ANR / RGC Joint Research Scheme

The French National Research Agency (ANR) /
Research Grants Council (RGC) Joint Research Scheme 2020/21 Exercise
Invitation for Applications

• Aim
  
  

  The French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR) and the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme (JRS) aims to strengthen the collaboration between French and Hong Kong research communities. Both basic and applied research proposals of high academic merits in all areas are invited under the scheme.

• Eligibility
  
  

  2.   Hong Kong applicants should meet fully the requirements for applying the RGC General Research Fund (GRF) (Please refer to the Explanatory Notes for GRF Application Form "GRF2" which is uploaded on the RGC website: http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/funding_schemes.html).

  3.   A Hong Kong Principal Investigator (PI) of an on-going ANR/RGC JRS project is not allowed to submit a new application in the capacity of PI unless both collaborative partners have submitted their completion reports of the last approved project to the RGC and the ANR before the application deadline. Nevertheless, he / she could participate in a new ANR/RGC JRS funding proposal in the capacity of Co-Investigator.

  4.   French applicants should check with the ANR for their eligibility requirements. Only applications that fully meet the requirements of both the RGC and the ANR would be accepted.

• Funding
  
  

  5.   The scheme aims to support research projects with duration of 36 or 48 months. Other durations will not be accepted. The indicative average funding for French applicants is about €280,000 per project whereas the funding limit for Hong Kong applicants is HK$3 million per project (exclusive of on-costs).

  6.   The RGC funding will provide support for :

  • the salary of research support staff hired by the Hong Kong researchers;

  • funding for employment of relief teachers;

  • equipment and high-performance computing services in Hong Kong;

  • research-related software licence / dataset;

  • general expenses, including consumables that are directly related to the research work;

  • passage and subsistence costs for Hong Kong researchers and research postgraduate students to visit collaborators in France and to attend international conference;

  • passage and subsistence costs for the Hong Kong PI to attend one project review workshop in France for presentation of mid-term and/or final reports if so required by the RGC; and

  • output dissemination costs.

  7.   The Hong Kong and the French partners of the supported projects will receive funding from the RGC and the ANR separately. The RGC funds are solely for use in Hong Kong and in supporting the passage and subsistence costs of Hong Kong researchers and research postgraduate students.

• How to apply
  
  

  8.   A one-stage application process is adopted in the 2020/21 exercise. There is a quota of five submissions for each UGC-funded university.

  9.   Prior to the submission of joint proposal, the French applicants should complete, on behalf of the joint project team, the pre-registration on the ANR on-line system. The deadline of pre-registration is 24 October 2019 at 1300 hours (Paris local time). Only applicants who have completed the pre-registration via the ANR on-line system can submit applications.

  10.   Following the pre-registration by the French applicants, parallel submission of applications by the Hong Kong and French applicants are required. The Hong Kong and French applicants should prepare a joint proposal following ANR's format¹ which should be submitted to the RGC and ANR in parallel. French applicants should submit the joint proposals via the online system of the ANR by 20 May 2020 at 1300 hours (Paris local time). Detailed information on application procedures of the ANR is available at the ANR website: https://anr.fr/en/call-for-proposals-details/call/translate-to-anglais-appel-a-projets-generique-2020/.

  11.   Hong Kong applicants should submit, in addition to the joint proposal, an Application Supplement to the RGC. The Application Supplement should be prepared in accordance with the "ANR/RGC Joint Research Scheme Application Supplement (For Hong Kong applicants)" (ANR/RGC 1), as set out in the Appendix (revised). The RGC will not accept proposals without the Application Supplement.

  12.   Hong Kong applicants should submit two hard copies and one soft copy of the same joint proposal together with the Application Supplement (ANR/RGC 1), through the Research Offices of their universities to the RGC by 26 May 2020 at 1700 hours (Hong Kong time).

  13.   While applications must be submitted before the deadlines as outlined above, Hong Kong applicants should check with their universities for internal closing date, if any. Late submissions will not be processed.

  14.   It is the obligation of both the Hong Kong and French applicants to ensure that their respective applications contain sufficient and consistent information for evaluation. The project period of both sides should have the same start and end dates. Incomplete submission or inconsistent information would lead to disqualification of application.

