FAQs
- What constitutes R&D activities in the National Survey of R&D in Singapore?
- How to differentiate pure basic research, strategic basic research, applied research and experimental development?
- Is it compulsory for me to respond to the preliminary survey and the main survey of the National R&D Survey of Singapore?
- Do I report only for my organisation or do I report separately for my associated companies or subsidiaries?
- What is the reporting period for the National R&D Survey of Singapore?
- Does the ownership of the organisation refer to directors’ or shareholders’ nationalities?
- Does the total expenditure on Manpower for the organisation include employable expenses such as CPF, training, dental, hostel, medical, transport, dinner expenses and motivation funds?
- Are depreciation values, entertainment costs included in other operating expenditures?
- If the funds used for R&D expenditure in 2005 were yet to be reimbursed by the Singapore Government in the reporting year and the organisation had used its own money to pay for the R&D expenditure first, then should the expenditure be reported under 'Own Funds' or funds from 'Singapore Government'?
- What does Full time Equivalents (FTE) mean?
What constitutes R&D activities in the National Survey of R&D in Singapore?
Research and development (R&D) comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications. This is based on the definition published by OECD in the Frascati Manual (2002). R&D covers the following activities: basic research, strategic basic research, applied research and experimental development. The scope of the definition of R&D for this Survey extends to R&D in science and technology only and excludes the social sciences and humanities.
R&D is related to a number of other activities with a scientific and technological basis, which are often very closely linked to R&D through flows of information or in terms of operations, institutions and personnel. The basic criterion for distinguishing R&D from related activities is the presence of an appreciable element of novelty and resolution of scientific and/or technological uncertainty, i.e. when the solution to a problem is not readily apparent to someone familiar with the basic stock of common knowledge and techniques for the area concerned.
R&D includes
- Construction/operation of pilot plants not operated as (or intended as) commercial units
- Research into and original development (or substantial modification) of computer software such as application software, programming languages and operating systems
- Feedback R&D directed at solving problems occurring beyond the R&D phase, for example technical problems arising during initial production runs
- Design, construction and operation of prototypes where the main objective is technical testing or to make further improvements
- Research leading into the discovery and production of improved or new chemical, pharmaceutical or food products, or special investigation to establish new medical treatments and the side effects of medical treatments/products.
R&D excludes (except where used primarily for the support of, or as part of R&D projects)
- Scientific and technical information services, routine quality control and testing
- Policy related studies, management studies and efficiency studies
- General purpose or routine data collection, consumer surveys and market research
- Pre-production testing for commercial viability, tooling up and trial production runs
- Prospecting, exploring or drilling for minerals, petroleum or natural gas
- Cosmetic modifications or style changes to existing products
- Routine computer programming, systems maintenance or software application
- Operations research and mathematical or statistical analysis
- Commercial, legal and administrative aspects of patenting, copyrighting or licensing
- Activities associated with standards compliance
- Research in humanities and social sciences
R&D ends when ...
the work is no longer experimental, and pre-production begins. This is when the material or product is substantially developed and the primary objective of the work is to develop markets, do pre-production planning or get production or control systems to work smoothly, then such work is no longer R&D and should not be included. However, if the primary objective is to make further technical improvements, then the work comes within the definition of R&D and should be included.
Scope of R&D
Your report should include…
- R&D carried out by your organisation on its own behalf or on behalf of others (intramural R&D).
And should not include…
- R&D funded by your organisation but carried out by others using their own facilities (extramural R&D).
How to differentiate pure basic research, strategic basic research, applied research and experimental development?
Research and development (R&D) includes pure basic research, strategic basic research, applied research and experimental development.
What is pure basic research?
Pure basic research is carried out for the advancement of knowledge, without seeking long-term economic or social benefits or making any effort to apply the results to practical problems or to transfer the results to sectors responsible for their application.
What is strategic basic research?
Strategic (or oriented) basic research is carried out with the expectation that it will produce a broad base of knowledge likely to form the basis of the solution to recognised or expected, current or future problems or possibilities.
What is applied research?
Applied research is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific aim or objective.
Is it compulsory for me to respond to the preliminary survey and the main survey of the National R&D Survey of Singapore?
Both the Preliminary survey and the National Survey of R&D in Singapore are conducted under the Statistics Act (Chapter 317). The information provided by respondents will be treated with the strictest confidence and will be used for statistical purposes only.
The survey return is mandatory under the provision of the Act. Penalties for non-compliance are stated in Sections 9 and 10 of the Statistics Act.
Do I report only for my organisation or do I report separately for my associated companies or subsidiaries?
You may choose to report separately for your associated companies or subsidiaries or to report for all of them under your organisation. If you report for your associated companies or subsidiaries under your organisation, please list them out clearly. However, please note that you need only to report for your associated companies or subsidiaries that carry out R&D activities. Please exclude those which did not carry out R&D activities.
What is the reporting period for the National R&D Survey of Singapore?
The preferred reporting period for the National R&D Survey of Singapore is the calendar year, 1 Jan 2005 to 31 Dec 2005. If your reporting period is not from 1 Jan 2005 to 31 Dec 2005, please specify a reporting period of 12 months applicable to your organisation, i.e, your organisation’s fiscal/financial year.
Does the ownership of the organisation refer to directors’ or shareholders’ nationalities?
The ownership of the organisation is based on the nationalities of the shareholders.
Does the total expenditure on Manpower for the organisation include employable expenses such as CPF, training, dental, hostel, medical, transport, dinner expenses and motivation funds?
Manpower expenditures include annual wages and salaries and all associated expenditures for R&D Manpower.
Include gross payments before taxation and other deductions, CPF contributions, overtime payments, shift allowances, bonuses, annual wage supplements, welfare expenditure, and payments to contract staff on your payroll.
However, expenditure on personnel who provide an indirect service to R&D should be categorised under Other Operating Expenditures.
Are depreciation values, entertainment costs included in other operating expenditures?
Operating Expenditures include materials, fuels, rent and hiring expenses; data processing; payments to external organisations for use of specialised testing facilities; commission work/sub-contract work expenses (but excluding labour costs for sub-contractors on your payroll);
Include activities which are not themselves R&D but which provide support for R&D (e.g. storage, transportation, cleaning, repair, maintenance and security activities, administration and clerical activities undertaken exclusively for R&D, such as activities of central finance and personnel departments)
Include the payments for the current purchase of books, periodicals, and annuals for R&D related purposes but
Exclude depreciation values and entertainment costs not related to R&D work.
If the funds used for R&D expenditure in 2005 were yet to be reimbursed by the Singapore Government in the reporting year and the organisation had used its own money to pay for the R&D expenditure first, then should the expenditure be reported under ‘Own Funds’ or funds from ‘Singapore Government’?
It will be considered as ‘Own Funds’ as the organisation had used its own money to pay for the R&D expenditure in the reporting year.
What does Full time Equivalents (FTE) mean?
Full-time equivalents (FTE) are measured in terms of full-time equivalent years. One FTE may be thought as one person-year. A person who normally spends 30% of his/her time on R&D and the rest on other activities should be considered as 0.3 FTE. Similarly, if a full-time R&D worker is employed at an R&D unit for only six months during a one-year reporting period, this results in 0.5 FTE.