Singapore Research Grants: NRF, MOE, NMRC and A*STAR Funding Guide (2026)

Published October 11, 2026

Researchers looking for Singapore research grants in 2026 face four agency families, each with its own schemes and rules. The National Research Foundation (NRF) funds large programmes and early-career fellowships, the Ministry of Education (MOE) funds university research, the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) funds health and clinical work, and A*STAR funds fellowships, joint calls and industry projects. This guide maps all four, says who can apply, and marks every number that comes from an official page we could confirm. It also flags the numbers we could not confirm, because the live call listings now sit in a portal that a plain web fetch cannot read.

Editverse is independent. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, NRF, MOE, NMRC, A*STAR, the Ministry of Health or any Singapore university. Call terms change between cycles, so treat this page as a map and the current call document as the authority. We read the funder pages on 10 October 2026.

How Singapore Research Grants Are Organised in 2026

NRF describes the current national plan as RIE2030, covering FY2026 to FY2030, and lists RIE2025 (FY2021 to FY2025) as the one before it on its resources page. Public research money in Singapore flows through that plan to the grantor agencies, which then publish schemes for researchers at publicly funded institutions.

NRF says its Research Grants Portal is the grant-management platform built with GovTech and the other grantor agencies for RIE-funded grants, and that it covers NRF, MOH, MOE and A*STAR. Projects previously managed on the Integrated Grant Management System (IGMS) have migrated to it, and read-only IGMS history is kept on a separate site. NRF tells readers to open the portal to view the current and upcoming grant schemes. The portal’s resources page has separate demo videos for applicants, data admins, institution verifiers and endorsers, which tells you that your institution is part of the chain.

Our practical reading, which is a judgement and not a funder rule, is that the portal listing decides what is open, the scheme page decides who may apply, and your research office decides your real internal deadline.

NRF Funding for Researchers in Singapore

Competitive Research Programme

The Competitive Research Programme (CRP) funds use-inspired basic research by multi-disciplinary teams, chosen by merit review on scientific excellence. NRF states that the theme must be motivated by an important need or problem to be solved, and that relevance to Singapore and society is required. The page sends readers to the portal for eligibility, amounts and call timing, so we publish no CRP size or deadline.

NRF Fellowship

The NRF Fellowship supports early-career researchers to run independent research in Singapore over five years, in any area of science and technology. Each Fellow receives a research grant for personnel, equipment and consumables. NRF writes that outstanding young scientists and researchers of all nationalities are welcome, and its FAQ confirms that the Fellowship is open to all nationalities and invites applications once a year.

Selection has three steps. Prospective host institutions in Singapore longlist candidates, a shortlist follows, and the NRF Fellowship Evaluation Panel interviews finalists in Singapore. Appointees take tenure-track faculty posts at institutions such as A*STAR, NUS, NTU, Duke-NUS, SMU, SUTD, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and SIT. The page gives no funding amount and still points to IGMS for guidelines, so confirm the current portal and call window.

Because a host institution longlists you, the Fellowship is as much a hiring route as a grant. Contact a department you would join well before the call, and ask how it runs its own longlisting.

Other NRF schemes for researchers

• The NRF Investigatorship supports a small number of excellent principal investigators for ground-breaking, high-risk research. The page gives no amount, duration or call timing.
• The Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme brings overseas-based Singaporean research leaders back to autonomous universities and public research institutes. NRF works with institution leaders to identify candidates, so it is not an open application.
• The Singapore-Horizon Europe Complementary Fund supports research in Singapore by researchers from eligible Singapore entities who take part in Horizon Europe projects. The page said the call would be posted on the portal in April 2026 and lists nc*@*****ov.sg for enquiries. We could not confirm its current status.

MOE Academic Research Fund and Social Science Funding

The Academic Research Fund (AcRF) is the Ministry of Education’s competitive fund for university research. Only the Tier 2 page was readable, and it is marked as last updated in 2013. It describes an institution-gated process. The principal investigator and co-investigators must be full-time faculty at an autonomous university, the university’s Office of Research verifies the application, the Director of Research endorses it, and an expert panel and the Academic Research Council review it. Individuals do not apply directly.

That page also lists historical project sizes. We do not repeat them, because a page of that age cannot support a planning figure. We could not read the Tier 1 or Tier 3 pages at all. Ask your research office for the current AcRF guidelines and call calendar.

For social science and the humanities, a MOE press release from September 2021 says S$457 million was set aside for FY2021 to FY2025 through the Social Science Research Council. It names the Social Science Research Thematic Grant and the Social Science and Humanities Research Fellowship, which targets younger Singaporean researchers. The release does not give current call terms, so treat it as background.

NMRC Grants for Clinicians and Health Researchers

NMRC funds health and clinical research for investigators at local public institutions. Its review process has two stages, international peer review followed by a Local Review Panel. The table summarises the schemes whose pages we read. Every amount and call window below is as the NMRC page shows it, and those pages cite IGMS and 2020 to 2024 windows, so confirm live status in the portal.

NMRC also runs the Clinician Scientist and Clinician Investigator Salary Support Programme, which requires Singapore citizenship or PR. For the Open Fund Large Collaborative Grant, we read only a 2017 notice about a change from Lead PI to Corresponding PI, so we give no current terms.

A reading across the table shows a pattern. The talent awards (CSA, TA, salary support) require citizenship or PR, while the competitive grants state no nationality rule but require a salaried post at a local public institution. An overseas clinician without that post cannot apply to either group directly.

