Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) Catalyst Grant

Background

The Catalyst Grant is awarded by the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), and it aims to foster collaborative research between clinicians and scientists, and between hospitals, research centres, and academic institutions.

Grant call focus

Health and Biomedical Sciences (HBMS) infectious disease priority areas, namely antimicrobial resistance, vector-borne diseases, respiratory tract infections (including COVID-19 and tuberculosis), and HIV.

Funding Details

The award is up to S$50,000 per project (indirect cost will not be supported) for up to maximum of 12 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Interested researchers based in Singapore and working in the above HBMS infectious disease priority areas are welcome to apply.

• The Catalyst Grant is targeted at junior investigators. Applicants with substantial research experience should not apply as Lead-PI under this grant category, although may be included in a mentoring or supervisory capacity.
• Priority will be given to Lead-PIs with 7 years or less research experience after PhD or advanced specialty clinical training.
• Inter-departmental collaborations within the same organisation will not be considered for funding.

The Lead Principal Investigator (Lead-PI) should:

• Hold a primary appointment in either public health institutions, national specialty centres, universities/academic medical centres and be salaried by the Institution, throughout the period of the grant
• Be aware of the feasibility of completing the study within 12 months, including meeting ethics and research agreement requirements, as extension requests will be largely unsupported without compelling reasons.
• Not have been supported in earlier FY (for this grant).

Each applicant can only submit one application. The application must list all the people and groups involved in the project.

The submission should meet one or more of the following objectives:

• Develop and strengthen inter-institutional research collaborations or networks within Singapore.
• Facilitate partnership between Singaporean researchers and researchers working elsewhere in Asia.
• Provide pilot data or a platform to launch or advance innovative new research projects that meet the broad goals of the HBMS infectious disease priority areas.

Interested applicants are invited to complete the "CDA Catalyst Grant - Application Form" and submit (i) a single Microsoft Word document (without signatures) and (ii) a single endorsed PDF document (with signatures) through the Host Institutional Research Office to the Grant Secretariat (RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg) by 27 February 2026 (Friday), 6pm.

Note: SingHealth PIs are to please refer to your respective Institutional Research Office for guidance on internal deadlines and submission procedures set by your institutions. Applications must be endorsed by the institutional authorities (e.g., Department Head, Director of Research or equivalent) to ensure institutional support, ownership, and oversight of the project.

Contact Person

RCA Grant Secretariat: RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg

Additional Information

CDA Catalyst Grant - Application Form_v1.0docx

CDA Catalyst Grant - Guidelines_w.e.f.1Feb2026.pdf