  15.   Applicants are requested to provide a brief update setting out any essential changes to the applications, i.e. the eligibility of the PIs, alternative funding obtained, declaration of similar / related proposals, investigator(s)'s CV, grant records, relationship with nominated reviewers, etc. by 31 August 2020. Such updates should be confined to the essential parts of the original proposals, and applicants should not use the opportunity to hand in a substantially changed proposal.

  16.   The universities concerned must obtain and provide all the necessary ethics / safety approvals to the RGC by 31 August 2020. If no confirmation of such approval is provided to the RGC by the stipulated deadline, the relevant application will be regarded as being withdrawn and the RGC and ANR will stop processing it.

  ¹ The joint proposal is expected to be written in English. If the joint proposal is prepared in French, the Hong Kong PI should submit an English version to the RGC.

• Selection
  
  

  17.   The RGC and the ANR will arrange to assess the research proposals received in accordance with their respective evaluation rules and will jointly select applications to be supported. The proposals should reflect a high degree of cooperation and collaboration between both French and Hong Kong partners in the planning, development and execution of the project. Collaborating partners should, as far as possible, be mutually engaged throughout the course of the project. Only proposals, which have been jointly supported by both sides, will be considered for funding.

  18.   The evaluation criteria include:

  1. Relevance of the proposal to the call;

  2. Technical and scientific quality of the proposal;

  3. Quality of the project management and methodology;

  4. Global impact of the proposal;

  5. Quality of and good synergies between the partners;

  6. Mobilisation of resources;

  7. Added value to be expected from the French-Hong Kong research collaboration compared to a project funded by either ANR or RGC only; and

  8. Balanced scientific and financial contributions.

• Announcement of Funding Results
  
  

  19.   The results of the final selection will be announced around September 2020. The results will also be published on the RGC homepage.

• Conditions
  
  

  20.   The RGC will not be responsible for any expenditure incurred by the project in excess of the approved funding.

  21.   The RGC will not provide insurance cover in connection with the project or allow the use of the grant for insurance cover. Applicants should make their own arrangements. The RGC will not accept any responsibility arising in any way from the visits and the activities undertaken by the researchers.
  

  22.   As a matter of policy, the RGC and the ANR do not claim any intellectual property rights arising from the funded projects. Researchers, their collaborators and their universities concerned should make their own prior arrangements with regard to the ownership of such rights and according to the ANR procedures if applicable. However, a suitable acknowledgement of the RGC and the ANR funding should be included in any equipment / facilities purchased and any publication / publicity arising from the work done on the research project funded under this scheme.

  23.   Project review workshops may be organized for the Hong Kong PIs to present their mid-term and/or final reports. Hong Kong applicants can include the expenses for travel of the Hong Kong PIs for one workshop in France in the budget. The RGC will notify the project teams concerned in advance if such workshop would be organized. The budget for attending the workshop is not transferrable.

• Enquiries
  
  

  24.   All enquiries should be directed to Research Offices of respective universities in the first instance. Their contact details are as follows:

  Ms Cecilia Sun City University of Hong Kong 83 Tat Chee Avenue Kowloon Tong Kowloon	Tel: 3442 6832 Fax: 3442 0136
  Ms Doris Fung Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Tong Kowloon	Tel: 3411 2755 Fax: 3411 5133
  Ms Connie Lam Lingnan University 8 Castle Peak Road Tuen Mun New Territories	Tel: 2616 7683 Fax: 2591 9618
  Ms Joanne Tsang The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin New Territories	Tel: 3943 1837 Fax: 3942 0993
  Miss Christine Yeung The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hung Hom Kowloon	Tel: 2766 4046 Fax: 2355 7651
  Miss Fiona Lok The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay Kowloon	Tel: 2358 7930 Fax: 2358 1541
  Miss Cherry Lau The University of Hong Kong Pokfulam Road Hong Kong	Tel: 2859 2275 Fax: 2803 0558
  Ms Clara Fong The Education University of Hong Kong 10 Lo Ping Road Tai Po New Territories	Tel: 2948 7700 Fax: 2948 7697

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  UGC Secretariat
  October 2019