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The following is issued on behalf of the Research Grants Council:
The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today (May 16) the launch of a special scheme to support Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) research.
A total of $12 million has been allocated out of the Central Allocation Vote of the University Grants Committee (UGC) for the RGC to fund urgent academic research work which can help Hong Kong in the fight against the SARS epidemic.
Out of the sum, $10 million will be allocated as special project grants to support research work dedicated to the investigation of immediate issues directly related to SARS.
Applications for the grant are now being invited from the eight UGC-funded institutions. Allocation will be based on the usual peer-review process of the RGC and academic quality is the primary funding criterion. Funding will be released to the successful applicants in July 2003.
In addition, an emergency grant of $1 million has been allocated to each of the two medical faculties at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong to support and strengthen their further efforts in combating the SARS disease.
Speaking at a press briefing to launch the scheme, Professor Kenneth Young, Chairman of the RGC said: "SARS has been affecting many parts of the world and is the biggest crisis facing Hong Kong at the moment."
"The battle against the disease is an area in which academic research should and can uniquely make a contribution. I hope this special scheme will go some way to encourage and support urgent research on this particular front."
"Indeed, our two local medical faculties have been playing a very critical role at the forefront and, working closely with other research institutions, they have already made significant headway in fighting and understanding SARS," he said.
"By any measure, their achievements have been very impressive. This owes very much to the research capability of our universities which has been built up with the continuous support from the RGC over time," he added.
For the special scheme, an expert group has been formed under the Biology and Medicine Panel of the RGC to take charge of the evaluation and selection process. The expert group comprising mainly overseas experts will convene a meeting in Hong Kong to conclude the evaluation in mid-June 2003. Professor Rosie Young, in her personal capacity, is a special advisor to the expert group.
Commenting on the scheme, Professor Rosie Young said: "The RGC has all along been very supportive of institutions' research work. The launch of the scheme is very timely as we need to send a strong signal to encourage and support research work in the combat against SARS. I am proud to be able to be involved in the process."
As to the future plan, Professor Kenneth Young said that this special scheme was only meant to provide emergency support to current efforts in tackling some immediate problems of SARS. For longer-term work, the RGC would continue to provide necessary funding support through its annual funding exercises.
In fact, the RGC has been funding research related to studies of viruses and pathogensis and has invested no less than $42 million in this particular area over the years, he added.
Established in 1991, the RGC is a non-statutory advisory body of 'academic peers' operating under the aegis of the UGC. As the principal funding agency supporting academic research in higher education institutions, the RGC is responsible for fostering and funding research in all disciplines taught in the institutions so that Hong Kong can keep up with world wide developments.
Background information of RGC's funding mechanism is set out in Annex (PDF format).
End/Friday, May 16, 2003
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