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$276M Research grants for tertiary institutions allocated
The Research Grants Council (RGC) today (Monday) announced its decisions on the allocation of $276 million in research grants to the seven University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions in 1995-96.
The RGC had considered 888 applications for a total of $829 million for academic research projects in a wide range of subject disciplines. Each application was initially screened by one or more of the four subject panels - Physical Sciences; Engineering; Biology and Medicine; and Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies with the help of reports from external specialist assessors/referees. The panels' recommendations were then considered by the full RGC meeting on June 16.
This year RGC again decided to allocate $63 million (23 per cent of the funds available) to the institutions directly to support projects costing less than $200,000.
Of the balance of $212.7 million, some $7.2 million was reserved for central allocation and $205.5 million was allocated for projects in response to competitive bids from the institutions. Details of the projects supported, by panels and broad subject areas, are given at Annex A. Details of the numbers of applications submitted and supported, by institutions and by broad subject areas, are at Annex B.
In selecting projects for funding support, RGC has regard for the projects' academic merit/integrity, their contribution to the academic development of the institutions and their relevance to the needs of the institutions and Hong Kong's overall economic and social development.
This was the fifth research grant allocation exercise undertaken by RGC since it was established in January 1991.
Chairman of RGC, Professor Ping K Ko, said: "Despite the increase in the number of applications for grants from 703 in 1994-95 to 888 in 1995-96, the Council was able to support, fully or partially, 454 projects as compared with 371 last year.
"Among the projects supported this year, the RGC has funded 16 projects involving, to varying degrees, collaboration with academics in Chinese higher education institutions, and a further 22 involving collaboration with other overseas institutions.