Ans.: Basically, you need a computer with an Internet connection and a supported web browser. The recommended system configurations for access to the SPPR system through the Internet are as follows:

- IBM compatible PC with minimum RAM of 128MB,

- Color display with screen resolution at 800 x 640 dpi ,

- Internet Explorer 5.5 / Netscape v6.0 or above,

- Acrobat reader 5.0 or above (for viewing of PDF files) or Acrobat writer 5.0 (for uploading PDF files) or above or equivalent

Q A2.: How to login to the SPPR system? (For all user roles)

Ans.: User can enter the website http://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk to access the SPPR system. This website will also be linked up from the RGC website http://www.ugc.edu.hk/RGC. A welcome page will pop up.

Public users do not require any user ID and password to access the ‘Public Enquiry’ function. For enquiry about information on SPPR-funded projects, simply click the ‘Search’ button on the welcome page.

For users in UGC-funded institutions (i.e. Principal Investigators, Internal Vetting Committee Chairmen, Internal Reviewers, Institutional Approving Authorities and Research Officers), please click your Institutional Logo to enter the system.

For RGC Panel Members and External Reviewers, please click the SPPR logo.

A login menu will pop up. Users have to enter the pre-assigned User ID and Password and to select their appropriate Roles, e.g. Panel Chairman, Panel Member, or External Reviewer, etc. for access to the SPPR system. The corresponding menu page for each user role will pop up. .

Q A3.: What are the roles and corresponding functions currently provided by the SPPR system?

Ans.: The following user roles and functions are currently defined in the SPPR system:

User Type	User Roles	Functions to access
Users in UGC-funded institutions	Principal Investigator	Prepare and submit Proposal to Internal Vetting Committee (IVC) / Research Office (RO) of his own institution.
		Prepare Proposal Updates and Submit Proposal Updates to RO
		Prepare Project Revision and Submit Project Revision to IVC / RO
		Prepare Project Change Request and Submit Project Revision to IVC / RO
		Prepare Annual Progress Report and Submit Annual Progress Report to IVC / RO
		Prepare Project Completion Report and Submit Project Completion Report to IVC / RO

	Research Office(RO)	Submit Proposals to RGC
		Withdraw Proposals
		Submit Proposal Updates to RGC
		Submit Project Revision to RGC
		Submit Annual Progress Report to RGC
		Submit Project Change Request to RGC
		Submit Project Completion Report to RGC
		Submit Project Financial Report to RGC

	Institution Approving Authority	Endorse Proposal for submission to RGC

	Internal Reviewers	Internal Vetting /Review of Proposals
		Internal Vetting /Review of Project Revision
		Internal Vetting /Review of Project Change Request
		Internal Vetting /Review of Annual Progress Report
		Internal Vetting /Review of Project Completion Report

	Internal Vetting Committee Chairman (1^st/ 2^nd/3^rd Level)	Internal Vetting/ Review of Proposals
		Assign Internal Vetting Reviewers to Proposals
		Internal Vetting / Endorsement of Proposals
		Internal Vetting /Review of Project Revision
		Assign Internal Vetting Reviewers to Project Revision
		Internal Vetting / Endorsement of Project Revision
		Internal Vetting / Review of Project Change Request
		Assign Internal Vetting Reviewers to Project Change Request
		Internal Vetting / Endorsement of Project Change Request
		Internal Vetting / Review of Annual Progress Report
		Assign Internal Vetting Reviewers to Annual Progress Report
		Internal Vetting / Endorsement of Annual Progress Report
		Internal Vetting / Review of Project Completion Report
		Assign Internal Vetting Reviewers to Project Completion Report
		Internal Vetting / Endorsement of Project Completion Report

RGC panel members and reviewers	Panel Chairman	Assign Panel Members to Proposals
		Nominate External Reviewer for Proposal Assessment
		Submit Preliminary Assessment
		Approve/Reject Project Revision
		Approve/Reject Project Change Request
		Review Annual Progress Report
		Nominate External Reviewer for Project Assessment
		Submit Final Assessment
		Endorse Project Final Rating

	Panel Members	Nominate External Reviewer for Proposal Assessment
		Submit Preliminary Assessment
		Approve/Reject Project Revision
		Approve/Reject Project Change Request
		Review Annual Progress Report
		Nominate External Reviewer for Project Assessment
		Submit Final Assessment

	External Reviewers	Submit Interim Reply
		Submit Proposal Assessment
		Submit Project Assessment

Q A4.: Can users have multiple roles ?

