The Research Grants Council has allocated $472 million to support academic research, including $10 million to tackle problems that the SARS outbreak triggered.

The annual Competitive Earmarked Research Grant exercise for 2003-2004 drew a record high of 1,878 applications from the academic staff of the eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions.

In all, they were seeking $1.8 billion in funding.

After rigorous peer review, the council decided to fund 798 of these projects for $462 million - almost 8% more funding than last year, to 15% more projects. About 42% of the applications were successful.

Projects' calibre world-class

The council launched a special grant in May 2003 to support urgent academic research projects which are directly connected with the SARS epidemic and which could help Hong Kong to understand and fight the disease.

It received 158 applications seeking funding of about $106 million.Of these, the council funded 16 applications for $10 million. All the proposals underwent peer review, and the key criteria were immediate relevance and academic quality.

Council Chairman Prof Kenneth Young said  it is gratifying to see that research in Hong Kong's higher education sector has continued to grow and improve significantly.

"These proposals all measure up to a high international standard, as judged by many overseas experts who have helped to review the proposals," he said.

Overwhelming response to call for SARS projects

"I am in particular impressed by the enthusiastic response of our local researchers in applying for the special grant for SARS. This reflects squarely the ability and readiness of our researchers in making use of their professional knowledge and expertise to contribute at this extraordinary time."

While the council does not have funds to support all worthy proposals, Prof Young hopes that the longer-term work can be funded through regular funding exercises or other sources.

Prof Rosie Young served as a special advisor to the council's expert group which reviewed the SARS applications. "I am confident that the funded projects will help us to better understand and further contain the SARS disease," she said.

Background

Established in 1991, the council is a semi-autonomous advisory body operating under the aegis of the University Grants Committee. As an agency supporting academic research in higher education institutions, the council is responsible for supporting and fostering research in all disciplines taught in the institutions so that Hong Kong can keep up with current worldwide developments.