The
Research Grants Council
The Research
Grants Council is a non-statutory advisory council operating under the
aegis of the University Grants Committee. It was formally established
on 1 January 1991 to replace the Research Sub-Committee of the UGC. The
Council's members are appointed by the Chief Executive (Note
1) and comprise overseas academics, local academics and local lay
persons. All members are appointed on an ad personam basis. The Council's
membership for 2000-2001 is listed in Appendix
D.
Note
1: The HKSAR Chief Executive has delegated his authority to appoint the
Council members to the Secretary for Education and Manpower.
Terms
of Reference
The Research
Grants Council's Terms of Reference are :
To advise the
Government, through the University Grants Committee, on the needs of the
institutions of higher education in Hong Kong in the field of academic
research, including the identification of priority areas, in order that
a research base adequate for the maintenance of academic vigour and pertinent
to the needs of Hong Kong may be developed.
To invite and
receive, through the institutions of higher education, applications for
research grants from academic staff and for the award of studentships
and post-doctoral fellowships; to approve awards and other disbursements
from funds made available by the Government through the University Grants
Committee for research.
To monitor
the implementation of grants and to report at least annually to the Government
through the UGC.
How
the Research Grants Council is Organised
The
council works in close partnership with the UGC and advises and reports
to the Government through the UGC on matters within its purview. The organisational
structure of the UGC and the Research Grants Council is presented in Chart
3.1.
The council
meets twice a year in Hong Kong, usually in June and in December. The
June meeting focuses on allocation of the Earmarked Research Grant. The
second meeting is devoted to resource allocation among various established
and new funding initiatives for the following year, and a preliminary
consideration of applications for competitive research grants.
Specialist
Subject Panels
The council
is assisted in its work by the following four specialist subject panels
:
Engineering
Panel (Note2)
Physical Science
Panel (Note 2)
Biology & Medicine
Panel
Humanities,
Social Sciences & Business Studies Panel (Note 3)
These panels
consist predominantly of local academics, with some overseas academics.
The panels normally meet twice a year, before the Council meetings, primarily
to consider applications for allocations from the Earmarked Research Grant
as well as to monitor on-going projects and assess completed projects.
Membership details of the four subject panels for 2000-2001 are in Appendix
E.
Applications
for research grants are assessed through peer review by panel members
and external referees, all of whom are recognised experts in their fields
in Hong Kong or overseas. The panels report to the Council with recommendations
on which projects should be funded.
Note
2: The former Physical Sciences and Engineering Panel was split in two
in December 1993.
Note 3: The
Humanities & Social Sciences Panel was retitled, becoming the Humanities,
Social Sciences & Business Studies Panel in June 1994.
Central
Allocation Sub-Committee
The Central
Allocation Sub-Committee (CASC) comprises seven Council members and is
charged with selecting major collaborative research equipment and group
research projects for support by the Council through the Central Allocation
funding programme, as well as monitoring funded projects.
Central
Allocation funding is provided in response to bids from the institutions
for major research facilities and / or equipment or library collections
to support collaborative research involving two or more institutions,
or group research activities that operate across disciplines and / or
normal institutional boundaries.
Co-operative
Research Centres Sub-Committee
The Co-operative
Research Centres Sub-Committee (CRCSC) was established in June 1992 to
examine the feasibility of setting up Co-operative Research Centres in
Hong Kong. The CRCSC is charged with overseeing the establishment of Co-operative
Research Centres in the industry and tertiary institutions in the areas
of applied research in which they participate, as well as monitoring the
funded projects.
The main
objective of the CRC is to stimulate and encourage industrial participation
in, and support for, applied research at tertiary institutions. CRCSC
membership is in Appendix F.
A brief history
of the CRC programme is in Appendix
G.
|