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Vocational Training Council
Seed Grants for Research
Application Guideline
Background:
As per the 3-year Strategic Plan for 2014 to 2017, the Council has identified Practical Social and Industrial Research (PSIR) as a new strategic initiative to be carried out as part of its core activities in parallel with vocational education and training services. The purpose of the seed grants is to facilitate teaching staff members in the VTC to carry out some preliminary/exploratory research and investigation to prepare for a major external grant application. A number of seed grants will be awarded each year on a competitive basis.
Eligibility:
Full-time staff in teaching rank of all VTC member institutions (except those in THEi, SHAPE and PEAK which are self-financing units) may apply as Principal Investigator (PI) (worthy of note is that THEi has already operated a seed grant scheme). There is no limitation on inclusion of Co-Investigator(s) (Co-Is) and other members of the research team who can be drawn from the VTC, THEi or from various industry sectors, professional, academic and research institutions. Applicant must have a contract duration that covers the project period applied for.
PI with project funded by this Seed Grant Funding Mechanism that is still in progress will not be allowed to submit a new application. However, there is no limitation on their inclusion as Co-Is or members of research team in other applications.
If the PI has received support from this Seed Grant but not submitted any proposal for external funding after project completion, he/she will not be allowed to apply for a new Seed Grant until after submission of the external grant application.
If PI has submitted an external grant application after completion of the Seed Grant project but was unsuccessful in obtaining external funding, the proposal can only be resubmitted as a new Seed Grant application if accompanied by clear explanation as to how improvements have been made in response to external reviewer's comments and why a new Seed Grant rather than a revised submission for external funding is justified.
Funding amount:
A sum of up to HK$100,000 is available for a 1-year project to support the pilot phase study of a research project. If used as a matching fund, the portion to be matched from this seed grant should not exceed $100,000.
The seed grant is NOT a supplement to other funding which has already been secured. The proposal submitted for Seed Grant should not duplicate (in part or wholly) a concurrent application for external funding, except for use as a match fund. In the latter case, the proposal for external funding should be submitted at the time of Seed Grant application for verification.
The funding from the seed grant cannot be used as salary for existing staff members working on the project.
Here is a list of fundable and non-fundable budget items for the seed grant:
Fundable items
l Salary for part-time student helpers
l Salary for part-time teaching associate (as part-time research associates or research assistants) and part-time technicians (as part-time research assistants or technician)
l Salary for term teaching associate (as research associates or research assistants) and term technicians (as research assistants or technician)
l Equipment rental (when it is cheaper than purchasing a new one, and it is not available in the VTC) and purchase
l Purchase of experimental consumables (e.g. culturing medium for bacteria)
l Printing cost for experimental instruments (e.g. questionnaire)
l Incentive payments for participants (provided such payments are reasonable)
l Local travel expenses
Non-fundable items
l Salary for consultants, visiting professors, and visiting fellows
l Consultation fees or honorarium for external scholars
l Entertainment
l Conference registration fees
l Donations and in-kind contribution to sponsors
l Equipment that is already available in the VTC
l Promotion and marketing activities fees (e.g. for disseminating project deliverables)
l Patent registration fee
l Page charges for publication of manuscripts in professional journals
l Non-local travel expenses (e.g. conference travelling expenses)
l Staff-related costs (e.g. staff training, development costs and staff facilities)
l Office equipment and furniture (e.g. computer and office desks)
l Participation and registration fees for local and international conferences, seminars, study trips, and trade missions
l Food and beverages
Application Procedure:
The Research Support Unit (RSU) calls for application for the Seed Grant twice a year.
The completed Seed Grant Application form should be signed by the Principal Investigator (PI). The PI should then submit the application form to the Head of Department and Academic Director concerned for endorsement. The endorsed application form should be submitted electronically to the Secretary, Research Steering Committee (). It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that the application form reaches the Secretary of the Research Steering Committee before the application deadline.
Upon receipt of an application, the RSU will send an interim reply to the applicant to acknowledge receipt of the application.
The RSU will inform the applicant of the result normally within three months after the application deadline.
Interview
If requested by the Research Steering Committee or Grant Vetting Sub-committee, applicants may be required to attend an interview to provide further details on their applications.
Application Deadline:
Completed application forms should be returned to the Research Support Unit (RSU) before the application deadline. The application deadline for submission is 3 June 2016 (Friday).
Assessment of Applications
The aim of the Seed Grant is to support the initial phase of research projects that have good prospects for realisation and commercialisation. The Seed Grant should be used to strengthen the early stage of the research to pave the way for a major grant application submission.
Assessment of applications for the Seed Grant will be based on the following evaluation criteria, whose weightings may vary for projects from different disciplines:
l Quality of the proposal – creativity, innovation, originality
l Strength of the researcher – PI and research team (if applicable)
l Feasibility of proposal timescale and budget
l Alignment with teaching – recruiting students as assistants or form part of Industry Attachment (IA) or final year projects
l Furtherance of PSIR objectives – promotion of cross-discipline, cross-member institution and external collaborations
l Alignment with the VTC’s strategic research areas
l Application and impact – social and economic including commercialisation potential (if applicable)
l Plan for seeking external funding – source, amount, how criteria of external funding body can be met
As a general rule, if used as matching fund, the leverage factor for attracting external funding is 10 times or above of the amount funded through the Seed Grant. The decision of the Research Committee is final.
Duties of the Awardees
The awardees are required to submit a half-year progress report, a final completion report and at least one external grant application upon project completion. The awardees are also required to take part in activities promoting PSIR such as presenting results in internal symposiums and conducting sharing sessions for VTC staff.
