*Future seniors: Individuals aged 40 to 59
Current seniors: Individuals aged 60 and above
Eligibility
A Principal Investigator (PI) can submit only one application in response to the challenge statement(s). However, he/she may be part of the Project Team of other applications.
Applicants applying as Lead PI are required to fulfil the following criteria at the point of application:
- Holds a primary appointment in a local publicly funded institution and salaried by the institution.
- Have PhD or MD/MBBS/BDS qualifications and/or other appropriate Postgraduate Qualification (at least a Master’s Degree) in areas relevant to the proposed research).
- Be an independent PI with demonstrated track record of research, as evidenced by the award of nationally competitive funding (international funding to be considered on a case-by-case basis), substantial publication record in the past 3 years, or PI status in research institutes.
- Have a laboratory or research program in Singapore.
- Hold a minimum of 9 months employment (per calendar year) with local Singapore Institution(s). Upon award, the PI must agree to fulfil at least 6 months of residency in Singapore for each calendar year over the duration of the grant award.
- Must not have outstanding reports from previous BMRC, NMRC grants and other national grants; and
- For proposals involving patients, the PI should be Singapore Medical Council (SMC) registered; or should be able to demonstrate ability to access patients through SMC registered Co-Is or Collaborators.
Project Team composition for Future Seniors Grant Call
Project teams are required to:
- form their own partnerships. There is no restriction on the number of Institutions, Co-Investigators and Collaborators in each Project Team.
- demonstrate that they have obtained approval to access the data e.g letter of support^ with endorsement from the cohort owner(s) on the use of existing cohort(s) (i.e. data sharing), with confirmation that the participants have provided necessary consent applicable to the proposed research.
^Letter of Support is not required if the Application Lead PI is the cohort owner.
Funding Quantum & Duration
The funding quantum is capped at $5mil (inclusive of 30% indirect cost) for a period of up to three years.
Review Process
The FS GC applications will be evaluated through a single-stage review process by the Review Panel (RP) which comprises international and local members. The review process will take about 5 – 6 months after the application closes.
Evaluation Criteria
Selection of successful proposals would be based on the following evaluation criteria:
| Component |
Criteria for Shortlisting/ Evaluation |
| General |
- Expertise and Ability of the Lead Principal Investigator and the team to carry out the proposed study
|
| Scientific Merit |
- Address at least one of the listed challenge statements to yield significant results
- Appropriate study design and sound basis for the intervention
- Robust methodology and analyses
|
| Potential impact and outcomes |
- Impact in addressing the challenge statement
- How the study can inform policy-making regarding future preferences for ageing
- Proposed outcomes/ KPIs
|
| Feasibility |
- Plans can be executed within the requested budget and funding duration
- Suitability of existing cohort to support the proposed study
|
Submission
It is mandatory for all Letter of Intent (LOI) applications to be submitted and endorsed by Director of Research (DOR) online via IGMS by 28 August 2025, 5pm. We will not entertain any late submissions or submissions from individual applicants without endorsement from the Host Institution.
Please download the Guide and Application Form (for reference) for more information.