Ans.: A User may be granted with one or more user roles. As the system will grant different access rights to different roles, users who are granted with multiple roles will have to determine which role he/she should use in order to access the appropriate functions. The default user role in the login screen is “Principal Investigator” and users should select the right user role by clicking on the pull-down menu before logging into the system.

Q A5.: What should I do if the welcome page is not displayed when connected to the SPPR Website?

Ans.: One of the following situations may occur:

“System is under maintenance” is displayed, means the system is under maintenance and service would not be provided to the public. User can logout and wait for a moment and retry at a later time.

“The page cannot be displayed” shown on the browser when users click to the web site http://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk means there is network problem. Please check if the network problems are caused by user’s network provider or logout and retry..

Q A6.: When I try to login to the SPPR system by clicking on the SPPR logo or the institutional logo, a security alert dialog box about SSL Certificate is shown.

Ans.: The SPPR system employs the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol to secure communication on the Internet. The SSL uses public-key technology and digital certificates to authenticate the server in a transaction and to protect information as it passes from one party to another over the Internet. When a client sends a message to a server, the server responds and sends its digital certification for authentication. The digital certification installed on the SPPR system is issued by the local Certification Authority (CA) – the Hong Kong Post.

When user logon to the SPPR system by clicking on the SPPR logo or the institutional logo, a pop-up window has shown on IE browser to ask for permission from end-user to install the Hong Kong Post-Office Certification. By clicking “Yes” button on pop-up window, IE browser will install the Post-Office Certificate into the IE browser at this browser session only. The whole process needs to be done again when a new IE browser sessions is re-established. To install the certificate permanently into IE browser, press the “View Certificate” and then press the “Install Certificate” button on next pop-up window. Press the “Next” button until the certificate permanently installed into your IE browser and you don’t have to install the certificate again at your next Internet connection to SPPR system.

Q A7.: What should I do after an unsuccessful login?

Ans.: If any one of the User ID, password and user role entered in the login menu is incorrect, error messages will be displayed on the login menu to prompt you to re-enter the correct information again. You should check whether you have used the correct set of User ID and password. For users granted with multiple roles, they should ensure that the correct set of ID, password for the user role you have chosen are used. Passwords and User ID are case -sensitive.. ’.

Q A8.: What should I do if I forget my User ID or password?

Ans.: Institutional users may contact the RO of their institution(s). RO of Institutions are responsible for your User ID maintenance and/or resetting the password for users within their institutions.

RGC panel members and external reviewers may contact System Administrator of the SPPR system at UGC Secretariat by clicking on the ‘Contact Us’ button on the welcome page. UGC Secretariat will search your User ID, reset the password for you and notify you via e-mail as soon as practicable.

In both of the above cases, please reset your password after successful login.

Q A9.: How to change my own password?

Ans.: After a successful login, go to the sub-menu User Function and access the function Maintain User Password, input your old and new password to change your password.

Q A10.: Which file format is supported by the SPPR system for uploading and downloading?

Ans.: The SPPR system supports files uploaded in Portable Document Format (PDF) format. Proposals may contain images, graphics, equations and various character sets (e.g. Greek letters, Chinese characters, etc.). PDF offers reproducible results and multi-platform support (e.g. Windows, Mac, UNIX etc.) for viewing and printing by users in this system if the original files are saved in PDF format. To ensure that your files to be read by other users as you originally intended your PDF file must be completed (e.g. it must contain embedded fonts in the file for any non-standard font characters that you used by the setting up both your Window and IE Browser). Otherwise, the PDF viewer may substitute some of the non-standard fonts in your files with other fonts that may or may not appropriately represent the original characters used. You are strongly advised to follow the following rules when preparing your files:

Rules for PDF Files

Always embed all fonts

Always use embeddable Type 1 or TrueType fonts

Do not use Acrobat encryption or security settings

Q A11.: I can view Chinese on other web sites but cannot input and view Chinese in the SPPR system. Why ?

