The Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (WDARF), a national-level research fund offered by the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), aims to foster high quality and rigorous applied research in workforce development and lifelong learning to support the SkillsFuture Singapore's key thrusts and national-level policies. It encourages inter-disciplinary research and seeks to strengthen research capabilities, through leveraging both local and international expertise. The WDARF Grant Call is administered by the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) on behalf of the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). The grant is awarded through an open, competitive bidding approach, where submitted proposals go through a technical expert review and evaluation, before they are presented to a Research Committee for approval.
Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (WDARF) 2025 Grant Call
The WDARF 2025 Grant Call is now closed for Expression of Interest (EOI) submission.
Previous Result
Grant Call 2018
Orchestration of Microlearning to Support Singapore's Workforce in their Lifelong Learning Journey: Learner, Design and Performance
Professor Looi Chee Kit, Nanyang Technological University
The aim of this research project is to explore microlearning at the learner, course design and system levels. The goals are two-fold: (i) provide empirical findings with Singapore as the context of study, and (ii) catalyze more research on microlearning in Singapore. The research will produce empirical knowledge and will be useful to inform the policy, design and implementation of microlearning.
Grant Call 2018
Socio-Materials that Matter for Traversing the Boundaries of School and Work
Dr Chue Shien, Nanyang Technological University
• Delineate the social and material affordances that matter for effective internship learning • Explore changing identities of undergraduate students as they cross between boundaries of institutions and the workplace • Design a tool-kit for preparing young adults for learning at the workplace • Provide recommendations on strengthening existing support for continuous learning
Grant Call 2018
Regulatory Focus and SSG Career Development Course Use: A Brief Online Intervention
Assistant Professor Jia Lile, National University of Singapore
This project aims to enhance the impact and effectiveness of available career development resources and predict more accurately how individual citizens’ motivational styles predispose them to preferring certain kinds of resources over others. It will support the development of scalable online technologies that can help Singaporeans find, select, and benefit from SSG career development programmes and resources.
Grant Call 2018
Establishing Work Readiness Benchmarks and Standards to Ensure Singapore International Competitiveness
Professor Remus Illes, National University of Singapore
The objective of this study is to inform individuals, training organisations, and employers on what essential skills are required for success, and thus build, select, and promote work ready and likely successful individuals. Leveraging the Education and Skills Online (ESOL), an online computer adaptive programme that administers, scores and report adult competencies in cognitive skills, these essential skills will be benchmarked across a range of jobs within selected career clusters that are key to Singapore’s economic growth.
Grant Call 2017
Course Suggestion for Career Planning: Evaluating Strategies to Support Lifelong Learning. A Pilot on Using Analytics to Recommend SkillsFuture Credit Courses
Professor Robert Kamei, National University of Singapore
The aim of this study is to create a recommender system that can help Singaporeans find, select and complete CET programmes that are suited to both their personal strengths and the needs of the broader Singapore economy. It uses both recent artifical intelligence and data mining techniques as well as behavourial science to better understand how and why people pursue opportunities for lifelong learning. The pilot will test and evaluate the quality of its recommendations.
