Hong Kong Research Portal

Each funding scheme has its own set of assessment criteria. However, for all the schemes, proposals have to be error-free and adequately supported by supporting documents. Applicants must explain the value of their proposal to their respective fields, and demonstrate to the reviewers the proposal’s end goals and how it will benefit the community and push the frontier of research.   

Other important components are as follows: 

• Scientific merit 
• Scope of collaboration 
• Ability to identify and solve problems relevant to Hong Kong 
• Novelity in demonstrating the significance of the research and clarity in presentation
• Feasibility of implementation   

Whether your research is of basic or applied nature, proposals with preliminary results would make good grant applications. Applicants should provide in their proposals preliminary results or results from simulation to support their ideas. 

One major issue commonly observed is the lack of a clear goal; it means the proposal may not be able to demonstrate that the research is on the right track scientifically. For example, applicants sometimes misconstrue the requirements of a proposal and emphasise past accomplishments focusing, for example, on describing work done in their laboratory when they should focus on explaining what they will do if they receive funding.  

Furthermore, burying key parts of the research deep in the proposal is another common mistake. In order to attract reviewers, the first part of the proposal should engage the reader with a teaser about the research and what the researcher is proposing to. Then, use the rest of the proposal to outline other details, such as the background and technical approach etc.

Some researchers, especially those who are younger, may present too many ideas and cannot justify the strengths of each one. This will make the reviewers think that the applicant lacks a comprehensive plan. For example, a researcher presenting several ideas has to defend different aspects of every idea, which is often difficult. The best applications often have one or two ideas considered from various aspects so that they can stand up to scrutiny.  

A lack of clarity at multiple levels is also one of the issues. The proposal needs to provide background information that is detailed and well-written. It has to take a deep dive in its approach in terms of the procedural details on how the proposal will succeed. The proposal must steer clear of hyperbolic statements, terms, and acronyms the researcher expects the reviewers to understand

Detach yourself from the proposal and re-examine it. Take a detached view of the idea, think how important it is in the basic research aspect or in the applied research aspect, and then see how you can relate the idea to the research community’s latest developments or apply it to new applications. 

Mediocre ideas tend to get overlooked in the competitive climate for funding. Therefore, aim to achieve the “wow” factor. Show the reviewer you have a fantastic idea and the ability to carry out.  

Always cite the literature you use in the proposal to ensure you give credit to relevant work. Reviewers are generally aware of ideas that have been featured in previous proposals or literature, and it is extremely serious if the applicant fails to give credit where it is due.     

If applicable, ask for help from a third party to critique once the proposal has been finalised. Another tip is to put yourself in the reviewer's position and come up with 10 questions, and then go through the proposal and address the questions.  

Lastly, take the time to write, review and edit the proposal, and avoid rushing it through.

If you are working in a team, the application must demonstrate collaboration and not be a project made up of isolated contributions from individuals. Here are some suggestions to improve collaboration: 

• Hold regular team meetings to monitor collaborating work  
• Choose a team leader to put in place an effective governance structure. He or she must ensure prudent deployment of resources to ensure work and responsibilities are shared among team members  

If you do not have preliminary results, you can propose novel ideas in your proposal and demonstrating with support references how they will lead to the desired outcomes.  

Generally, most funding schemes stress the importance of high academic value of the applications. All funding schemes look to fund proposals with a high degree of academic or intellectual merit. Further, the idea must show that it has potential significance within the research community.  

An impact statement has to show the importance of the topic or the research idea, and its contribution to academic and professional development. In some cases, if researchers want to apply for funding for research projects which have little impact on Hong Kong, it is suggested that they explain how the projects can contribute to the discovery of knowledge in their fields. Furthermore, the impact statement should clearly show every step to be taken to achieve the project’s outcomes, such as the progression of the research from the laboratory to developing an impactful application.

The impact statement should not be overblown. It should take into account the practical or potential relationship to the current situation either locally or globally, or else within the current research landscape. 

To ensure that research grants are spent appropriately, budgets have to be related to the project and should be reasonable. Find out what you need within the funding limit, and apply for what you need. Do not just ask for the maximum amount. The budget should be elastic, flexible and with a proper estimation. 

When drawing up a budget, list the budget from the bottom up based on the research goal and actual needs.  Include everything - from equipment, personnel, publication and patent costs to travel.  

If you are unsure about the budget, seek advice from an experienced researcher or research office. 

Candidates must strive to achieve the “wow” factor by re-emphasising results, impact, collaboration etc. Applicants are recommended to emphasise how their proposals will make a positive impact on Hong Kong’s research development or the community and avoid focusing on past achievements.

Applicants can think from the perspective of the panel member and reader. It will help write a good proposal. If you have good preliminary results, present them in a logical sequence to grab panel members' attention.  Applicants can show a teaser or result preview at the beginning of the proposal or presentation, then elaborate on how the result is achieved. This will help your application stand out among the many papers and researchers looking for funding.    

Moreover, during a presentation, body language affects impression. Practice the presentation beforehand will help you gain confidence and present your ideas in an organised manner. Practice is especially essential for researchers with less experience.  

The most crucial thing in a presentation is to demonstrate your ideas. Do not put too much information on each presentation slide and keep the animations simple. Lengthy and tedious presentations are difficult for panel members to read and digest in a short time, needless to say, to persuade them. Therefore, presenting with animations appropriately would be beneficial to the presentation. For example, using animation to show the main points one by one can convey the information to the reviewers more clearly and increase persuasiveness. If there is a video in the presentation, make sure it is embedded into the slide to facilitate a technical-error-free presentation.  

On the other hand, applicants are suggested to use illustrations and graphs to help showcase your achievements and reinforce them with words as they can help to highlight the key message. In order to allow reviewers to focus on important points, the presentation should be concise and easy to read, and avoid packing a large amount of data or text into the proposal or presentation.