Development of Expertise in Research Funding Administration

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what specific steps have the relevant agencies taken to develop expert programme managers for research funding administration; (b) what percentage of current programme managers have personally led research projects resulting in peer-reviewed publications or patents in the last five years; and (c) what percentage of evaluators for Statutory Board-administered research grant calls have held senior technical roles in industry directly related to the proposals they evaluate.

Agencies decide whether to fund research projects based on the evaluation criteria specified according to the agencies’ needs. The evaluation is conducted by persons with relevant experience, who could be from academia or industry. Project administration, which covers activities, including grant administration and reporting, project lifecycle management and strategic planning, is done by programme managers.

Good programme management and a healthy research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem require a combination of skills, competencies and talents, including deep scientific expertise, strong project management skills and administration capabilities and experience. These capabilities are developed and maintained through specialised training, learning on the job and other professional development activities.

Projects that are Statutory Board-administered have to be aligned with the broader development plans of the Statutory Board. Project evaluation is based on the criteria specified by the Statutory Board. The composition of evaluation panels is aligned with the nature of the research grant calls. Where appropriate, these panels would include reviewers with relevant industry experience so as to enable rigorous evaluation of research proposals for both scientific merit and potential industry impact.