The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced on 30 June 2022 the results of its latest round of funding decisions after considering applications for funding from various local universities for the 2022/23 General Research Fund (GRF), Early Career Scheme (ECS) and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS).
 
In this latest round of funding by the RGC, FLASS has secured financial support totalling HK$6.63 million. We at FLASS are glad to see that seven of our project proposals were granted funding from the GRF, successfully securing a funding amount of HK$5.2 million. One project from the Department of Health and Physical Education was awarded a total funding amount of HK$590,000 from the ECS. In addition, two projects from FLASS were selected as recipients for the HSSPFS, representing a funding amount of HK$840,000. The principal investigators of these two projects are Dr Chan Man-ho of the Department of Science and Environmental Studies and Dr Pei Qing from the Department of Social Sciences.
 
The HSSPFS was established to recognise excellence in the humanities and social sciences research. The scheme provides extended time off and supporting funds to outstanding investigators under the disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel, enabling them to focus on research work and writing.
 
Professor Li Wai-keung, Dean of FLASS and Research Chair Professor of Data Science, praised the diligence of all scholars at FLASS as they prepared for and participated in the latest round of funding applications for the RGC. “My sincere congratulations go to our colleagues whose funding applications were successful. Even though some of our proposals were not chosen in this round of funding, we still greatly appreciate the considerable efforts our colleagues made in submitting their proposals. The funding application process has become increasingly competitive in recent years. Whether our research proposals receive external funding or not, I believe all of us will remain resilient in our work and continue to exhibit a high standard of quality in our research projects,” said Professor Li.

Summary of funding application results
 
FLASS’s recipients of 2022/23 General Research Fund (GRF)

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Department
Subject Discipline: Psychology and Linguistics
A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Online Benefit-finding Intervention for Dementia Family Caregivers	Professor Cheng Sheung-Tak	Chair Professor, HPE
Why Does Learning to Ride a Bike Improve Executive Functions in Children with ASD?	Dr Andy Tse Choi-yeung	Associate Professor, HPE
Subject Discipline: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Reducing Loneliness among Hong Kong Older Adults: A Three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial	Professor Chou Kee-lee	Chair Professor, APS
Technocrats and Mid-level Policy Entrepreneurship in China: Explaining Local Policy Innovations in the Social Welfare Arena	Dr Alex He Jingwei	Associate Professor, APS
Subject Discipline: Physical Sciences
Detecting Dark Matter Signals by Radio Observations	Dr Chan Man-ho	Associate Professor, SES
Activated Carbon Made from Rice Husks and Coconut Shells as Feed Supplement for Reducing Uptake of Metal/Loids, PAHs and PCBs by Nile Tilapia	Dr Brian Man Yu-bon	Assistant Professor, SES
Subject Discipline: Mathematics
Wellposedness and Singularity Formation of Inviscid Active Scalar Equations with Even or Odd Constitutive Laws	Dr Anthony Suen Chun-kit	Assistant Professor, MIT

FLASS’s recipient of 2022/23 Early Career Scheme (ECS)

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Department
Subject Discipline: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Examining Hong Kong Older Adult’s Intention in Esports Participation, Using Theory of Planned Behaviours	Dr Carman Leung Ka-man	Assistant Professor, HPE

FLASS’s recipients of 2022/23 Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS)

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Department
Subject Discipline: Social and Behavioural Sciences
A Bayesian Approach to Precipitation Reconstruction in China During the Little Ice Age Based on Archives of Societies	Dr Pei Qing	Associate Professor, SSC
Subject Discipline: Humanities and Arts
Evaluating the Panentheistic Properties of Our Natural World	Dr Chan Man-ho	Associate Professor, SES