Applications are accepted all year round.  They will be considered by a Vetting Committee on a quarterly basis. Meetings of the Vetting Committee are usually held in March, June, September and December each year.

No application fee is charged.

The required documents include:

• a. Duly completed and signed Application Form, with a soft copy (in MS Word Format);
• b. Registration documents of the applicant (if applicable) – Business Registration Certificate, Certificate of Incorporation, Certificate of Registration of a Society, Certificate of Registration of Trade Union; 
• c. Supplementary information, such as the Articles of Association or Constitution (if applicable), to prove that the applicant is non-profit-distributing in nature; and
• d. Letter of support from collaborating organisations (if applicable).
•  
• The original of the above supporting documents may be required for verification upon request.

The TSF Secretariat provides one-on-one consultation to eligible organisations to assist them in preparing applications. Your organisation may send the draft proposal to the Secretariat to request a meeting at least two weeks before the intended formal submission of application.

The completed Application Form together with the required supporting documents should be sent to the TSF Secretariat electronically, in person or by post (Address: 15/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong). If the application is submitted electronically, the applicant shall send the soft copy of the Application Form and the supporting documents with a valid digital signature of its authorised person supported by a recognised e-cert (Organisational) to the email address: tsf_apply@tid.gov.hk.

A rejected application may be resubmitted only if its content has been revised substantially or if the applicant is able to produce supplementary evidence to address the comments made by the Vetting Committee. A resubmitted application is treated as a new application and will be subject to the same assessment procedures.

The TSF Secretariat will conduct a preliminary assessment of all applications and seek clarification or supplementary information from the applicants. The applications will then be considered on a quarterly basis by a Vetting Committee, which is chaired by the Director-General of Trade and Industry (DGTI) and comprises members from various sectors.  Where necessary, comments and advice will be sought from other Government departments and experts.

All applications will be assessed according to its usefulness to non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors, its cost-effectiveness, the project implementation plan, etc. Details of the vetting criteria are set out in paragraph 3.3 of the Guide to Application.

The Vetting Committee usually meets in March, June, September and December to consider applications received in the immediate preceding quarter.

Under normal circumstances, applicants will be informed of the assessment result around one month after the respective meetings of the Vetting Committee.

Please refer to the table below for the vetting timeline:

The TSF Secretariat will notify the applicant of the assessment result in writing. If an application is rejected, the TSF Secretariat will inform the applicant the reasons for the decision.

The successful applicant (i.e. the grantee) is required to revise the project proposal, where necessary, and submit it together with a cash flow projection for the project (if applicable) to the Secretariat. The revised project proposal and cash flow projection will be further examined by the Secretariat. The grantee is then required to sign a Project Agreement with the Government, and the approved project proposal, the cash flow projection (if applicable) and the TSF Guide to Application will be appended to and form part of the Project Agreement.

The successful applicant (i.e. the grantee) is required to sign a Project Agreement with the Government and to comply with all the terms and conditions set out in the Project Agreement, the Guide to Application and the directives and correspondences issued by DGTI from time to time in respect of the project. The Project Agreement will cover the additional obligations, undertakings and indemnity of the grantee, the payment of the grant, treatment of intellectual property rights, conflict of interest and governing law and jurisdiction, etc.

To facilitate monitoring and evaluation of funded projects, the grantee is required to submit progress report(s) and audited accounts (for projects with two or three instalments), a final report and final audited accounts, and a post-project evaluation report to the Secretariat according to the specified schedule set out in the Project Agreement.

The grantee shall procure or lease equipment, goods or services for the project according to the following procedures:

a. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value not exceeding HK$5,000, quotations are not required if the project coordinator is satisfied that the prices obtained are reasonable and confirms so in the Progress/Final Reports.

b. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over $5,000 but not exceeding HK$50,000, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 2 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

c. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$50,000 but not exceeding HK$300,000, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 3 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

d. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$300,000 but not exceeding HK$1.4 million, the grantee shall invite quotations in writing from at least 5 suppliers or service providers or lessors and accept the lowest conforming bid.

e. For procurement or leasing with aggregate value over HK$1.4 million, the grantee shall use open and competitive tendering procedures and accept the lowest conforming bid.

If the lowest conforming bid is not selected, prior written consent must be obtained from DGTI and full justifications shall be given.

With the objectives of ensuring openness, fairness and value for money, the grantee shall not divide procurement or lease requirements into instalments or reduce the usual duration of contracts with the purpose or effect of evading the need to obtain quotations or abusing the procedures; or bundle procurement or lease requirements of unrelated nature into one single quotation.

For grantees that are universities or statutory organisations, they may adhere to their established standard procurement procedures subject to the approval of the Vetting Committee. Those who wish to apply for this exemption should send a copy of the relevant procedures to the Secretariat for consideration by the Vetting Committee before signing of the Agreement.

The TSF will not provide additional grant to an approved project after signing the Project Agreement. The grantee is required to pay for any over expenditure of the project.

Such transfer is only allowed for an expenditure item if its actual expenditure does not exceed the original approved budgeted amount by 20% or the revised amount does not exceed $100,000. Otherwise, DGTI's prior written approval is required. In no case should such transfer increase the total approved expenditure of the project.

All intellectual property rights in the project materials (other than Third Party Materials) shall be and remain vested in the grantee immediately upon creation.