We are pleased to announce that our findings from our review of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) are now publicly available on the Research Grants Council website and on the Reports page of our website*.
Over the past year, Research Consulting has been undertaking research to support Phase II of reviewing the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), which invests approximately £150 million a year into its 17 competitive grant schemes. The RGC’s schemes range from support for research students, through high-volume schemes of small grants for individually driven research projects, to funding for large strategically driven collaborative projects. It handles over 4,500 applications, and makes over 1,500 awards, each year.
In collaboration with our associate Michael Jubb, our research was focused on the RGC’s operations and aimed to (i) identify areas for improvement; and (ii) recommend ways in which the efficiency and efficacy of the RGC could be enhanced. This research included the analysis of interviews and focus-groups conducted by Michael in Hong Kong and surveys completed by academic staff, RGC committee and panel members and external reviewers. In addition, we reviewed and analysed evidence arising from consultations with the Secretariat and project Working Group.
Consolidating the international impact of Research Consulting over the past year
Our report for the Hong Kong RGC is just the latest in a series of international projects Research Consulting has undertaken over the past year, which include:
- Work with the British Council on university-industry links between the UK and 12 East-Asian counties; and a scoping study on technology-transfer in Malaysia;
- A benchmarking study of research contracts in the UK and Australia; and
- Ongoing work with the Department for International Development (DFID) on strengthening research capacity in seven Sub-Saharan African countries
What we have learnt from the growing international impact of our work, is that similar issues and challenges faced in the UK context are mirrored in these differing contexts. This illustrates how globally interconnected research truly is and how global collaboration is key in its progression.
It should be noted that our review is embedded in the Research Grants Council’s report and begins on page 30*
