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 2020
Digital Capacity Building for Own-account Workers in Singapore
Dr Carol Soon, National University of Singapore
The objective of this study is to advance the digital skills and competencies of own-account workers in Singapore through benchmarking a set of job-ready digital skills and mapping a framework for digital skills development. The project seeks to unlock the benefits of digitalisation for a segment of Singaporean workers who tend to be digitally low-skilled so that they too can participate meaningfully in the digital economy. Findings from the study will support the policymaking work of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), the SG Digital Office (SDO) and the National Jobs Council.
Grant Call 2019
Empowering Singaporean Workers to Transition, and Map Careers Better in the Future of Work through Open Loop Careers
Mr Poon King Wang, Singapore University of Technology and Design
The project is aimed at measuring changes in career circumstances and attitudes over time (12 months), as well as qualitative interviews which glean deeper insights on Singaporean workers' personal experiences.
Grant Call 2018
Establishing Work Readiness Benchmarks and Standards to Ensure Singapore International Competitiveness
Professor Remus Illes, National University of Singapore
The objective of this study is to inform individuals, training organisations, and employers on what essential skills are required for success, and thus build, select, and promote work ready and likely successful individuals. Leveraging the Education and Skills Online (ESOL), an online computer adaptive programme that administers, scores and report adult competencies in cognitive skills, these essential skills will be benchmarked across a range of jobs within selected career clusters that are key to Singapore’s economic growth.
Grant Call 2019
Measuring Employability & Life-Long Learning Mindsets Needed for Careers in the 21st Century
A/Prof Ringo Ho Moon-Ho, Nanyang Technological University
We aim to develop a suite of psychological measures of the new, more proactive and entrepreneurial “employability-oriented” career mindsets and behaviours and the spirit of lifelong learning that are needed for greater career resilience in Singapore’s future century workforce. In doing so, we seek to provide a baseline measure for subsequent profiling/monitoring of our pre-workforce, tertiary students’ new career mindsets and lifelong learning attitudes.
Grant Call 2019
Enhancing Adult Learning Using a Mobile Micro-Learning Platform With Integrated Nudging Interventions: A Design-Based Research Approach
Associate Professor Oh Lih Bin, National University of Singapore
The proposal seeks to provide insights into the design of educational technologies that can trigger automatic cognitive processes for adult learners. First, adult learner archetypes will be developed by drawing on adult learning theories and literature. Following this, integrated nudging interventions will be designed based on cognitive load theory and nudge theory. Next, the study will validate the effects of tailoring nudging interventions to adult learner archetypes and also assess the impact of the platform on learning outcomes.
