MTC IAF-PP FOOD MANUFACTURING GRANT (FMG)

About the Grant

The MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant (FMG) seeks R&D solutions to enhance the competitiveness of Singapore's food manufacturers, by developing capabilities to differentiate their products via nutritional properties, packaging type or sustainability value proposition.

Programmes are expected to lead to industry participation within 3-5 years. This encompasses new programmes, as well as existing programmes that have demonstrated strong track record of success and industry potential. Programmes supported should be aligned with HHP or MTC domain themes and strategies.

This grant is open only to researchers from Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary institutions.

Research Themes

Productisation in Stratified Nutrition: Development of new food products targeted at groups of individuals at different life stages who require differentiated nutritional support. Sub-themes include Child Nutrition, Elderly Nutrition, and the Food Gut Microbiome.
Food Side Stream Valorisation: New technologies or processes to valorise food production side streams, maximising the commercial value of upcycled products and unlocking new, green opportunities in circular economy models for the food value chain.
Sustainable Food Packaging: Development and commercialisation of cost-effective, viable food-contact packaging solutions that are reusable, recyclable and compostable.

Key Points to Note

Applicants must be researchers from Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary institutions.
Applicants are required to include at least 3 Letters of Support from potential industry collaboration.
Applicants may participate in more than one proposal whether as Lead PI or Co-I.
Applicants may submit proposals to one, two or all three themes.
Proposals should be scoped at $5M – $8M over 3 years (inclusive of 30% indirect costs).
The maximum duration of FMG projects should not exceed 3 years (36 months).
Official project start date will be 1 October 2024.
Late submissions or submissions without endorsement from the Host Institution will not be accepted.
Applicants must use the templates that will be made available on this page from 1 December 2023.

Eligibility

The Lead PI should:

hold at least 0.7 FTE primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary education;
run a laboratory or research programme that carries out research in Singapore; and
have a track record of leadership ability in coordinating research programmes and providing mentorship to research team, as well as having productive research outcomes.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated on technical and commercial considerations.

Potential for industry development and economic impact.
Alignment of the programme to MTC Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map and ability to deliver RIE2025 outcomes refer to Food Manufacturing (mti.gov.sg) for details.
Pre-positioning for value creation and value capture in Singapore.
Potential to attract industry R&D spending (IRS) and investments (e.g., joint lab, co-development of project, creation of high-quality jobs).
Differentiation and competitiveness at regional or global level.

Application Procedure

This call for proposals has a one-stage review process, applicants do not need to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI).
Interested applicants may download the application materials in the section below from 1 December 2023.
The Lead PI is required to submit the full proposal and necessary supporting documents via email to the MTC IAF-PP Implementing Agency (IAF_PP_MTC@hq.a-star.edu.sg) between 1 January to 15 May 2024.
Late submissions or submissions from individual applicants without endorsement from the Host Institution will not be accepted.

Important Note:

All applications must be endorsed by the Research Office of the Programme Lead’s Institution.
All applications must be complete and include all necessary supporting documents.
Incomplete applications or applications that deviate from the template will delay the evaluation process.

Event

MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant Workshop on 19 January 2024

The MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant workshop at Innovis last Friday drew a crowd of 180 attendees from universities, polytechnics, hospitals and A*STAR who wanted to learn more about the grant call.

Presenters from A*STAR, NUS, NTU, SIT and the Food Manufacturing Centre of Innovation gave an overview of public R&D in food manufacturing. The highlight of the programme were the panel discussions on the three research themes. Key industry players AMILI, Brewerkz, DSM-Firmenich, Gryphon Tea, Mondelez International, Nestle, Prefer, The Soup Spoon, and Tobe Packaging shared their experiences and insights on productisation in stratified nutrition, food side stream valorisation and sustainable food packaging. The sessions were moderated by representatives from A*STAR, EnterpriseSG, MTI and NRF.

On behalf of our co-organisers, A*STAR and EnterpriseSG, the MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant Secretariat would like to thank all speakers, panalists and participants for making this event a success.

We look forward to receiving your MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant proposals by 15 May 2024.

Click here for more details on the MTC IAF-PP Food Manufacturing Grant and other grant calls and events in this area.

USEFUL INFORMATION & APPLICATION MATERIALS