Funding

The scheme covers the eight UGC-funded universities, including their self-financing and affiliated institutions, and 13 local self-financing degree-awarding institutions. The Government provides HK$3 billion in matching grants. R&D spending and donations raised from the private sector and philanthropists, in any discipline, can be matched for research use.

Donations and the grant may be used for research spending, including major equipment, research or technology licences, patent costs, pay for staff hired for the research, and the cost of research facilities such as rent, operation and maintenance. The government matching grant cannot pay for capital works at a UGC-funded university. It may also support research by staff or students under the university’s supervision, and research scholarships or prizes.

Eligibility

During the application period, private donations received by a university or institution, and contract research or R&D spending commissioned by the private sector, may be put forward for a government matching grant.

The scheme does not allow double matching or a double subsidy. Donations or projects already funded by public schemes such as the Innovation and Technology Fund, RGC research funds or the Research Impact Fund, by other public grants, or already matched under another public matching scheme, cannot be matched again. Universities must declare that there is no double benefit. The UGC Secretariat has the final say on whether a donation, prize or contract qualifies.

Applications run in quarterly cycles and are accepted all year;The scheme runs until the matching funds are used up