The current Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government adopts various channels to foster a public policy research culture in the city in order to follow the direction announced by our country in 2023 which called for a strong culture of conducting research and studies, particularly in the area of public policy.

As the government’s in-house research unit, the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit (CEPU) plays a significant role in this endeavor. For instance, through the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (PPRFS) and the Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (SPPRFS), the CEPU provides funding support to tertiary institutions and think tanks to conduct evidence-based public policy research on a wide range of topics with a view to making policy recommendations to the government, with a particular focus on local issues.

I have been participating in the work of the Assessment Panel of the PPRFS and the SPPRFS since 2013 and have witnessed changes in the programs over the years. In particular, after the CEPU took over the administration of the two funding programs in 2022, different enhancement measures were introduced to speed up and enable accurate translation of research findings into policy recommendations to provide timely reference for the government.

To ensure that the research outcomes are of use to policy formulation, various government bureaus have played a bigger role in setting the research themes and areas in recent years. For instance, most of the proposals in the SPPRFS 2023-24 were considered relevant or highly relevant to policies by the bureau concerned. In light of the fast-changing social environment, the duration of the SPPRFS research projects has been expanded since 2023-24 to range from one to five years instead of three to five years.

This is to ensure that the reference value of research outcomes will not diminish over a prolonged project duration, while providing greater flexibility to the research teams. In addition, the research teams are encouraged to disseminate results progressively during the research process so that they can be used for timely reference. This arrangement can enable the research teams to receive feedback from stakeholders, on which basis they can refine their eventual policy recommendations, thus ensuring that such recommendations can be effectively and practically translated into policy and be more attuned to the circumstances and needs of society.

Both funding programs adopt the “peer review” mechanism, which is internationally recognized as effective, fair and impartial. To ensure that the research findings can serve as useful reference for the government, the views of relevant bureaus and departments are also considered during the assessment process.

As different research projects have different research scopes, objectives and methodologies, the resources required will also vary. Therefore, when vetting applications, the assessment panel will consider whether the budget is prudent, realistic and cost-effective; whether the schedule of implementation is well-planned and practicable; and whether the duration is reasonable. Usually, researchers of tertiary institutions do not receive additional income for their participation in research projects, and project expenses here are also much lower than in most of Europe and America. I believe that the funding programs offer excellent value for money.

To enhance transparency and accountability, one of the special features of the two funding programs is that the full text of research reports rated “satisfactory” is uploaded onto the CEPU’s website for ready access by the public. At present, over 240 research reports of the funded projects are available on the CEPU’s website. Also, the quantitative empirical data generated from funded projects is uploaded onto the CEPU’s website and data.gov.hk five years after project completion to facilitate the wider dissemination and re-use of public information. This is conducive to Hong Kong’s development as a knowledge-based economy. Such arrangements are also the first of their kind among various research funding programs in Hong Kong.

I strongly believe public policy research is very important because it can provide directions for government in policy formulation. We can think of Hong Kong as a motor car, with public policy research providing a map for us to reduce the risk of going astray. Whether it be internal research conducted by the CEPU or increases in expenditure on research funding, the current-term government strongly emphasizes the importance of policy research, which I believe is the right direction. There are no quick fixes for many social problems and in view of this, the need for evidence-based public policies is ever more significant.

The PPRFS accepts applications throughout the year, while the SPPRFS is open for applications once a year in general. I hope that the two funding programs will support more valuable research projects, so as to provide the government with practical recommendations for promoting social development.

The author is chairman of the Assessment Panel of the PPRFS and SPPRFS; associate vice-president, chair professor of Applied Social Sciences, Li and Fung Professor in Service Leadership Education, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; and a Changjiang Scholar (Changjiang Chair Professor).

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.