FAQs

The CSI will accept four rounds of applications each year, with deadlines set on the last calendar day of March, June, September and December respectively. The project event start date of the application concerned must be at least six months and no more than twelve months after the deadline of the application round in which the submission is made.

Applications are made through the computerised application system. Please submit your application by following the instructions set out in the “Guidelines on Application” of the Application Form. For assistance regarding filling in the application form, please contact the CSI Secretariat ("the Secretariat") at +852 2294 2774 (for non-design-related initiatives) or +852 2294 2786 (for design-related initiatives).

No application fee will be charged.

No, online events are not considered as the first event. For the purpose of application, the “project event start date” refers specifically to the date of the first physical event held under the proposed project, including but not limited to:

• Ceremonies: e.g. kick-off ceremonies, press conferences, opening ceremonies

• Showcases: e.g. exhibitions, showcases, fashion shows/presentations

• Professional exchanges: e.g. delegation tours, conferences, seminars, symposiums, talks

• Training: e.g. workshops, training sessions, internship/mentorship programme activities

For example, if an online briefing is held on 1 January 2027 but the physical kick-off ceremony takes place on 1 April 2027, then 1 April 2027 shall be considered as the project event start date. The applicant must submit the application based on the date of this physical event.

During the application stage, if there is a change to the first project event date and the revised date falls outside the range of the original application cycle, the applicant should notify the CSI Secretariat in writing with sufficient justifications. Acceptance of the change in application cycle is subject to individual evaluation on a case-by-case basis.

An approved project is required to be carried out strictly in accordance with its proposal appended to project agreement. For any modification or amendment in any respect to the project, the project coordinator should seek the approval from the Secretariat well in advance by submitting an official amendment request in writing.

In general, upon receipt of an application, the Secretariat will first examine the application to determine if the applicants meet the eligibility criteria and whether the information in the application is clear and sufficient. In case more information is required, the Secretariat will request the applicants to provide supplementary information. The applicants should undertake to provide the information as requested by the Secretariat.

If the applicants fail to provide timely and satisfactory response to the Secretariat’s requests for clarification and additional information on the applications within two weeks, a reminder will be issued. If no response is received within one week after the reminder, the Secretariat will not process the applications and the applications will be considered as withdrawn. If the applicants wish to resubmit the applications, they can only do so after three months (from the date of the application deemed withdrawn) at the earliest. Any re-submitted application will be treated as a new application.

If the applications are not in line with the strategic foci, the applications will not be processed by the Secretariat. After screening, the Secretariat will submit the application and recommendations to the CSI Vetting Committee for consideration.

At the application stage, the applicant may be required to attend CSI Assessment Panel meeting(s) to make presentation(s) on its project as requested by the Secretariat.

In assessing an application, the CSI Vetting Committee will give due consideration to the following factors wherever applicable:

1. the potential of the project in pursuing industrialisation of individual cultural and creative sectors;
2. the potential of the project in promoting and speeding up the development of cultural and creative industries in Hong Kong, in fostering a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate cultural and creative industries development, and in developing Hong Kong into a regional creative capital;
3. whether benefits accrued from the project can serve the interests of individual cultural and creative sectors or the cultural and creative industries as a whole, and not just for the interests of individual private companies or consortia;
4. whether the objectives of the project are in line with our strategic directions to drive the development of the cultural and creative industries;
5. whether there is a genuine need of the project, or value can be added to the project with the CSI funding support;
6. whether the project is duplicating or likely to duplicate the work carried out by other institutions;
7. the overall planning, organizational structure and duration of the project;
8. the capability of the project team, including its expertise, experience, qualifications, track record and resources available for the project;
9. whether the project is cost-effective and the proposed budget is reasonable and realistic, and whether the project has been funded or should be funded by other sources; and
10. other special factors which are relevant.

The above assessment criteria are also available at the CSI Guide.

The fund recipient is required to submit a completion report including details of the results, performance and evaluation of the project within two months from the project completion date. The completion report should be submitted together with a financial statement on accrual basis on the final financial position of the project audited by a certified public accountant.

If the fund recipient fails to provide timely and satisfactory response to the Secretariat’s requests for clarification and additional information on completion report within two weeks, a reminder will be issued. If no response or no satisfactory response is received within one week after the reminder, the Government shall not release any remaining project funds to the fund recipient, and reserves the right to demand immediate return of the funds disbursed under the project. The fund recipient will also be debarred from applying CSI project for one year.

The fund recipient shall also provide documentary proof / certification for business deals of the project, including but not limited to invoice, jointly signed declaration from the participant and fund recipient, etc., upon the Secretariat’s request. The documentary proof / certification provided will solely be used by the Government for the purpose of evaluating project effectiveness.

The fund recipient may be required to report to the Secretariat post-project development of the direct beneficiaries (such as incubatees of a support scheme or participants of a nurturing programme) of the project at the request of the Secretariat and on a yearly basis for a period of three years from the project completion date.

The fund recipient may also be required to make presentation of the outcome of their project to the CSI Vetting Committee in accordance with the CSI Guide and as arranged by the Secretariat.

For repeated projects that will be held annually, flexibility and/or exemptions may be considered if the Completion Report is not yet available as of the application submission deadline for the next edition. The Secretariat may, at its discretion, grant exemptions from this requirement where it considers such flexibility appropriate and necessary.

However, applicants are required to provide key figures from the most recent edition of the project to enable the Secretariat to evaluate its effectiveness. The data provided should be accurate and consistent with the information included in the forthcoming Completion Report. Applicants will be accountable for any discrepancies identified and any further applications may not be considered.

