DREAM 4 Health Call for Proposals 2026

Closes On

24 Mar 2026

Funding Source

External

PI Salary Support

ACP/SDDC Affiliation

No ACP/SDDC affiliation required

Funding Per Grant Amount

S$ 6,500,000

Qualification

MD / MBBS / BDS / PhD / Not Specified

Academic Appointment

Funding Period

60 months/5 years

Citizenship

S / PR / Foreigner

Call Opens

30 Jan 2026

SMC/SDC Registered

Background

DREAM 4 Health is calling for proposals for Southeast Asian-led Multi-Country research consortia that address regional and global health challenges.

Objectives: The SEA DREAM Programme will fund regional consortia to produce excellent and outcome focused discovery and translational research that addresses existing and emerging national and regional health priorities.

SEA DREAM is designed to strengthen the research ecosystem across Southeast Asia, creating lasting and equitable multi-country and cross-disciplinary collaborations and networks. It will develop the next generation of Southeast Asian research leaders that will identify, shape, and address questions and solutions to health challenges most relevant to Southeast Asia and the communities most affected.
Specific focus will be placed on incorporating organisations from Lower Middle-Income Countries in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam) in Consortium constellations and connecting high-resourced settings with emerging research organisations to support inclusive and equitable development and uplift the Southeast Asian research ecosystem.

The SEA DREAM programme is implemented by the SEAMEO Secretariat, in strategic partnership with the Wellcome Trust and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO). Additional strategic partnerships with funders from across the region are anticipated for the SEA DREAM programme to amplify the impact towards transformative change in the regional research ecosystem.

Funding Details

Up to 60 Months (recommended duration between 48 to 60 months).

Up to USD 6.5 M (recommended range between USD 5.5M – 6.5M).
- All awards will be issued in USD. Any Lead Organisation unable to receive funds in USD should contact the SEA DREAM at grants@seadream.org before submitting a preliminary application.

Please refer to “DREAM 4 Health Scheme Sheet_External.pdf” for more details.

Eligibility Criteria

Steps	Key Activities	Timeline
Preliminary Application
Submission	Applicants submit a preliminary application for review and shortlisting – including Proposed Activities, Team Composition, Indicative Budget. Applicants are required to opt in or opt out of having their names and research areas published to enable matchmaking during the full Application stage.	Opening: 30 Jan 2026 Closing: 24 March 2026
Review and shortlisting	A high-level due diligence check, and eligibility assessment will be conducted for preliminary application review and shortlisting. An internal committee consisting of SEA DREAM, Wellcome, and UK FCDO experts will review eligible preliminary applications, checking for: Alignment with thematic areas Alignment with SEA DREAM objectives Indicative budget and milestones Principal Investigators and team’s high-level skill set and capabilities.
Full application and Panel interviews (Please refer to “DREAM 4 Health Scheme Sheet_External.pdf” for full details, which will be updated prior to invitation).
Invitation to submit full application	Rejected applicants will be informed, and successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application. Feedback on preliminary applications may be provided.	Mid-May 2026
Full application submission	Please refer to “DREAM 4 Health Scheme Sheet_External.pdf” for more details (details will be updated prior to invitation). Ideally proof of a Consortium-level agreement should be submitted with the full application. Should an agreement not be in place at that time, It is expected that the timeline and process on establishment of such an agreement will be included in the full application.	Deadline: 10 Jul 2026
Award Decision	Final award decisions will be made by SEA DREAM’s Steering Committee based on the recommendations by the Selection and Evaluation Interview Panel, and any relevant strategic priorities.	End of November 2026

Note:

SingHealth PIs are to please refer to your respective Institutional Research Administrators for guidance on internal deadlines and submission procedures set by your institutions

Submission

Applications can only be submitted in English through the SEA DREAM Application Portal (projected launch date: 22 Jan 2026).
Organisations may submit up to two applications per thematic area as the Lead Organisation.
The DREAM 4 Health Call for Proposals will be conducted in three stages: