At year-end, recurrent subvention and capital grants were given to 181 NGOs for the provision of social welfare services in accordance with government policies. Funding allocation for capital grants was administered by the SWD on the advice of the Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee.

    To facilitate smooth implementation of the subvention reform, a Lump Sum Grant Steering Committee (with the Director of Social Welfare as Chairperson) was set up in February 2001 to advise on measures to achieve continuous improvement. The performance monitoring aspects of the reform have been implemented progressively since 1999–2000 under the Service Performance Monitoring System. This assesses service performance on the basis of a set of well-defined Service Quality Standards and a Funding and Service Agreement developed for each specific service.