A*STAR Fellowships, Joint Calls and Attachments

A*STAR lists its open calls on a funding opportunities page and runs active grants through its iGrants system. When we read it, the page showed three calls.

A*STAR also lists PhD scholarships on its scholarships page, with deadlines in February, March, April, August and October depending on the award, and research attachments at its institutes that run all year for a minimum of two months, open to Singaporeans and international applicants. Non-Singaporeans must obtain PR before starting the National Science Scholarships.

Joint calls are the most time-sensitive item on this page. The Hong Kong-Singapore call closes on 20 October 2026, ten days after we read it. If your project involves a Hong Kong partner, see our guide to Hong Kong RGC grants, because it explains how Hong Kong university researchers are funded and who submits for them.

Which of the Singapore Research Grants Fits Your Career Stage

This table is Editverse’s reading of the published eligibility rules. It is a starting point for a conversation with your research office, not a ruling.

Compare this with the funder structures in our guides to Saudi Arabia research grants, UAE research grants and the Qatar national research fund. In our reading, the Singapore routes lean heavily on institutions, because the research office, the host institution and the portal roles all sit between you and the funder.

What the Research Office and Reviewers Need From Your Proposal

Singapore’s own funder pages are consistent about three themes. NRF asks for relevance to Singapore and society, NMRC runs two-stage review with international peers, and NRF Fellowship selection ends in an interview. These themes suggest a proposal that reads well to an outside expert and still fits a local need.

• State the national or societal problem in the first paragraph, and name who will use the result.
• Write for an international peer reviewer who does not know the local system, then add a short page that explains why the question matters in Singapore.
• Build a research timeline and budget justification that match the scheme’s allowed cost categories and indirect cost rate.
• Show feasibility with preliminary studies and a team whose roles match the work, as our research team guide describes.
• Plan the analysis, participant protection and knowledge translation sections early, because clinical and translational schemes weigh them.
• Send your research office a complete draft well before its internal deadline, since it verifies and endorses before the portal submission.

Pre-Submission Checklist for Singapore Research Grants

• Confirm in the Research Grants Portal that the call is open, and note the closing date.
• Ask your research office for its internal deadline and endorsement steps.
• Check citizenship, PR and employment rules against the scheme page.
• Save a dated copy of the scheme guidelines you wrote against.
• Check indirect cost limits and any cap on salary support.
• Map each reviewer criterion to a section of your proposal.
• Prepare ethics and institutional approvals or a dated plan for them.
• Plan how you will cite the award, using our funding acknowledgment guide.
• Read our grant writing guide and the NIH proposal guide for structure, then fit the content to the Singapore scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions About Singapore Research Grants

Where do I find which Singapore grants are open?

NRF directs applicants to the Research Grants Portal for current and upcoming schemes from NRF, MOH, MOE and A*STAR. Scheme pages on agency sites can lag the portal.

Can a foreign researcher apply for the NRF Fellowship?

Yes. NRF states that outstanding young scientists and researchers of all nationalities are welcome. Selection runs through host institutions in Singapore, so you need a prospective host.

Do NMRC grants require Singapore citizenship?

The talent awards we read, CSA, TA and the salary support programme, require citizenship or PR. The OF-IRG, CTG and New Investigator Grant pages state no nationality rule but require a primary salaried post at a local public institution.

How much is an NMRC Open Fund Individual Research Grant?

The NMRC page lists up to S$1.625 million including up to 30% indirect costs, for up to 5 years. The call window shown on the page is old, so confirm the current terms in the portal.

Can Editverse guarantee funding?

No honest service can. Awards rest with reviewers and funders. We can edit and structure your proposal so that it answers the published criteria.

Professional Support for Singapore Research Grants Applications

Funded proposals answer a specific call document, line by line. Editverse grant services start from the call you send us. The packages below were built around NIH, NSF and EU Horizon criteria, so for an NRF, NMRC or A*STAR call you send the guidelines and we audit or write against the criteria and weights they state.

For anything the packages do not cover, read about our grant proposal development services or request a free quote and tell us the scheme and your deadline. Prices shown are current catalog prices and scope is confirmed before work begins.

Conclusion on Singapore Research Grants

Singapore Research Grants sit in four agency families and one shared portal. Early-career researchers of any nationality should look at the NRF Fellowship, clinicians at NMRC, and fellows and joint-call teams at A*STAR. Your research office is part of every route.

Before you draft, confirm the open call in the portal, save the guidelines, check nationality and employment rules, and talk to your research office about its internal deadline. Then write for an international reviewer with a clear Singapore need.

Sources

Official pages read on 10 October 2026. Grant terms change between cycles, so always confirm against the current call.

• NRF, Research Grants Portal
• NRF, resources (RIE2030 and RIE2025)
• NRF, Competitive Research Programme
• NRF, NRF Fellowship
• NRF, NRF Investigatorship
• NRF, Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme
• NRF, Singapore-Horizon Europe Complementary Fund
• NRF, frequently asked questions
• MOE, Academic Research Fund Tier 2 page (last updated 2013)
• MOE, social science and humanities research funding, September 2021
• NMRC, Clinician Scientist Award
• NMRC, Transition Award
• NMRC, Open Fund Individual Research Grant
• NMRC, Clinical Trial Grant
• NMRC, CS-IRG New Investigator Grant
• NMRC, Clinician Scientist and Clinician Investigator Salary Support Programme
• NMRC, review process
• A*STAR, funding opportunities
• A*STAR, Singapore-Southeast Asia Fellowship
• A*STAR, Early Career Researcher Overseas Exchange Fellowship
• A*STAR, International Fellowship
• A*STAR, scholarships