Singapore-China Joint Flagship Project Call (Health)

Objective

The National Research Foundation of the Republic of Singapore (“NRF”) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (“MOST”) signed an Implementation Agreement on Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation in 2019, with an aim to advance bilateral cooperation in technology areas of mutual interest, and building on the Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology established in 1992 between the Republic of Singapore and the People's Republic of China. 

To implement the cooperation mechanisms described in the Implementation Agreement and to further advance existing cooperation, NRF and MOST are inviting submission of proposals for consideration for joint flagship project(s) on the topic of “Health”, in the following areas of research:

1. Infectious Diseases - research on coronaviruses, influenza viruses, and henipaviruses, in the following domains:
   • Analytics, Disease & Behaviour Modelling;
   • Environmental Transmission and Mitigation;
   • Diagnostics; and/ord. 
   • Vaccines & Therapeutics.
2. Ageing - research on healthy and successful longevity in Asian populations, in the following domains:
   • Brain health and Cognitive Function (including prevention and management of dementia and cognitive decline);
   • Precision Health Approaches (including targeted interventions for high-risk elderly groups);
   • Functional Independence and Active Ageing Solutions; and/or
   • Preventive Population Health Strategies for Seniors. 

A*STAR’s Office of Grants Administration (OGA) and NRF will oversee the management and implementation of the flagship project call, including post-award grant administration and management. Singapore applicants to the joint grant call are to adhere to National Research Fund guidelines as well as terms and conditions. 

Funding Details

Each project can be funded at up to S$3,000,000 (inclusive of 30% indirect costs) for up to 3 years for the Singapore component of the joint project.

Eligibility Criteria

Only one Principal Investigator (PI) is allowed per application from the Singapore side.

A. Applicants applying as PIs are required to fulfil the following criteria at the point of application:

1. Hold a full-time primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary education institution that is within the eligible Singapore Host Institution (HI) for this invitation for proposals, namely:
   • National University of Singapore (NUS)
   • Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
   • Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s Research Institutes
   • Duke-NUS Medical School
   • Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
   • Yong Yoo Lin School of Medicine
   • SingHealth National University Health System (NUHS)
   • National Healthcare Group (NHG)
2. Be an independent PI with a demonstrated track record of research (e.g. received award of nationally competitive funding or have a substantial publication record) and research project management.
3. Have a laboratory or appropriate research infrastructure to carry out research activities in Singapore.
4. No outstanding reports from other national grants. B. Researchers from other Singapore-based publicly funded institutions can participate as Co-Investigators (Co-I) or collaborators.C. Researchers from private sector and other entities can participate as collaborators.

Submission

1. The application quota is 2 applications per healthcare cluster. Thus, there may be potential shortlisting of 2 nominations internally (within the SingHealth cluster) prior to submission to NRF and A*STAR. Please refer to below email and “Singapore-China Joint Flagship Project Call for Proposals Information Sheet.docx” for information. 
2. All applicants must first submit their applications through their Host institution’s Research Offices to SingHealth Office of Research (OoR), attention to Dr See Jie Yang (see.jie.yang@singhealth.com.sg) by 27 August 2025 (Wednesday), 12pm – where ranking or shortlisting may be required, if more than 2 applications come from SingHealth. 
3. Each application should contain the below files:
   • Annex A - Proposal Template.docx
   • Annex B - Budget template.xlsx
   • Annex C - CV Template.docx
   • Any other supporting documents 
4. Prior to submission to OoR, the proposal should be verified by the Host Institution’s Office of Research (ORE) or its equivalent and endorsed by the Director of Research (DOR). 
5. Host institutions are to complete and attach “Annex D - HI Submission Template.xlsx “ when submitting the applications to OoR. 
6. SingHealth’s applications will be submitted via OoR to NRF & A*STAR by 3 September 2025 (Wednesday), 6pm.

Contact person

A*STAR & NRF, for Singapore-based applicants: 

• Junainah Abdul Rahman (Junainah_Abdul_Rahman@hq.a-star.edu.sg)
• Norfateha Abdul Latif (Norfateha_Abdul_Latif@hq.a-star.edu.sg)
• Dr Richmond Lee (Richmond_LEE@nrf.gov.sg)
• Dr Loh Zhi Yang (Loh_Zhi_Yang@nrf.gov.sg) 

MOST, for China-based applicants:

• Ms Zhong Wenyan (zhongwy@most.cn)

Additional Information

Please refer to the below attachments for more information: 

Singapore China Joint Call