A warning mechanism will be imposed to projects approved on or after 1 April 2026. A warning letter remains valid for two years counting from its date of issuance. If a second warning letter is received within the following 24-month period, the applicants will be debarred from applying CSI project for one year. After the 24-month period has passed, that record of warning letter will no longer be valid.

The applicant should normally be a locally registered institution / organization, which include the following: local academic institutes, industry support organizations, trade and industry associations, professional bodies, research institutes and local companies established or incorporated under the Hong Kong laws including the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). Although the applicant needs not be non-profit making, it should have substantial connection to Hong Kong, i.e. it must have a significant proportion of its research, design, development, production, management or general activities located in Hong Kong.

No, but they may act as collaborating parties or supporting organisations in the project.

As long as the applicant is a body or company established or incorporated under the Hong Kong laws including the Companies Ordinance and has substantial connection to Hong Kong, it is eligible to apply.

Comprising professionals, representatives from the private sectors, academics and other relevant members of the public, CSI Vetting Committee assesses applications, makes recommendations, and monitors and reviews approved projects. For the membership list, please refer to CreateSmart Initiative Vetting and Assessment.

In assessing an application, the CSI Vetting Committee will consider whether benefits accrued from the project can serve the interests of individual cultural and creative sectors or the cultural and creative industries as a whole, and not just for the interests of individual private companies or consortia.

To avoid double subsidy, project elements which will receive or have received funding from other government sources will not receive further funding from the CSI.

The Government has set up different funding schemes with different objectives and eligibility criteria. Projects rejected by other funding agencies do not necessarily mean that they will be rejected by CSI. All applications will be assessed according to the vetting criteria of CSI.

However, applicants are required to disclose in the application form whether they have applied / are applying for funding support from other funding sources.

In general, funding support will not be given to an application which has received funds from other Government funding sources.

Although project applicants are not required under the CSI to have secured industrial/commercial sponsorship to help meet part of their expenses, the availability of such sponsorship can demonstrate industry support to the project and would possibly be a positive factor in getting funding approval from the CSI Vetting Committee. The applicant is required to list in the application form the industrial/commercial sponsorship that it has secured for the project.

In general, funds granted should only be used to cover the project-related expenses in accordance with the budget set out in the approved project proposal. In addition, there are some costs that are unallowable for funding under CSI. Please refer to Chapter XI of the CSI Guide.

To provide flexibility for applicants to develop projects with a longer-term vision for the benefit of the industry, applications for re-run of previous projects are allowed. Such repeated applications however should be submitted on a project-by-project basis, and assessment will be made on individual merit.

That said, repeated projects will normally be subject to a two-control rule, i.e. funding approved has to meet at least one of the following two controls –

1. funding approved should not exceed the previous funding approved in absolute dollar terms;
2. funding approved should not exceed the previous funding approved in percentage share of public funding to project cost.

Since a repeated project must have earned the support of industry lest it will not be repeated, it should have the capability to obtain some financial support from the commercial and industrial sector. We trust that the above controls will help the sustainable development of the project concerned, and at the same time leave more resources for other new projects to benefit the cultural and creative sector at large.

Example :
Assuming a CSI-funded “Project A” will be re-run in the next year titled “Project B” and “Project B” will seek CSI funding –
Scenario 1 – project approved with funding not exceeding the previous funding approved in absolute dollar terms

Scenario 2 - project approved with funding not exceeding the previous funding approved in percentage share of public funding to project cost

The above examples are for illustration only. The Government has no guarantee of granting funding from the CSI to a project similar to the above example. Each project will be assessed on its own merit.

Exceptions will only be considered with full justifications.

The followings are criteria which constitute a repeated project:

1. Projects by the same or largely the same project name are repeated projects.
2. If a different project name is used but the project nature is similar to a previous CSI project run by the same applicant, the Secretariat will review its content and objectives to see if it is in fact a repeated project.
3. This notwithstanding, re-run of the same project but in a different geographical location may not be treated as a repeated project.
4. The final decision of whether a project is a repeated project will be subject to the approval of the Controlling Officer on recommendation of the CSI Assessment Panel.

An approved project is required to be carried out strictly in accordance with the proposal. Any modification, amendment or addition to the project, including change of the project commencement or completion dates, key project staff or key equipment, scope, methodology, project deliverables in terms of nature and scale, budget (except for excess less than 15% in individual approved budgeted items, see question below), sponsorship, income, cash flow projection etc. will require prior written approval by the CSI Secretariat. All variation should be well justified.

Fund recipient is allowed to re-allocate funding from under-spent items set out in the approved budget to over-spent ones provided that the sum re-allocated does not exceed 15% of the approved budgeted expenditure for that item and the re-allocation does not result in any increase in total project cost and the CSI funding granted for the project.

For re-allocation in excess of 15%, fund recipient is required to seek prior written approval from the CSI Secretariat with full justifications. If no prior approval has been sought, fund recipient is required to bear the amount exceeding the variation allowance of 15%.

Savings cannot be used for unbudgeted items, unless prior written approval is obtained from the CSI Secretariat. Fund recipient is required to bear all expenditures related to unbudgeted items if no prior approval has been sought.

Yes, the expected income generated should be included in the application form. The applicant should clearly state all the assumptions and basis of projection on which the income figures are calculated under “Project budget - Income” of the application form. The income generated from the project will be reinvested into the project account during the project period.

A declined application may be re-submitted only if it has been revised substantially or if it has been able to produce additional information to address the comments made by the Assessment Panel of the CSI Vetting Committee in its earlier review. The applicant should set out clearly the differences of the re-submitted application vis-à-vis the previous one. Any re-submitted application will be treated as a fresh application and will be put up to the Assessment Panel for consideration.​