Hong Kong RGC Grants: GRF, ECS, CRF and RIF Funding Guide (2027/28 Call)

Researchers searching for Hong Kong RGC grants in October 2026 are looking at a live deadline. The General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2027/28 call closes on 30 October 2026, and the PhD fellowship call closes on 1 December. This guide covers the Research Grants Council (RGC) schemes, who may apply, what the published ceilings and success rates are, and what the Health Bureau’s separate medical fund offers. Every figure comes from an official page we read on 10 October 2026, and we mark the ones we could not confirm.

Editverse is independent. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the RGC, the University Grants Committee (UGC), the Health Bureau or any Hong Kong university. Call terms change between cycles, so treat this page as a map and the current call letter as the authority.

How Hong Kong RGC Grants Work and Who Can Apply

The RGC is administered by the UGC Secretariat. Apart from the PhD fellowship and the Health and Medical Research Fund, the schemes below are open only to staff of UGC-funded universities. The GRF and ECS call letter tells applicants to direct enquiries to their university’s research office, and applications go through the RGC electronic system, as the how-to-apply page explains.

The staff rules repeat across the GRF, ECS, CRF, RIF and Humanities and Social Sciences fellowship pages. The applicant must hold a full-time appointment at the university proper, at Staff Grade A to I (Professor down to Assistant Lecturer), spend at least 80 percent of their time on degree or higher-degree work, and have a salary wholly funded by the university. Staff paid from external grants are excluded.

In practice that means two deadlines. The RGC sets the closing date in the system, and your research office sets an earlier internal date to check and submit. Ask for the internal date before you plan your writing weeks.

Dates That Matter Now

If you are applying to the GRF or ECS, 30 October 2026 is twenty days after we read the page. The RGC page for the CRF still shows open for application although its 2026/27 deadline has passed, so read the call letter and not the banner.

General Research Fund (GRF)

The GRF supplements universities’ own research support to researchers who have achieved or have the potential to achieve excellence, across basic and applied work (GRF page). Each person may submit one application as principal investigator. The GRF 2027/28 guidance notes dated August 2026 set the rules.

• The call letter says grant size per project is normally up to HK$2 million, with lower thresholds of HK$150,000 for Biology and Medicine, Engineering and Physical Sciences and HK$100,000 for Business and the Humanities and Social Sciences (call letter).
• The guidance notes give an upper limit of HK$1.6 million for Biology and Medicine and Engineering, with higher amounts considered exceptionally. The two documents differ, so check which applies to your panel.
• Duration is normally up to 3 years, and 4 to 5 years are allowed for justified cases.

The RGC reported the 2026/27 round on 26 June 2026. There were 4,215 GRF applications and 1,277 were funded, about HK$1.04 billion in total, a success rate of about 30 percent that the RGC called similar to the previous year (press release). Its award statistics list 1,164 GRF projects funded in 2025/26.

Early Career Scheme (ECS)

The ECS nurtures junior academics and prepares them for a career in education and research. It started in 2012/13, and ECS applications are reviewed in a separate panel session, so junior applicants compete with each other (ECS page). The ECS 2027/28 guidance notes state the eligibility rule.

• The applicant must be within 3 years of a first full-time tenure-track or substantiation-track Assistant Professor job or equivalent. For 2027/28, the appointment must have taken effect on or after 31 October 2023.
• Applicants choose the ECS or the GRF, not both, and a person can hold the ECS once only.
• Duration is up to 5 years if the applicant is in year one of the job, 4 years in year two and 3 years in year three.
• The Early Career Award is an honorary title. The page quotes HK$100,000 for a funded project rated outstanding with a satisfactory education plan, and HK$50,000 for projects with a satisfactory education plan. Read the page for how the amounts combine.

Ceilings follow the GRF figures in the call letter. In 2026/27, 617 ECS applications were received and 206 were funded, about HK$140 million and a success rate of about 33 percent.

Collaborative Research Fund and Research Impact Fund

The Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) has three grants, the Collaborative Research Project Grant (CRPG), the Collaborative Research Equipment Grant (CREG) and the Young Collaborative Research Grant (YCRG). It supports multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary projects across disciplines and universities. According to the 2026/27 call letter, net RGC funding is HK$2 million to HK$10 million for CRPG and CREG, and HK$2 million to HK$5 million for YCRG. CRPG and CREG projects normally last up to 3 years, with 4 to 5 years if justified.

The YCRG began as a pilot in 2022/23 and became a regular grant from 2025/26. The project coordinator and at least half the co-investigators must be at Staff Grade C to I and within 3 years of a full-time Associate Professor or lower job, or within 12 years of postdoctoral experience, whichever is shorter. Visiting scholars are not eligible.

Success is low. The RGC reflective report for 2025/26 shows 411 CRPG and CREG preliminary proposals with 29 funded (7.1 percent), and 206 YCRG preliminary proposals with 13 recommended (6.3 percent). The process starts with a preliminary proposal, a shortlist notified in June or July, interviews by year end and results in early January.

The Research Impact Fund (RIF) encourages impactful and translational research with partners beyond academia. It requires a 70 percent RGC and 30 percent matching split, with up to HK$10 million from the RGC per project for 3 to 5 years. The 2026/27 call stated a net RGC request of HK$3 million to HK$10 million and a HK$75 million budget reserve. Thirteen RIF projects were funded in 2025/26. We could not find an official RIF success rate.

Theme-based Research Scheme

The Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) focuses university research on themes of strategic importance to Hong Kong, through four themes and 21 grand challenge topics. Projects run up to 5 years with a direct project cost ceiling of HK$75 million. Anyone eligible for the GRF may apply, and each person may submit one application as coordinator under the TRS or the Areas of Excellence scheme in an exercise.

The 17th round for 2027/28 added a topic called Low Altitude, Aerospace and Space Technologies (call letter and press release of 29 July 2026). Its preliminary proposals closed on 11 September 2026. The 2026/27 reflective report shows 103 applications with 8 funded, a success rate of 7.8 percent.

Fellowships for PhD Students and Senior Academics

The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme attracts the world’s best PhD students to Hong Kong. For 2026/27 the stipend is HK$344,400 a year plus HK$14,400 a year for conference and research travel, for up to 3 years. There are 400 fellowships for 2027/28, and applications open from 1 September to 1 December 2026 at 12 noon HKT. Applicants apply for admission to a maximum of two programmes. It is a student fellowship, not a faculty grant.

The Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow Schemes give 60 months of support, about HK$5.6 million per award for the Research Fellow Scheme and about HK$8.5 million for the Senior scheme, with about ten places each per year. Each university may nominate up to six candidates per scheme. Candidates need at least three years of continuous service at the nominating university, and must be under 55 or have at least five years before retirement age. Nominations are due on 30 November 2026.

The Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme gives up to HK$1 million for up to 12 months, with each university nominating up to five candidates. Ten awards were made in 2025/26 (award statistics).

Health and Medical Research Fund

The Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) belongs to the Health Bureau, not the RGC. It builds research capacity and supports work that informs policy and practice. Per the December 2025 press release, applications come from locally based tertiary institutions, hospitals, medical schools, non-governmental organisations and other appropriate centres, and the principal applicant must be employed by a Hong Kong-based administering institution throughout the project. It is therefore not limited to UGC-funded universities.

Investigator-initiated projects run up to HK$1.5 million for up to 3 years, and a seed grant is HK$500,000, according to the HMRF page. Each principal applicant may submit one application. The 2025 open call ran from 18 December 2025 to 31 March 2026 through the eGMS system, and the Health Bureau news page showed no 2026 call as of 8 September 2026. The statistics page is a script-based dashboard marked as illustrative, so we quote no HMRF success rate.

Which of the Hong Kong RGC Grants Fits Your Career Stage

This table is Editverse’s reading of the published rules. It is a starting point for a conversation with your research office, not a ruling.

For funders in other regions, compare Singapore research grants, Malaysia research grants, Saudi Arabia research grants and UAE research grants. Hong Kong publishes success rates for several schemes, which helps you judge risk.

What Panels and Research Offices Reward

The RGC pages are consistent about the questions a panel asks, and the points below are our judgement on how to answer them.

