, one subject panel member is assigned to each funded project with the responsibility for monitoring, on the basis of annual progress reports and completion reports, that the project is proceeding on schedule and that any problems identified are followed up.

Monitoring of On-Going Projects
On-going projects are monitored by the members of the appropriate subject panels through annual progress reports submitted by Principal Investigators (PIs) through their respective institutions. The panel member reviews the annual progress report and, where required, any comments are conveyed to the Principal Investigator for reference and follow-up action.
As of December 2000, there were 2,461 active Council-funded projects being monitored. This number includes projects approved in 2000-2001.

Assessment of Completed Projects
Within 18 months of the scheduled completion date of a project, the PI concerned is required to submit a completion report detailing the outcome of the research project, the results achieved, students trained, and publications produced, as well as reporting on the use and application of the grant awarded. These completion reports are passed to the responsible panel members for final assessment.
Completion projects are rated either as "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory". Results of such assessments are also taken into account when assessing new grant applications from the PIs concerned.
As of December 2000, the Council had received completion reports for a cumulative total of 1,675 projects of which 891 were assessed in December 2000, with the final ratings endorsed by the RGC at its Council meetings.

Feedback on Assessments
Feedback is an important part of the Council's effort to encourage and assure quality standards in research projects. The feedback forms an essential part of the peer review process and enables researchers to improve and refine their research methodologies. It also represents a valuable input into Hong Kong academia of new ideas and expertise from colleagues overseas.
As a matter of policy, the Council arranges to feed back anonymously all comments of external assessors to applicants in CERG exercises and, where necessary, convey additional comments from the subject panels.

Review on Monitoring and Assessment of Projects
In the interest of public accountability, the RGC attaches great importance to both the monitoring of on-going projects and the assessment of those that are completed. As part of its efforts to strive for improvement, the Council constantly reviews its monitoring and assessment system with a view to streamlining the relevant processes and enhancing overall effectiveness.