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.

• 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, biomarkers, molecular pathways, mobility, functionality, social connectedness, 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

• 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 $69,600 (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:

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 8 March 2021, 5pm.

NICPO will not entertain any late/hardcopy submissions or submissions from individual applicants without endorsement from the Host Institution.

Slides shared during the Public Briefing on 25th January 2021 will be made available here, after the briefing.

Please click here for the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards Application Guide and Templates, which will be made available before launch date. These will also be available for download at the IGMS website.

In collaboration with

• The United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the global collaborators of the Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge.

For enquiries on the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards in Singapore, please email us at NIC_Ageing@moh.gov.sg.