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 skills, 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) 2026 Grant Call
The WDARF 2026 Grant Call will be opened for Expression of Interest (EOI) submission from 02 June 2026 to 13 July 2026.
Previous Result
Grant Call 2019
Preparing PSEI Learners for Changing Working Lives
Dr Chue Shien, Nanyang Technological University
This project seeks to: (a) Understand the challenges of how Singapore Post-Secondary Education (PSEI) students can learn to be ready for working life (b) Understand the mechanism of how education institutions and business organisations afford work-learn opportunities for young adults.
Grant Call 2018
Socio-Materials that Matter for Traversing the Boundaries of School and Work
Dr Chue Shien, Nanyang Technological University
• Delineate the social and material affordances that matter for effective internship learning • Explore changing identities of undergraduate students as they cross between boundaries of institutions and the workplace • Design a tool-kit for preparing young adults for learning at the workplace • Provide recommendations on strengthening existing support for continuous learning
Grant Call 2019
Evaluating the effectiveness of digital-game-based learning for professional upskilling
Associate Professor Goh Yang Miang, National University of Singapore
This study examines the effectiveness of digital game-based learning (DGBL) through empirical testing of a theoretical authentic learning environment (ALE) model building on a model previously developed by the research team that comprises three factors (task authenticity, knowledge co-construction, and expert modelling) for achievement of surface learning (i.e. knowledge retention) and deep learning (application, re-contextualisation, and innovation). The outcome of the research will be a toolkit for evaluating DGBL and a protocol of designing, fitting and evaluating DGBL for professional upskilling.
Grant Call 2019
Understanding and Promoting Networked Learning in the Workplace: A Learning Analytics Approach
Dr Khor Ean Teng, Nanyang Technological University
The research project aims to understand networked learning and gain insights into how individuals learn through networks by investigating different components of the learning process using a learning analytics approach. The findings from the project will provide an understanding of the learning process in the case of networked learning for individuals.
Grant Call 2021
How and Why University Graduates Seize Opportunities Offered by Lifelong Learning Policies
Dr Paul A. O'Keefe, National University of Singapore
This project will provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to understanding participation in Lifelong Learning (LLL) programmes, particularly SkillsFuture Credits and other SkillsFuture programmes. We will focus predominantly on university graduates, to understand key factors that lead highly educated workers to use LLL policies, and how such policies could be designed to encourage greater usage of LLL programmes.
