Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge
The Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge, founded by the United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM), offers opportunities for innovators, scientists, and entrepreneurs to catalyse breakthrough discoveries and innovations that could leapfrog existing barriers and jumpstart new solutions, thereby propelling the field of ageing research and improving the health of persons as they age.
The NAM has developed a unique model built on a foundation of catalyst and proof-of-concept awards to attract bold ideas, and advance successful pilots and prototypes. This is accompanied by major inducement prizes for breakthrough innovations (see Figure 1) as follows:
Phase 1: Catalyst Awards recognising bold, new innovative ideas;
Phase 2: Accelerator Awards rewarding meritorious awardees who have demonstrated significant progress and achieved proof of concept; and
Phase 3: One or more Grand Prizes rewarding the achievement of bold and transformative innovations.
Figure 1: NAM Healthy Longevity Global Challenge Framework
Key Timelines for Phases 1-3:
- Catalyst Award Competition [2020-2022]
- Accelerator Award Competition [2020-2023]
- Grand Prize Competition [2023-2025]
About the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards
As part of the Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge, the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards will reward bold, new, potentially transformative ideas—originating from any field or combination of fields (such as biomedicine, behavioural science, sociology, engineering and infrastructure, technology, policy)—to improve the physical, mental, or social well-being for people as they age, and in a measurable and equitable way. In particular, we seek ideas that will extend the human health span through innovations in disease prevention, biology, mobility and function, social connectedness, productive longevity and more. Ideas could focus on early-, mid-, or late-life, as long as it ultimately promotes health as people age.
Topic Areas
While the Catalyst Awards is open to all applications relating to the broad topic of healthy longevity, applications in the following topic areas will be prioritised for funding:
- Technology, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technology, assistive devices, and information technology;
- Social sciences, such as social determinants of health and psycho-social well-being, including mental health;
- Productive longevity, such as technology or job redesign solutions which enable older workers to continue in employment to a later age, and solutions which promote senior learning;
- Housing and the built environment, such as assisted living models, smart-enabled homes and intergenerational housing models; and
- Financing, such as preventive health financing models involving behavioural economics.
Evaluation Criteria
Selection of successful proposals will be based on the following evaluation criteria:
- Innovativeness: The extent to which the proposed idea challenges existing paradigms and employs new methodologies or concepts. (This is the most important criterion.)
- Potential for Impact: The extent to which the proposed idea may influence the physical, mental, or social well-being of people as they age.
- Scope: The extent to which the proposed idea represents a challenge impacting the entire field, and not solely the interests of the applicant.
- Quality: The extent to which the proposed idea and the research methodology are clearly explained and includes a compelling or well-defined outcome metric.
Eligibility
The Catalyst Awards will be open to teams representing public and/or private sector institutions/organisations across all disciplines. Individuals are not eligible to apply. While there is no restriction on the nationality of members in the project team, the entity represented must be legally registered in Singapore. Consortiums with Singapore-registered entities are also eligible to apply.
Frequency
There will be one round of Catalyst Award competition per year.
Funding Quantum
The Catalyst Awards will provide a funding quantum of up to SGD69,600 (inclusive of 20% indirect costs) for up to 2 years.
Important Dates to note
The timeline for key activities under the Catalyst Awards is set out below:
| Activity |
Date |
| Announcement of Round 3 of the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards |
February 2022 |
| Public Briefing |
21 February 2022 |
| Call for Applications |
25 February 2022 |
| Deadline for Project Proposal Submission |
31 March 2022 |
| Announcement of Results |
September 2022 |
Submission Mode and Deadline
It is mandatory for all applications to be submitted and endorsed by the Director of Research (DOR) online via IGMS by 31 March 2022, 5pm.
NICPO will not accept any late/hardcopy submissions or submissions from individual applicants without endorsement from the Host Institution.
Slides shared during the Public Briefing on 21 February 2022 is available here.
Please click here to download the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards Application Guide and Templates. These will also be available for download at the IGMS website during the launch period (25 Feb 2022 - 31 Mar 2022).
With support from
- National Research Foundation (NRF)