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
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 2018
Work, Well-being, and Resilience: Understanding Singapore’s Mature Workforce
Associate Professor Kang Soon Hock, Singapore University of Social Sciences
This project seeks to investigate the factors that influence work-related decisions, lifelong learning decisions and activities, and the well-being of mature workers aged between 45 and 75. The outcomes include developing a corporate model in matching work motivators of the matured worker to the corporate structure that will enable the former to perform their jobs and maintain their employability, and as a resource to the policy agenda on the integration and retention of mature workers in the Singapore workforce.
Grant Call 2018
Workplace Learning in Disruptive Innovators: A Knowledge Management Perspective
Associate Professor Alton Chua, Nanyang Technological University
The purpose of this proposed research is to study workplace learning in disruptive innovators in Singapore through a knowledge management perspective.
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.
Grant Call 2018
Orchestration of Microlearning to Support Singapore's Workforce in their Lifelong Learning Journey: Learner, Design and Performance
Professor Looi Chee Kit, Nanyang Technological University
The aim of this research project is to explore microlearning at the learner, course design and system levels. The goals are two-fold: (i) provide empirical findings with Singapore as the context of study, and (ii) catalyze more research on microlearning in Singapore. The research will produce empirical knowledge and will be useful to inform the policy, design and implementation of microlearning.
