Prime Minister's Office (National Research Foundation)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of National Research Foundation (Mr Teo Chee Hean): The National Research Foundation (NRF) seeks to strengthen Singapore's R&D capabilities, encourage greater innovation and nurture the growth of technology-based enterprises in Singapore. This will help Singapore to remain competitive and create high value jobs and prosperity for Singaporeans.

Since the establishment of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) and the NRF in 2006, Government Ministries and agencies have been actively engaged in R&D and innovation to enhance service delivery and foster stronger economic growth. Our universities have raised their international profiles for research excellence and academic entrepreneurship, attracting more partnerships and providing more opportunities to their students. Renowned foreign institutions have set up a significant R&D presence in Singapore, helping Singapore to establish herself as a global R&D hub. This will help us to attract talent and generate intellectual property, and enhance our international competitiveness.

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There are two major thrusts for the next five years under the NRF2015 Strategic Plan. Thrust 1 aims to strengthen the research, innovation and enterprise foundation that was built up in the first five years. Thrust 2 seeks to bring together the considerable R&D expertise in diverse areas in Singapore built up over the years to develop solutions to major national challenges that would have global applicability.

Singapore's long-term aim is to be among the most research-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economies in the world in order to create high value jobs and prosperity for Singaporeans. Increasingly, intellectual capital will be critical for our next phase of economic development.

The NRF adopts both a "top-down" and a "bottom-up" approach. In the top-down approach, three strategic areas of research were identified. These are areas in which Singapore has a unique competitive edge to seek a leadership position.

(i) The Biomedical Sciences Translational and Clinical Research (BMS-TCR) programme to translate basic research into treatments for patients.

(ii) The Environment and Water Technologies (EWT) Programme to develop a new water industry supported by strong R&D, as well as position Singapore as a Clean Energy Hub.

(iii) The Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) Programme to leverage on Singapore's strong foundation in ICT and education to create innovative niches with a focus on games and edutainment.

To complement the "top-down" approach, NRF also encourages the best ideas to surface "bottom-up" for Singapore to identify new areas of research and pre-position ourselves for new industries. Some specific programmes are enumerated in the following paragraphs.

The five Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) supported by NRF and MOE are expected to be among the top research centres worldwide in their respective fields within a decade of establishment. They help to orientate our universities from teaching universities to internationally competitive research-intensive universities that are attractive to researchers and students. They will train some 800 PhD students and post-docs, adding significantly to the local talent pool in multi-disciplinary research. They will contribute to generating knowledge and innovation that could be commercialised.

The NRF Fellowship programme supports top young scientists, local and foreign, to undertake research in universities and research institutes in Singapore. These NRF Fellows will not just generate breakthrough ideas, but will serve as role-models and catalysts to develop an environment and culture that spawns new knowledge and innovation. Since 2007, 38 fellowships have been awarded.

The Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE) is a research hub where some of the world's best universities have set up research centres here, drawing together the best of research talent from around the world to work with our own. CREATE will house some 1,000 researchers of diverse cultures and backgrounds from top research institutions, universities and corporate labs.

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The Competitive Research Programme (CRP) provides opportunities for local researchers from the universities and industry to obtain substantial research grants. Thirty-one projects in diverse fields have been awarded. Some projects have made significant scientific discoveries which could lead to the creation of novel applications.

Innovation is key to sustainable economic growth, and hi-tech start-ups are responsible for most breakthrough innovations, jobs and wealth creation. The National Framework of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NFIE) will help Singapore translate the treasure trove of knowledge from our tertiary and research institutions into applications and products.

Singapore's size, well-developed infrastructure and a highly efficient and integrated government enable our country to effectively tackle large, complex problems. Our solutions will also be useful to other cities facing similar challenges. One example is our water industry, which has been able to deploy their expertise globally.

A major new R&D thrust for the next five years is the "National Innovation Challenge" which harnesses our multi-disciplinary research capabilities to address complex national challenges in innovative and cost- competitive ways. This would not only help solve Singapore's own problems and make life better for Singaporeans, but also spawn new businesses to exploit opportunities abroad.

The first National Innovation Challenge is "Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth" which aims to develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years to help Singapore improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy options. Two more such challenges are expected to be identified in the near future.

Research and innovation underpin the competitiveness of our industries, catalyse new growth areas and transform our economy. Working with other agencies, the NRF seeks to create a self-reinforcing innovation eco-system in Singapore, which will provide the basis for sustainable economic growth into the future.