Launched in 2017, the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme (CoT) is a multi-agency effort led by Ministry of National Development (MND) that seeks to sustain Singapore's success in the decades ahead by leveraging on Research and Innovation (R&I). It is supported under the National Research Foundation (NRF)'s Research, Innovation & Enterprise (RIE) efforts which are organised along 4 domains, with MND and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) co-leading the Urban Solutions and Sustainability (USS) domain.
Vision
The CoT aims to establish Singapore as a highly liveable, sustainable and resilient city of the future, and as a vibrant urban solutions hub, through a suite of carefully curated research to develop urban solutions that address our national needs.
Building on earlier R&D efforts on space creation and optimisation, the CoT has expanded its research focus in RIE2020 to support Built Environment (BE) industry transformation efforts. In 2022, the CoT R&I Framework was refreshed to guide research priorities to support other national goals such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030, in view of emerging challenges such as climate change and ageing infrastructure.
There are 6 strategic thrusts under the CoT R&I Framework:
Research focus
The CoT programme was developed by the MND Family in conjunction with partner agencies, with the aim of delivering outcomes in collaboration with the research community and industry partners. CoT will support R&D across the project value chain from upstream research to downstream technology deployment, with an emphasis on projects that have high potential for practical implementation and commercialisation.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be the implementing agency for $46 million of the research funds allocated to the research thrusts of Advanced Construction and Smart & Advanced Facilities Management (FM). The vision and key research focus areas under Advanced Construction and Smart & Advanced FM are as follows:
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Research Thrust
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Vision
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Research themes
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Advanced Construction
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To achieve a highly productive, integrated and technologically advanced construction sector that can build faster and more sustainably, while optimising limited manpower and resources
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- Advanced project management – Enhance coordination across the construction value chain and optimise resource utilisation by leveraging on smart/digital technologies.
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Smart & Advanced FM
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To achieve a high-quality built environment through facilities management which integrates across FM disciplines, aggregates demand, and drives execution in an efficient manner.
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Centralised Network Intelligence and Coordinated Deployment of Robotics for Optimal FM Operation – Develop predictive measures to optimise operations and solutions to better manage FM operations through leveraging on AI technologies and deployment of robots.
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Eligibility
Principal Investigators (PIs) from the following are eligible to apply for CoT:
- Singapore-based Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs)
- Not-for-profit entities
- Companies and company-affiliated research laboratories/institutions
Collaboration with foreign organisations and experts in the capacity of Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), or as Collaborator is allowed.
The lead PI who leads the research must be based in Singapore and the research work should be done in Singapore, unless expressly approved in writing.
Funding
The CoT will support 100% of the approved qualifying direct costs of a project for Singapore-based IHLs. Companies, company-affiliated research laboratories or institutions and not-for-profit entities will qualify for up to 70% of the approved qualifying direct costs of a project depending on the type of firms as listed in the following table. Support for indirect costs, in the form of overheads, will only be provided for Singapore-based IHLs.
| S/N |
Type |
Max Direct Cost support |
| 1 |
All non-SG private sector entities (including not-for-profits) |
30% |
| 2 |
LLEs |
50% |
| 3 |
SG SMEs |
70% |
| 4 |
SG Start-ups |
| 5 |
SG Not-for-profits |
Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
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Criteria
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Description
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Potential contribution to the objectives of CoT
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- Relevance of proposed research in contributing to objectives of the call topic
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Potential for breakthrough and innovation
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- Quality and significance of proposed research, including value for money, and the potential for breakthrough/ innovation to advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields
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Potential for application and deployment in Singapore and commercialisation/export
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Execution strength and competency of research team
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Grant calls
Grant calls will be launched via NRF's Integrated Grant Management System (IGMS). Please visit the IGMS website here to view ongoing grant calls.
Enquiries:
For further enquiries, please contact BCA_COT@bca.gov.sg.
More information: