HHP MISSION STREAM 1

• HHP MISSION Stream 1 supports focused, translationally anchored projects that advance sufficiently novel and differentiated approaches to improve upon the current standard of care in a specific biological or disease context, with the aim of generating tangible outputs and decision-enabling evidence within 2.5 to 3 years and an indicative funding envelope of up to S$5M (incl. 30% indirect costs).

• HHP MISSION Stream 1 is not a conventional discovery grant. Applicants should make the case for why the proposed approach is worth pursuing now, what improvement it could enable over current standards or alternatives, and what decision-enabling evidence will be generated through the project.

• Applicants should clearly define:

  • the novelty and differentiation of the approach over the current standard of care/practice;

  • the tangible translational output(s) they expect to generate;

  • the evidence required to justify further investment, development, or handoff; and

  • the downstream pathway that could become possible if the project succeeds.

• Proposals will be assessed on the scientific/clinical importance of the opportunity being addressed (is this a genuine translational blocker, not an academic research gap?), the strength of the translational thesis (how likely is this to work?), the credibility of the execution plan (are the approach, team, milestones and budget realistic?), the differentiation and value proposition of the proposal (is the approach meaningfully better than existing standard of care/practice?) and the ability of the project to generate evidence that supports a continue, pivot, stop, or handoff decision (i.e. go/no-go decision points).

• Tangible outputs may include validated targets, enabling platforms, candidate assets, prototypes, assays, datasets, algorithms, commercialisable IP, or handoff-ready packages for downstream development.

• HHP MISSION Stream 1 adopts a single written application submission and all Stream 1 written applications must be submitted using the prescribed application form template.

• The Host Institution's Office of Research (ORE) is responsible for submitting the final list of eligible proposals to the HHP MISSION Mailbox (connect@hhp-mission.sg ↗ (opens in new tab)) by 26 October 2026, Monday, 12pm (Singapore Standard Time).

• Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted.

• The complete set of Stream 1 application and supporting materials can be found below:

  • Application Form Template [DOCX, 810.05 KB] ↗ (opens in new tab)

  • Proposal Budget Template [XLSX, 281.40 KB] ↗ (opens in new tab)

  • Information Sheet [PDF, 357.92 KB] ↗ (opens in new tab)

  • A*STAR Terms and Conditions 2020 ↗ (opens in new tab)

  • A*STAR Guidelines 2020 ↗ (opens in new tab)

  • STEMPA Information Sheet ↗ (opens in new tab)

Timeline for Stream 1

Note: Applicants must ensure their availability for the meeting marked with an asterisk (*) above.

Applicants should ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria before applying.

• The Lead Investigator (Lead-I) should:

  • hold at least 0.7 FTE primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research organisation or institute of higher learning;

  • run a laboratory or research programme that carries out research in Singapore; and

  • have a track record of leadership in coordinating research programmes, mentoring research teams, and delivering productive research outcomes.  

• Co-Investigators and Team Leads must hold an appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research organisation or Institute of Higher Learning (IHL).

• Exceptions to eligibility criteria may be considered on a case-by-case basis with submission of a waiver request. Applicants should write to the HHP MISSION Programme Office at least seven working days before the application deadline.

• To support a focused and competitive evaluation process, there will be an institutional application quota imposed on each institute, as appended below.

• Institutions are encouraged to align their internal review and selection processes to support institutional prioritisation and adherence to the quota prior to submission.

For this call, the thematic focus area is immune homeostasis, immune dysregulation and inflammation as drivers of disease.

The illustrative challenge areas below show the expected scope and ambition for Stream 1 proposals:

• The three challenge statements and examples are illustrative rather than prescriptive. Applicants do not need to address all three and may propose different scientifically credible approaches, provided they are strongly aligned with the overarching thematic focus and MISSION’s translational objectives.

• Proposals may address either one or multiple disease context(s) where immune homeostasis, immune dysregulation or inflammation is a meaningful driver of disease.

These examples indicate the types of projects that could be supported under Stream 1:

• All Stream 1 projects involving Singapore public sector institutions or multi-institutional clinical research are subject to the Shorten Time to Execute Multi-party Project Agreements (STEMPA) Regulations and Guidelines.

• Project teams should refer to the STEMPA Guidebook available on Multiparty Research Agreements - STEMPA ↗ (opens in new tab) before submission.

• For more information/resources, please contact the STEMPA Secretariat at stempa_secretariat@stempa.sg ↗ (opens in new tab).