CDA Catalyst Grant and Short-Term Fellowship

Interested researchers based in Singapore and working in the above HBMS infectious disease priority areas are welcome to apply. Awardees who are funded in earlier FYs will not be supported.

The Lead Principal Investigator should:

• Hold a primary appointment in either a public health institution, national specialty centre, university/academic medical centre, and be receiving a salary from the aforesaid institution or centre, throughout the period of the grant.

Note:

• The Grants are targeted at junior investigators. Applicants with substantial research experience should not apply as Lead Principal Investigator under this grant category, although they may be included in a mentoring or supervisory capacity.

• Priority will be given to Lead Principal Investigators who have seven years or less research experience after PhD or advanced specialty clinical training

The funding quantum is up to a maximum of S$50,000 per project (no indirect cost will be supported).

Funds are up to a maximum period of twelve (12) months, and the Lead PI should have an awareness of the feasibility to complete the study within this timeframe, and this includes fulfilling the ethics and research agreement requirements.

Interested applicants are invited to complete the ‘Catalyst Grant - Application Form’, and submit (i) a single Microsoft Word document, without signatures, and (ii) a single PDF document, with signatures, through their Institutional Research Office to the grant secretariat (RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg) by 6pm, 27 February 2026 (Friday).

Please contact the RCA Grant Secretariat for the application form.

Each applicant can only submit one application. The application must list all the people and groups involved in the project.

The submission should meet one or more of the following objectives:

• Develop and strengthen inter-institutional research collaborations or networks within Singapore.

• Facilitate partnership between Singaporean researchers and researchers working elsewhere in Asia.

• Provide pilot data or a platform to launch or advance innovative new research projects that meet the broad goals of the HBMS infectious disease priority areas.

Applications must be endorsed by the institutional authorities (e.g., Department Head, Director of Research or equivalent), to ensure institutional support, ownership, and oversight of the project.

Applications proposing inter-departmental collaborations within the same organisation will not be considered for funding.

RCA Grant Secretariat: RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg

Please refer to the attached file for more information.

• Guidelines for the Management of Catalyst Grant

All claims will be processed strictly on reimbursement basis and are subjected to the grantor’s prevailing finance policies that may be modified at any time by the grantor. However, all grantees will be notified if there are changes to the financial policies.

Applicants should be ID researchers in a local institution who have demonstrated current active research (e.g. approved projects, awarded grants, publications) in the area of the proposed visit. Applicants who have previously been the recipient of any Short-Term Fellowship awarded by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) or CDA will not be considered.

This fellowship does not cover visits to or from countries with travel advisories issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Funding

Successful applicants will receive funding of up to S$10,000 per application. This sum will include:

• Return economy airfare via the most direct route

• Daily allowance

• Airport transfer

• Travel insurance and/or visa fees

• Withholding tax (for incoming fellowships only)

Interested applicants are invited to complete pages [5] to [13] of the ‘CDA Short-Term Fellowship Application Form FY2026’, and submit (i) a single Microsoft Word document, without signatures, and (ii) a single PDF document, with signatures and supporting documents (e.g., quotations) through their Institutional Research Office to the grant secretariat (RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg) by 6pm, 27 March 2026 (Friday).

Please contact the RCA Grant Secretariat for the application form.

RCA Grant Secretariat: RCA_Grants@cda.gov.sg 

Funding will be disbursed strictly on a reimbursement basis. The timelines and submission requirements will be made known to successful applicants.

All visits must be completed before 31 January 2027. CDA will only reimburse claims for expenses incurred until the end of the visit. Reimbursement of funding claims will be made to the Applicant Institution.

All claims will be assessed in accordance with the travelling policy of the Applicant Institution. All claims must be certified by the Applicant Institution to be in accordance with its travelling policy.