Welcome to the Research Fund Secretariat website.  Here you will find all the information about our work, including funding opportunities under the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) and relevant application and assessment procedures, plus reports of completed projects.

The HMRF was established by the Health Bureau (HHB) in 2011 to make funding health-related scientific research more effective, by consolidating two former funds (the Health and Health Services Research Fund and the Research Fund for Control of Infectious Diseases) while also expanding the funding scope and injecting HK$1 billion into the consolidated fund.  In 2016, the approved commitment of the HMRF was increased by HK$1.5 billion to further expand its scope to incorporate the Health Care and Promotion Fund (HCPF), so as to achieve synergy and efficiency, and enhance flexibility in the deployment of funds.

The expanded HMRF provides support for the health promotion projects in addition to the support for health and medical research, research infrastructure, and research capacity building initiatives.  With added resources and a strengthened emphasis on evidence-based research, the HMRF will be able to fund health promotion projects of larger scale and bigger capacity for community participation, and facilitate the translation of science into practice through collaboration and partnership between academics and community organisations.  In 2021, the approved commitment of the HMRF was further increased by $1.3 billion to sustain its operation of the HMRF and to enhance its funding scope.

The HMRF is governed by the Research Council (RC), which provides strategic leadership and oversight. We, being the Research Fund Secretariat, are the executive arm of the RC. Since 1995, we have supported around 2,000 medical research and health promotion projects. We seek to ensure that funding opportunities are announced effectively, applications for funding are peer-reviewed rigorously, funded projects are monitored appropriately, completed projects are assessed fairly, and results are disseminated to the wider community in accordance with clearly laid-out guidelines.   All completed projects are evaluated to determine their outputs and impacts.

The HHB has long supported local health and medical research, as well as health promotion projects.   This support allows new knowledge derived from local research to be applied to local healthcare practice and health policy.   We will continue to foster excellence in research by engaging overseas and local experts to improving the health outcomes and quality of healthcare for our community.  Our ultimate goal is to see to it that the research findings generated by our funds are used to inform health policy and can be translated into more effective and efficient medical and health services for the benefit of everyone in Hong Kong.

I hope you will find the resources on this website helpful.  If you have any suggestions and comments about this website, please e-mail rfs@healthbureau.gov.hk. Thank you.

Research Fund Secretariat

Back to Top