Industry Alignment Fund — Pre-Positioning Programme

IAF-PP — Human Health and Potential (HHP) Domain

Supports Singaporean organizations in health priorities with integrated programs that turn biomedical innovation into care outcomes.

The IAF-PP Human Health and Potential (HHP) domain programme is administered by Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) under the Industry Alignment Fund – Pre-Positioning Programme. It funds large, multidisciplinary integrated research programmes aligned with Singapore's national Human Health and Potential strategic priorities, covering biomedical sciences, biotechnology, medical devices, digital health, ageing, cell therapy, precision medicine, mental health, healthcare delivery, and food and nutrition. Programmes may run for up to five years (60 months), and awards typically range from SGD 2 million to SGD 50 million per programme, with a median around SGD 10 million based on past A*STAR award announcements.

Eligibility is restricted to Public Research Institutions in Singapore — companies and individual researchers cannot apply directly. The Programme Director must hold at least 0.7 FTE primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary education institution, must operate a laboratory or research programme in Singapore, and must demonstrate a track record of leadership in coordinating research programmes and mentoring teams. Programmes must be structured to lead to active industry participation within three to five years. The application follows a two-stage process: a Letter of Intent using the HHP-specific template, followed by a Full Proposal package including a budget template, presentation deck, and submission checklist. Final award decisions are made by the IAF-PP Strategic Oversight Committee, which is chaired jointly by the CEO of A*STAR, the Managing Director of the Economic Development Board, and the CEO of the National Research Foundation.

The RIE2025 HHP IAF-PP cycle closed in March 2025 after accepting applications from 3 January 2024. The RIE2030 cycle is expected to roll out in 2026, making this an active monitoring opportunity for Singapore-based research institutions working in the health and biomedical space. Programmes that demonstrate credible industry pull and a clear pathway from research outputs to clinical or commercial deployment consistently perform strongly in the Committee's merit review.