INDUSTRY ALIGNMENT FUND – INDUSTRY COLLABORATION PROJECTS (IAF-ICP)

About the Grant

The Industry Alignment Fund – Industry Collaboration Projects (IAF-ICP) is a pan-domain grant scheme that supports public research performers in strategic R&D projects with industry. The aim is to foster industry-relevant public sector R&D efforts, with a line of sight to commercialisation and/or deployment to drive economic outcomes.

The IAF-ICP is governed by an Implementing Agency (IA) comprising the Singapore Economic Development Board and Enterprise Singapore. The grant administration is supported by A*STAR’s Office of Grants Administration (OGA) as the Grant Intermediary for IAF-ICP.

It is recommended for the duration of IAF-ICP projects to not exceed 36 months, although exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, such as for Corp Labs (up to 60 months).

Eligibility

IAF-ICP is open to all Public Research Institutions in Singapore to apply. Companies are not eligible to apply directly and will not be considered as co-applicants.

All applications must be submitted by the Public Research Institutions - applications submitted directly by individual researchers will not be accepted.

To qualify for IAF-ICP funding, Performers must seek Industry Partners who are willing to commit R&D spending (cash and in-kind) to the research project (i.e., Total Research and Innovation Expenditure (TRIE)).

Assessment Criteria

All IAF-ICP projects are assessed primarily on their potential of anchoring, deepening or harnessing innovation mandates of industry partners in Singapore, economic impact and relevance to building Singapore's R&D ecosystem. Projects are expected to lead to actual economic outcomes such as licensing income and sales revenue.

Key Assessment Criteria:

Innovation Mandate
Alignment to sectoral priorities with demonstrated potential for commercialisation and market application
Capabilities and growth potential (if applicable) of industry players
Potential to generate product or process innovations to industry players involved
Potential to generate higher economic or R&D activity for industry players involved
Ability to uplift the ecosystem through collaborations with locally based enterprises
Level of industry partner's commitment to research and innovation in Singapore
Other relevant factors

Please note that the IAF-ICP is not an academic or a manpower grant.

Process Overview and Application Package

The application process is summarised below.

Please download the Full Proposal Application Package here.

Full Proposal Template, ICP Budget Template and Submission Checklist (please submit the completed templates and checklist in editable Word and Excel format)
Frequently Asked Questions
Guidelines on IP Arrangements, and Demonstrating of Realisation of Industry Contributions
A*STAR Grant T&Cs 2020
A*STAR Grant Guidelines 2020

Performers should ensure that their application documents (using the templates provided) are complete before submitting them directly to the IAF-ICP Grant Intermediary at IAF_ICP@a-star.edu.sg. Applicants may be requested to submit supporting documents and/or clarifications.

All IAF-ICP proposal submissions must be endorsed by the Research Office and the Innovation & Enterprise Office (or Technology Transfer Office) of each participating Institution, and also include the endorsed Industry Partners’ declaration.

Post-Award Monitoring

For proper stewardship of the IAF-ICP funding, grant awardees should regularly monitor the project progress against their milestones and deliverables, as well as budget utilisation and TRIE realisation, and report on any issues faced to the IAF-ICP Grant Intermediary in a timely manner during the project term.

Contact Information

For further clarifications, please reach out to your Research Office and/or Innovation & Enterprise Office or contact the IAF-ICP Grant Intermediary (A*STAR OGA) at IAF_ICP@a-star.edu.sg.