Enquiries:
Enquiries regarding Seed Grant applications should be directed to Ms. Stella Kwok, Secretary of Research Steering Committee, c/o Research Support Unit or by email to or by phone on 2835-7464.
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VTC Seed Grant for PSIR (version 15 February 2016)
CONFIDENTIAL
Vocational Training Council
SEED GRANT APPLICATION FORM
Notes for Applicants
- In order to ensure consistency and fairness to all applicants, this application form must be completed in the following standard format. Failure to comply with the following format may lead to disqualification of the application.Font: Times New Roman (for English); 新細明體 (for Chinese)
Font Size: 12 point
Spacing: Single-line spacing
Referencing: APA Style (6th Edition)
Attached Document: Not allowed unless otherwise specified
Please write “N/A” in to session that is not applicable to the proposal.
- To safeguard the interests of the principal investigator and the operational unit concerned, awardee operational unit bears the primary responsibility for prevention, detection and investigation of research misconduct, including but not limited to misuse of funds, data falsification, plagiarism and self-plagiarism. The operational unit concerned is strongly advised to use anti-plagiarism software before submitting the application to the Research Steering Committee.
- All applicants must read the Application Guideline before completing the application form.
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Section A: Project Information
Project Title:Principal Investigator:
Position and Title:
Department/Campus:
Academic Discipline
Mailing Address:
Office Phone Number:
Office Fax Number:
VTC E-mail Address:
End Date of Appointment: / ______(Day) ______(Month) ______(Year)
ORP / NRP / Term / Temp Terms
Note: PI is expected to be available to conduct the study for the duration of the project period.
1. Abstract of the proposed research project
(Maximum 200 words, comprehensible to a non-specialist)
2. Research background
(Maximum 3 pages, including references)
3. Research objectives and significance
(Maximum 1 page, including references)
4. Research plan and methodology
(Maximum 3 pages, including references)
5. Preliminary study(ies) conducted by the PI or the project team (Optional)
(Maximum 1 page, including references)
6. Will you apply to another fund(s) to further the research in this project on its completion? If yes, please provide information, including the target funding agency(ies) and the amount of funding to be sought.
Section B: Budget Information
1. Total Seed Grant Applied for: HK$______
Note: The maximum amount for a seed grant application is $HK 100,000.
2. Budget details:
No. / Budget item / Amount(HK$) / JustificationExample
Term Research Assistant
(pegged at the rank of Teaching Associate)
(Sep – Dec 2016)
$XXXXX/month note 1 (rate in AY15/16) x 1.05 (potential salary increment in AY16/17, and roundup to the nearest 5 dollars) x 1.06 (MPF & fringe benefit) X 4 months / $XXXXX / Responsibility:
- To assist the research process, including handling literature search, collecting, transcribing and anslysing data
- To provide administrative support to the research project, including assisting in drafting the progress report, handling procurement matters
Printing Questionnaire
$0.2/ page x 6 pages x 1000 respondents / $1,200 / - For the data collection from 1000 respondents who are full-time Higher Diploma students
note 1 For details, please refer to the document “Remuneration Rates of Short-Term Contract and Part-Time Staff for The Academic Year” on the Human Resource Division website (https://intra.vtc.edu.hk/division/hrd/HTML/dc2013/index.html)
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Total: HK$
Section C: Research Team
1. Please provide detailed information on the research team working on the proposed project:
Name of the research team member / Affiliation and RoleE.g. Dr. Chan Tai Man / Lecturer, Department of Information Technology, IVE(TY)
Principal Investigator
- To provide overall management to the research project
- To ensure the operation of the research project and it follows the VTC’s research policies
- To prepare and submit the progress and final reports to the Research Steering Committee
Note: For each research team member, please fill in the VTC Seed Grants for Research: Curriculum Vita. The Curriculum Vitae should be limited to 2 pages, including a brief biography, recent publication record and previous awards in research funding. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the information contained in the first two pages will be considered.
2. Current research being conducted by the Principal Investigator(including previously granted VTC seed grant projects and other projects that are funded by external funding agencies)
Section D: Project Deliverables and Schedule
2. Project Schedule:
Completion Date(DD/MM/YY) / Milestone
Project period (dd/mm/yyyy): From / / to / / (a maximum of one year)
Section E: Research Ethics/ Safety Approval
1. I confirm that the research proposal involves/ does not involve human participants, animal subjects, and/ or safety and health issues (e.g. potential physical or psychological harms, discomfort or stress to participants that a research project might generate, subjects’ privacy etc.).
2. Please tick ‘Ö ’ in the appropriate box(es) to confirm if approval for the respective ethics and/or safety issues is required and has been/ is being obtained from the Research Ethics Sub-committee.Approval not required / Approval obtained / Approval being sought / Approval
will be sought upon of this application
(i) / Human Research Ethics / / / /
(ii) / Animal Subjects Ethics / / / /
(iii) / Research Safety and Health Issues / / / /
3. If approval is required by other authorities, please indicate below the names of the authorities and the prospects of obtaining such approval. If not applicable, please put down “N.A”:
Section F: Declaration
Date: / Signature:
(The Applicant)
Section G: Endorsement of Head of Department (HoD)
Date: / Signature:[Name: ]
(Head of Department)
Section H: Endorsement of Academic Director (AD)
Date: / Signature:[Name: ]
(Academic Director)
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VTC Seed Grant for PSIR (version 15 February 2016)