Transcript Sharing talk for RGC

“How to write good proposals”
(re HSSPFS)
CHU Hung-lam
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Write to convince and instill confidence –
serious and substantive and coherent
Clear and lucid – informed and logical, clearly
thought through – to the understanding even
of non-experts



Show relevance of the project to a line of inquiry, its
relationship to major issues in a field
Identify the research issues at stake, articulate their
significance, explain the need to research them
Focus on a theme and delineate the boundary – keep
the research under control


Show the project’s originality – promise something
new but not totally new, relate it to your past or
evolving research
Show your ability to conduct and research and
deliver the results

Explain and justify your research and work plans,
including the research and the write-up




What part(s) will be done by you and when
What part(s) will be done by others (RA or
collaborator) and when
Show the connection, interconnectedness and
integrity of teamwork
(HSSPFS) Present justification for the need of your
project to be done here and now


Follow the guidelines of the applications – e.g.,
observe the word counts, use bullet-points for
presentation of aims and proposed output
Be honest to yourself – don’t let the editor
dominate your language and idea in the proposal;
let your track record reflect, inform and count for
it.


For historical studies (and for literature and social
sciences studies?): don’t think that basic research
(data and textual research) are too basic to be
fundable; rather, show your way and ability to
gather and exploit the source materials for a
solution to the research issues involved
For philosophical studies: questions better be “big”
(especially when no empirical data need to be
gathered and exploited) to justify the “time” you
need for the argument
aim and need of the research must be clear
 issues to tackle must be specific
 work plan must be realistic
 output proposed must be quantifiable
 language must be unpretentious
