Call for Proposals: Stone Research Grants

The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Centre on Socio-Economic Inequality in Asia (“HKU Stone Centre”) invites research proposals for its annual Stone Research Grants. These grants are designed to support faculty-led research that deepens our understanding of wealth and income inequality in Asia and beyond.

Eligibility

All full-time professoriate staff and Research Assistant Professors from the HKU Business School and Faculty of Social Sciences are eligible to apply, either as individual Principal Investigators (PIs) or as part of a collaborative team. Priority is given to Internal Affiliates of the Stone Centre. Applications with multiple PIs must clearly define each investigator’s role and demonstrate how the project forms a cohesive research theme.

Collaboration with scholars outside HKU, particularly at institutions across Asia, is encouraged. External collaborators may serve as Co-Investigators. Research teams may also include postdoctoral researchers and PhD students as contributing members under the supervision of the faculty PI(s).

Funding Details

Each grant provides up to HK$100,000 to support a one-year research project. Funds must be directly allocated to research activities, including but not limited to:

• Hiring research assistants
• Procurement of data, software subscriptions, or essential equipment
• Project-related travel (e.g., for fieldwork)

Requests for funding above this threshold may be considered on a merit basis. All expenditures must adhere to HKU’s financial and research guidelines. Any unspent funds are to be returned to the Centre upon project completion.

Proposal Evaluation

Grants are awarded competitively based on the following criteria:

• Intellectual Merit: The scholarly soundness, innovation, and feasibility of the research proposal.
• Alignment: The project’s relevance to the Stone Centre’s mission of understanding the causes, consequences, and potential remedies of wealth and income inequality.
• Research Capacity: The PI(s)’s track record in publications and grant procurement over the past three years.
• External Funding Potential: A clear plan to leverage this grant to pursue larger, external competitive funding.
• Collaboration: The inclusion of multi-disciplinary perspectives, with special encouragement for new collaborative partnerships.
• Outputs & Impact: Clear expected deliverables, such as research papers, future grant applications, impact case studies, or the organization of symposia, workshops, or conferences.

Acknowledgement Requirement

All research outputs (publications, presentations, reports, etc.) arising from this grant must include the following acknowledgement:
“This research was supported by a grant from the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Centre on Socio-Economic Inequality in Asia.”

Terms and Conditions

1. All awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.
2. Grant funds are to be used exclusively for the activities approved in the awarded proposal. Any significant deviation in budget or timeline requires prior written approval from the Stone Centre.
3. Unspent funds at the end of the grant period must be returned to the Stone Centre.
4. The acknowledgement statement above must be included in any publication or external communication resulting from the funded work.
5. A final summary report is due to the Stone Centre within three months of the project’s conclusion.

Key Dates

• Applications Open: April 1, 2026
• Application Deadline: April 24, 2026
• Notification of Results: mid-May, 2026

Application Process

Applications must be submitted via email to stonecentre@hku.hk by the deadline stated above.