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Following is a question by the Hon Samson Tam and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, in the Legislative Council today (July 7):
Question:
The DesignSmart Initiative, which was set up in 2004, includes four funding schemes, namely Design Research Scheme, Design-Business Collaboration Scheme, Professional Continuing Education Scheme and General Support Scheme. It was initially estimated that the initiative would benefit about 700 projects in five years; however, as at the end of April 2010, only 323 projects had been approved under the initiative, amounting to only 46% of the projection. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the reasons why the total number of projects approved is lower than the projected number, as well as what new measures and actions are in place to improve the utilisation rate of the funding schemes;
(b) the number of applications received so far for each of the aforesaid four funding schemes and, among such applications, the number of those which were approved; and
(c) the average time required at present for vetting and approving each application; whether it has received complaints about the time taken to vet and approve applications being too long; if it has, of the details; and whether it will consider streamlining the vetting and approving process in order to encourage more applications; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
With the Legislative Council's funding approval, the Government launched the $250 million DesignSmart Initiative (DSI) in 2004 to strengthen support for design and innovation, instil design and creative elements into our businesses, and build Hong Kong into a focal point of design excellence in the region. Apart from $70 million set aside to support the initial operation of the Hong Kong Design Centre and the implementation of the Design Incubation Programme, $180 million was allocated to four schemes under the DSI, namely, the Design Research Scheme (DRS), the Design-Business Collaboration Scheme (DBCS), the Professional Continuing Education Scheme (PCES) and the General Support Scheme (GSS), which are collectively known as the Design Support Programme (DSP).
As at end June 2010, a total of 485 applications had been received under the DSP, among which 333 applications had been approved, involving a total of $147 million in funding. The DSP has largely achieved its objectives, which include:
- Supporting major design events organised by the industry - the DSP supports the organisation of events such as the "Business of Design Week" (BODW), "Project 9707" and its roving exhibition in European and North American cities, "Fashion World Talent Awards", etc. Participants all gave positive response to these events, irrespective of whether they came from the industries or were members of the public. There was no exception with participants from overseas, who considered that these activities helped them better understand the achievements of the Hong Kong design sector;
- Promoting the use of design by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - more than 40% of the participating SMEs employed the use of design for the first time, and 60% of the participating SMEs succeeded in obtaining patents, copyright, trademarks or other forms of intellectual property; and
- Encouraging the industry and academic institutions to conduct research projects for promoting the long-term development of the design sector.
My reply to the question raised by the Honourable Member is as follows:
(a) The DSI was a new policy initiative when first launched in 2004. It was initially estimated that the DSI would benefit about 700 projects over five years. However, utilisation was lower than estimated at the beginning, as it had taken a longer time for the design and business sectors to get to know and understand the DSI. With enhanced awareness about the DSI and promotion by the Administration, the number of applications has gradually increased. The total number of applications received during the three financial years from 2007/08 to 2009/10 was three times that recorded in the first three years of operation (i.e. from 2004/05 to 2006/07). To date, nearly 500 applications have been received and more than 80% of the funding allocation has been granted.
The Administration has been reviewing the DSI by phases and has introduced measures to improve its utilisation. These measures include allowing both design companies and SMEs to apply for funding under the DBCS (previously only design companies were eligible for submitting application), with each applying SME eligible for a maximum grant of $100,000 for four projects at most; abolishing the periodic theme solicitation approach of the DRS and lifting restrictions on the theme of incoming applications, while accepting applications throughout the year; allowing applications for re-run of projects previously funded by the GSS and PCES to enable applicants to develop longer-term projects which should be run on a sustainable basis for the benefit of the industry.
The number of applications received or approved is just one of the many indicators to measure the effectiveness of the DSP, and cannot fully reflect the actual situation. For instance, the DSP has funded a wide range of large-scale activities organised by the local design industry, including the annual BODW. As a single application, such event has been growing in scale year by year. It comprises various forums, symposiums, awards and exhibitions, covering a wide array of issues and achieving far greater results than a normal individual project.
(b) As at end June 2010, the number of applications received for each of the four funding schemes under the DSP is as follows:
Number of Number of
Applications Received Applications Approved
GSS 55 28
DRS 20 6
PCES 25 15
DBCS 385 284
Total 485 333
(c) The DesignSmart Secretariat has not received any complaints about the time taken to process the applications. Some applicants have made enquiries to the Secretariat about the time needed for vetting the applications, but they all indicated that they appreciated and understood the situation after the Secretariat explained to them the procedures involved.
The Secretariat has made a performance pledge to complete the vetting procedures and inform the applicant of the assessment result within 50 clear working days after receipt of full information.
In general, upon receipt of all necessary information from the applicant, the Secretariat will clarify the details of the application with the applicant; compile a preliminary assessment; submit the application to the Assessment Panel for consideration; arrange Assessment Panel meetings; and inform the applicant of the assessment result after receiving the recommendation of the Assessment Panel.
The processing time for each application depends on whether the applicant has provided all the necessary information and documents, as well as how promptly the applicant responds to enquiries from the Secretariat. To be prudent, the Assessment Panel will also request the applicant to attend assessment meetings to present its application and answer questions. In the 2009/10 financial year, for example, the Secretariat has been able to complete the processing of most applications in accordance with the pledge.
The vetting and approval procedures under the DSI are kept under regular review and would be streamlined as appropriate. However, to ensure the proper use of public funds, the Secretariat and the Assessment Panel must take into account all the necessary information when carefully considering an application before they can determine whether an application should be supported.
To speed up the processing of applications, the Secretariat, with the support from members of the Assessment Panel, has increased the frequency of the Assessment Panel meetings from four to six times each year in the initial operation to 19 times in the 2009/10 financial year.
Ends/Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:05
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