Ans.: For Internet Explorer, make sure that the language “Chinese (Hong Kong) [zh-hk]” is on the top of the list of language preferences. Otherwise, please set up the language preferences by following the steps below:

i. Click on the ‘Tools” and then “Internet Option” on the Internet Explorer Menu Bar.

ii. In the option “General”, click on the “Languages” button, a new window with title “Language Preferences” would popup.

iii. If the language “Chinese (Hong Kong) [zh-hk]” is not in the list of language preferences, click on the “Add” button. Select “Chinese (Hong Kong) [zh-hk]” and click on the “OK” button to add the language to the list.

iv. Select the language “Chinese (Hong Kong) [zh-hk]” and click on the “Move Up” until it moves to the top of the list.

v. Click on the “OK” button twice to close all the windows.

For Netscape browser, make sure that the language “Chinese/China [zh-CN]” is on the top of the list for language preferences. Otherwise, please set up the language preferences by following the steps below:

i. In the menu bar of the Netscape browser, click on the “Edit” and then “Preferences”, a new window with title “Preferences” would be pop up.

ii. Click on the “Languages” tag to view the list of language preferences.

iii. If the language “Chinese/China [zh-CN]” is not in the list of language preferences, click on the “Add” button. Select the language “Chinese/China [zh-CN]” and click on the “OK” button to add the language to the list.

iv. Select the language “Chinese/China [zh-CN]” and click on the Up button until it moves to the top of the list.

v. Click on the “OK” button to close the window.

Q A12.: When I tried to view the image of the proposal, all I got was a blank screen. What should I do ?

Ans.: In the SPPR system, the proposal image is stored as a PDF file format. If you got a blank screen when viewing the proposal image, you need to obtain the latest version of PDF reader..

If you still cannot view the proposal image, please contact the system administrator for technical support or use the “Contact Us” function in the home page or login page of the SPPR system.

Q A13.: How to save or print the proposal image from the system?

Ans.: Normally, image of the proposal will appear in PDF format. Simply use the “print” or save functions of your viewer (e.g. Acrobat Viewer) to print or save the proposal image into your local hard disk as a PDF file.

E. FAQ for External Reviewers only

Q E1.: How do I enter the System and read the proposal I was invited to review?

Ans.: ERs should connect to the SPPR Electronic System web site at http://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk and click on the blue “SPPR” logo. Ignore the system security warning and continue to log on as normal. Choose the “External Reviewer” Role and then use the User ID and Password supplied in the invitation e-mail to log onto the System. Click on the “View Proposal Submitted” item and then choose the appropriate panel. Click on the proposal number and at the next screen, click on the “View Proposal” button at the bottom of the screen to view the proposal image.

N.B. Do not click on items for “Projects”. “Projects” referred to those on-going ones which have already been given grants. You are invited to review “Proposals” which are still under application.

Q E2.: When an External Reviewer received an Invitation of Proposal Assessment, what should he/she do ?

Ans.: ERs should click on the function ‘Submit Interim Reply’ to reply to the invitation first. If the ER accepts the invitation, he/she should select the ‘Agree to act as an assessor’ option, input the ‘Assessment return date’ (dd/mm/yy) and then click the Confirm’ button to confirm his acceptance. The ER can then click on the proposal number of the proposals that they agree to act as an assessor under the ‘Submit Proposal Assessment’ function and view the proposal, input his/her assessment and submit the proposal assessment.

Q E3.: I received a reminder on “submission of interim reply on proposal assessment” even though I had submitted my assessment earlier and I have double checked that its status is “assessed”. Why?

Ans.: The system regularly checks and automatically generates reminders and sends them out daily at 9:00 pm (Hong Kong Time). Due to time difference, the system might have conducted the automatic checking and sending of reminders before you submitted your proposal assessment. If you are sure that you have submitted the assessment, please ignore the reminder for the time being and check the status again after one day.

Q E4.: What if I forgot my password and/or User ID?

Ans.: Please contact the System Administrator in such case. The e-mail address of the SPPR Electronic System is mailto:rgc@ugc.edu.hk.