The Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (WDARF), a national-level research fund offered by the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), aims to foster high quality and rigorous applied research in workforce development and lifelong learning to support the SkillsFuture Singapore's key thrusts and national-level policies. It encourages inter-disciplinary research and seeks to strengthen research capabilities, through leveraging both local and international expertise. The WDARF Grant Call is administered by the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) on behalf of the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). The grant is awarded through an open, competitive bidding approach, where submitted proposals go through a technical expert review and evaluation, before they are presented to a Research Committee for approval.
Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (WDARF) 2025 Grant Call
The WDARF 2025 Grant Call is now open. We are now accepting submission for Expression of Interest (EOI) from now till 18 July.
Previous Result
Grant Call 2021
Improving Professional Development through an Intelligent Adaptive Learning Approach: An In-depth Study on Construction Project Managers
Associate Professor Goh Yang Miang, National University of Singapore
This study focuses on the use of an adaptive learning approach to improve professional development for construction project managers. Adaptive learning, which has been successful in higher education, offers personalized learning pathways that can address the time constraints faced by professionals. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of adaptive learning in professional development.
Grant Call 2017
Leveraging Leadership to Sustain the Dynamic Professional Development and Identities of Preschool Teachers: The Case for Knowledge Building Community
Professor David Hung, National Institute of Education (NIE) at the Nanyang Technological University
The research seeks to create a sustainable professional development (PD) model that embeds the design of collaboration, ownership of learning, and leadership into the professional development experiences of preschool teachers. Building upon a Knowledge Building Community (KBC) could potentially support an informal, organically-evolving and self-sustaining network for professional development, while addressing the lack of sustained professional practices. The study hopes to address preschool teachers’ epistemic beliefs (i.e. beliefs about the ways in which people learn, the assumptions that learners hold about the nature of knowledge, and the process of knowledge acquisition) through the KBC which integrates ICT learning.
Grant Call 2022
Purposeful Longevity: Fostering Better Work and Life of Ageing Individuals
Dr Lee Zee Wan, National University of Singapore
This study examines ways to improve the employability of older adults and promote purposeful longevity; and evaluate which continuing education and training (CET) can effectively increase their labour market outcomes, given the rapidly-changing labour market.
Grant Call 2022
The Effectiveness of Coaching to Support ICT Workplace Learners’ Transition between Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and Workplace
Associate Professor Lim Sok Mui May, Singapore Institute of Technology
This project focuses on understanding the effects of coaching in helping ICT workplace learners achieve deep-level changes and transformed learning, for a more positive experience transitioning between their student-employee roles. Through this research, we would better understand the academic trajectory (e.g., whether coaching had a long-term impact on how well students maintain their grades) of workplace learners who received coaching, and motivational trajectory over their course of study (e.g., assessed/indexed by a myriad of measures such as dropout rates, resilience, confidence, and stress levels).
Grant Call 2018
Mastery in the Digital Age: Accelerating Effective Skills Development Through Social Learning and Workplace Environment Prototyping
Mr Poon King Wang, Singapore University of Technology and Design
This study examines what mastery means given the digital disruption and transformation of work through the lens of craftsmanship in the Energy & Chemical and Precision Engineering sectors. It focuses on both accelerating and deepening skills development, with particular emphasis on the role of social learning and workplace learning environments. This is achieved through an ethnographic study, including observations and interviews, of how digital technology impacts the work of technicians in both sectors, how this influences their sense of mastery and, subsequently, how social learning contributes to develop the skills necessary to thrive in digital working environments.
