Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (WDARF) 2026 Grant Call

Eligibility

This grant call is open to faculty members/researchers from Autonomous Universities, Polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education, or A*STAR research institutes. 

Foreign institutions and researchers may partner a local institution to apply. 

The Principal Investigator must fulfil the following requirements at the point of application:

• Holds a primary/joint appointment in one of the Autonomous Universities, Polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education or A*STAR research institutes, with a minimum time commitment of 9 months per calendar year in these institutions. 

Criteria

To be considered for funding through the WDARF, proposed research should fulfil the below criteria:

Applied Research
WDARF only supports proposals that focus on applied research. Applied research refers to original investigation undertaken to acquire new knowledge with the primary aim of solving an existing/emerging problem or improving a current practice with actionable outcomes. Applications would need to explain what the problem is and/or why improvements have to be made to current practice, and how the targeted research findings and insights can be translated into policy and practice in the area of skills, workforce development and adult learning in Singapore. This is a highly practical endeavour, and it is much more than using or creating tools, kits, or apps, and collecting data to prove that a new technology or intervention “works.”

Addresses at least one Challenge Statement 

Challenge Statements

1. Bridging Tomorrow's Skills Gap through Skills-First Practices
2. Strengthening Employer Workforce Development Through Stronger Alignment with Business Growth
3. Learning Without Limits - Building Personalised Pathways
4. Interface Intelligence - Bridging Technology and Adult Learning

Original Research

Proposed research should stand up to scrutiny for its originality, addressing gaps which have not been covered in existing WDARF-approved projects, in addition to remaining distinct from relevant up-to-date published research literature.
Reference to relevant up-to-date literature and the existing WDARF-approved projects should be made in the application to highlight the similarities and differences of the proposed research from the literature and projects. The list and write-ups of existing WDARF-approved projects are available here.

Inter-Disciplinary and Inter-Institutional Collaborative Research

Proposals are encouraged to involve inter-institutional collaboration and inter-disciplinary research. No evaluation of internal programmes within an organisation will be accepted.

Stakeholders’ Engagement

Priority consideration will be given to proposals that engage stakeholders during project conceptualisation/preparation and include stakeholders’ inputs on strategic relevance, technical merit, project team, execution plan, project translation and applicability value in the application. Stakeholders can include government agencies, public and private companies.

Impact

The impact of an applied research project is measured by its success in reaching its objective of solving/improving an existing problem/practice. The measurable indicators for evaluating success for the proposed project would need to be provided. Examples of indicators can include quality and quantity of scientific outputs, the relationship with the partner(s), relevance and connectedness of the research, accessibility and availability of outputs to users, provision of outputs that are digestible and usable by different audiences, training and capacity building.

Realistic Budget

The budget should be sufficiently detailed and accurate to assure reviewers that the investigators have a realistic sense of what it will cost to complete the work proposed.