Welcome to the website of the Research Fund Secretariat where you will find information about local health and medical research funding opportunities, relevant application and assessment procedures and reports of completed projects.

The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) has long supported local researchers interested in basic and applied health research, and continues to do so through two premier funds: Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) and Health Care and Promotion Fund (HCPF) . The Research Council (RC) and the Health Care and Promotion Fund Committee (HCPFC) oversee the administration of the HMRF and the HCPF respectively.

The HMRF was established in December 2011 by consolidating the former Health and Health Services Research Fund (HHSRF) and Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (RFCID) into a single fund, broadening the funding scope to include advanced medical research and injecting an additional HK$1 billion. The HMRF provides coordinated financial support to researchers in a wide variety of health and medical disciplines to ensure that health policy, clinical practice and health service planning and provision are guided by locally generated evidence.

The HCPF was established in 1995 with a grant amount of HK$80 million to support efforts on health promotion and disease prevention. It aims to improve population health by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles by enhancing awareness, changing behaviour or creating an environment that supports good health practices, and by building partnership between public, private and non-governmental organisations to promote health in the community.

As the executive arm of the RC and the HCPFC, the Research Fund Secretariat aims to ensure that announcements for funding opportunities are promulgated and disseminated effectively, applications for funding are peer-reviewed rigorously, funded projects are monitored closely, completed projects are assessed fairly and results are disseminated to the wider community in accordance with clearly laid-out guidelines.

Since 2002, the funds administered by the FHB have supported over 1,000 projects. Evaluations are conducted regularly by the Research Fund Secretariat to assess the outputs and impacts of completed projects and have found that the knowledge generated has been useful in informing health policies and improving healthcare practices and services in Hong Kong.

Our goal is to ensure that research findings generated by our funds are translated into improved delivery of medical and health services to the local community so that the people of Hong Kong enjoy longer and more productive lives free from infirmity and disease.

We are confident that our work shall contribute to promoting better health outcomes and improving quality of life for the population of Hong Kong. By helping to build research capacity and capability, we are ensuring that Hong Kong develops as a regional hub for medical and health services.

We hope you will find the resources within this website helpful. If you have any comments, we will be pleased to receive them at rfs@fhb.gov.hk .

Ms Margaret Tay
Head of Research Office
Food and Health Bureau
1 April 2013