• Make significance, novelty and feasibility legible on a first read, because panels read many proposals under time pressure.
• For the ECS, frame your track record as potential, and for the GRF as achievement, since the two schemes are judged on different grounds.
• Keep the budget inside the allowed categories and check which ceiling applies to your panel. Our budget justification guide and timeline guide help.
• Show feasibility with preliminary studies, and give each team member a clear role.
• State an outputs plan, and plan the analysis and knowledge translation sections early.
• Send your research office a complete draft before its internal deadline, and keep a copy of the guidance notes you wrote against.

Pre-Submission Checklist for Hong Kong RGC Grants

• Confirm the call letter and closing date for your scheme and year.
• Ask your research office for its internal deadline and checking steps.
• Check staff grade, time-allocation and funding-source rules.
• Check ECS eligibility dates against your appointment start date.
• Confirm which ceiling applies to your panel, the call letter or the guidance notes.
• Prepare ethics approvals or a dated plan for them.
• Plan how you will cite the award, using our funding acknowledgment guide.
• Read our grant writing guide and the NIH proposal guide for structure, then fit the content to the RGC criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hong Kong RGC Grants

When is the GRF and ECS deadline?

The 2027/28 call has the RGC electronic system open from 21 August to 30 October 2026. Your university sets an earlier internal date.

What is the GRF success rate?

For 2026/27 the RGC reported 4,215 applications, 1,277 funded, about 30 percent. The ECS rate was about 33 percent, with 206 funded from 617.

How much can I request from the GRF?

The call letter says normally up to HK$2 million, while the guidance notes give HK$1.6 million as the upper limit for Biology and Medicine and Engineering. Check both against your panel.

Can I apply if I am not at a UGC-funded university?

Not to the GRF, ECS, CRF, RIF or TRS. The Health and Medical Research Fund accepts applications from hospitals, medical schools and non-governmental organisations as well as tertiary institutions.

Can Editverse guarantee funding?

No honest service can. Awards rest with panels and funders. We can edit and structure your proposal so that it answers the published criteria.

Professional Support for Hong Kong RGC Grants Applications

Funded proposals answer a specific call document, line by line. Editverse offers a service built for GRF and ECS drafts, and two broader grant services for resubmissions and full proposals. Send us the call letter and your deadline, and we scope the work against the criteria it states.

For anything the packages do not cover, read about our grant proposal development services or request a free quote and tell us the scheme and your deadline. Prices shown are current catalog prices and scope is confirmed before work begins.

Conclusion on Hong Kong RGC Grants

Hong Kong RGC Grants give researchers at UGC-funded universities a clear ladder. The ECS and GRF suit individual projects at success rates near 30 percent, while collaborative and theme-based schemes fund between 6 and 8 percent of applications, and the Research Impact Fund publishes no rate we could find. The Health and Medical Research Fund opens medical funding to hospitals and other organisations.

Before you draft, read the call letter for your year, ask your research office for its internal deadline, and check which ceiling applies. If you plan to apply this cycle, start now, because the GRF and ECS system closes on 30 October 2026.

Sources

Official pages read on 10 October 2026. Grant terms change between cycles, so always confirm against the current call.

• UGC and RGC, General Research Fund
• UGC and RGC, Early Career Scheme
• RGC, GRF and ECS 2027/28 call letter
• RGC, GRF 2027/28 guidance notes
• RGC, ECS 2027/28 guidance notes
• RGC, how to apply
• UGC and RGC, Collaborative Research Fund
• RGC, CRF 2026/27 call letter
• RGC, CRF reflective report 2025/26
• UGC and RGC, Research Impact Fund
• RGC, RIF 2026/27 call letter
• UGC and RGC, Theme-based Research Scheme
• RGC, TRS call letter
• RGC, TRS reflective report 2026/27
• UGC and RGC, Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme
• UGC and RGC, Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow Schemes
• UGC and RGC, Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme
• Hong Kong Government, RGC funding results, 26 June 2026
• Hong Kong Government, TRS 2027/28 call, 29 July 2026
• RGC, award statistics
• Hong Kong Government, HMRF open call, 18 December 2025
• Health Bureau, HMRF investigator-initiated research projects
• Health Bureau, what’s new