Writing the HKPFS Research Proposal

What the Proposal Must Do

Your research proposal has one job: convince an interdisciplinary panel of academics — who are not all specialists in your field — that you have identified a real research problem, that you have a credible plan to investigate it, and that you are the person capable of carrying it out.

This sounds simple. Most proposals fail on the third point. They describe an interesting topic but don't show why the applicant, specifically, should be the one to study it.

What to Include

• Research question or problem — what specific gap, puzzle or challenge are you addressing?
• Background and significance — why does this matter? What has been done before and where does your work fit?
• Objectives — clear, numbered research aims.
• Methodology — how will you actually do this work? What data, methods or approaches?
• Expected outcomes — what will you produce, and what does that contribute?
• Feasibility — can this realistically be done in three years?
• References — cite all works you draw on; originality is required.

The Interdisciplinary Panel Problem

The RGC runs two selection panels: one for Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology; another for Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies. Each panel reviews hundreds of proposals across dozens of subfields. A panel member reviewing your neuroscience proposal may be a computer scientist. A panel member reviewing your political theory proposal may be an economist.

Your proposal must make sense to someone outside your exact niche. This does not mean dumbing it down — it means writing with clarity. Every technical term you use without explanation is a sentence where you've lost half your readers.

Specificity Is the Signal

The most common weakness in HKPFS proposals is breadth without depth. Applicants describe a general research area — climate adaptation, drug delivery systems, postcolonial literature — without specifying what precise question they will answer, how they will answer it, or why that question matters now.

Specific proposals signal that you have thought this through. Vague proposals signal that you haven't.

Ask yourself these questions before submitting

• Can I state my research question in one sentence?
• Could someone else read this and understand what I'll actually be doing day-to-day?
• Have I explained why my question is unanswered, not just why it's interesting?
• Is my methodology specific enough that a reviewer can assess whether it's feasible?
• Have I shown that I, with my background, am positioned to do this work?

Feasibility Within Three Years

HKPFS funds you for three years (with university extension typically available for Year 4). Your proposal should describe work that is achievable within this timeframe. A proposal with four experimental paradigms, three datasets, international fieldwork and a new theoretical framework risks looking unrealistic.

Better to propose one tightly scoped question and describe it thoroughly than to sketch a five-year programme in three pages.

Don't Write in Past Tense

A specific mistake worth flagging: do not describe your proposed research in past tense. Writing “I studied X” or “I analyzed Y” creates the impression that this work is already done — which raises immediate “double-dipping” concerns on the panel. Write in the future tense throughout: “I will study,” “I plan to analyze.”

Publications: Required or Not?

No publications are required to win HKPFS. Awardees without any prior publications exist. However, if you have publications, conference papers or even preprints, they are significant evidence for the “research ability and potential” criterion. Include them. If you don't have any, a strong proposal plus compelling recommendation letters that speak to your research potential can compensate.

The Personal Statement (Four Essays)

Separate from the research proposal, your university’s HKPFS application asks for a personal or “vision” statement that addresses the four selection criteria (HKUST and PolyU both call it a Vision Statement). Think of each section as corresponding to one criterion:

• Academic excellence — your record, top results, intellectual achievements.
• Research ability — what research you've done and what it demonstrates about your potential.
• Communication skills — examples of explaining complex ideas to different audiences.
• Leadership — evidence of leading teams, initiatives or community contributions.

What Strong Proposals Have in Common

• A research question that any intelligent reader can understand after one reading
• Clear connection between problem, method and expected contribution
• Evidence that the applicant's background specifically qualifies them for this question
• Acknowledgment of related work and why it leaves your question open
• A tone that is confident without being overreaching
• All cited sources properly referenced
• Content that is entirely original — no unattributed text