The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) promotes equal opportunities through the “Funding Programme of Research Projects on Equal Opportunities” (Funding Programme). Riding on the success of the three rounds of the Funding Programme carried out in 2013/14, 2017/18 and 2020/21 respectively, the EOC is launching the Funding Programme again in 2025/26, which provides support to eligible academics and organisations with inspiring ideas to undertake innovative research projects.

The Funding Programme 2025/26 is now open for application. It aims to fund research projects related to the four anti-discrimination ordinances, thereby eliminating discriminatory acts as defined by the ordinances and promoting equal opportunities.

Priority will be given to project focusing on one or more of the following themes:

• Lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities, or lack of universal design for people with diverse needs (e.g. family with prams or young children, the elderly, mature caregivers, or ethnic minorities) in the provision of goods, services and/or environments in certain industries or on online platforms;
• Employment opportunities for ethnic minorities in certain industries;
• Policies/policy-making processes, or gaps in addressing the difficulties and needs of caregivers in taking care of specific type(s) of care recipients;
• Breastfeeding-friendly workplaces;
• Gender stereotypes in occupations and industries currently dominated by a gender;
• Sexual harassment in industries which have not been covered in research previously conducted by the EOC; and
• Intersectionality of discrimination issues based on different attributes covered by the four anti-discrimination ordinances.

The deadline for submitting applications is 25 February 2025 (Tuesday), 5:00pm. 

Interested parties can obtain details of the Funding Programme, including Application Guide, Application Form, and Enrolment Form for the briefing session, by visiting this website: https://www.eoc.org.hk/en/policy-advocacy-and-research/funding-programme-of-research-projects-on-equal-opportunities/2025-26.

A briefing session will be held on 17 December 2024 to introduce the Funding Programme 2025/26. Interested parties may enrol in the briefing session by completing and returning the Enrolment Form to the EOC by 13 December 2024.

For enquiries about the Funding Programme 2025/26, please call 2106 2255 or send email to prtdevent@eoc.org.hk.

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