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NEA Innovation Calls [Closed for Applications]

Overview
Current Grant Calls
Past Grant Calls
General Enquiries

Overview

The National Innovation Challenges are periodic open innovation calls to academia and industry to work together with government agencies to develop practical, impactful solutions to large and complex problems facing Singapore. By bringing together industry partners, government agencies, and innovators to work on the identified challenges, these calls seek to harness Singapore’s formidable research and innovation capabilities to develop innovative technological solutions to sustain our long-term growth and resilience.

Current Grant Calls

There is currently no open grant call.

Past Grant Calls

17th OIP Innovation Call

Open Innovation Platform (OIP) with innovation procurement, jointly organised by the NEA (National Environment Agency) and IMDA (Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore), seeks innovative solutions for public sector agencies, to transform public service delivery for the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans. It offers applicants an opportunity to ideate and co-create innovative digital solutions to address the needs of agencies. We are seeking proposals for the following:

1. Evidence-Based Capturing of High-Rise Littering to Enhance Operations

Proposals will be assessed and shortlisted applicants will be contacted. We look forward to your submissions! For details on these Requests for Proposals and to submit your proposals, please refer to the following OIP link: https://www.openinnovation.sg/imda

The innovation call was opened on 22 Mar 2023 and closed on 28 Apr 2023.

3rd OIP Innovation Call

1. Automated Inspection and Detection of Irregularities in Niches

2. Automated Call Handling Solution for Contact Centre

3. Automated Remote Detection of Smoky Vehicles

The innovation call was opened on 30 Apr 2019 and closed on 21 Jun 2019 at 4pm.

Innovation Call for Pollution Monitoring Solutions

The National Environment Agency (NEA) and SPRING Singapore have jointly launched an innovation call under the Government – Partnership Capability Transformation (Gov-PACT) initiative^[1], seeking solutions to address pollution monitoring challenges faced by Singapore.

BACKGROUND

Emissions from motor vehicles and industries are the two key sources of air pollution in Singapore. As part of NEA’s continued efforts to further improve our air quality, NEA seeks technological solutions for remote real-time monitoring of emissions, in order to assess effectiveness of pollution control measures and implement new control policies/measures.

The two problem statements under this call are:

(A) Remote, real-time and low-cost sensor-based system for the monitoring of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from diesel vehicles, and

(B) Odour monitoring and source tracing of odour incidents caused by industries.

Interested qualifying parties are invited to submit proposals in response to either or both of the problem statements.

SCOPE OF INNOVATION CALL

(A) Remote, real-time and low-cost sensor-based system for the monitoring of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel vehicles
Background	Diesel vehicles are a significant source of NOx and PM (particulates) emissions into the ambient air. Studies have linked prolonged exposure to NOx and particulates from diesel exhaust to increases in respiratory, heart and other diseases. NOx also contributes to acid rain and ground-level ozone. The studies have also shown that real-world emissions of pollutants, mainly NOx and particulates, from in-use vehicles are much higher than the levels measured during the lab emission tests. Hence, real-time monitoring of NOx and PM emissions from diesel vehicles will help authorities to: • Better assess the real-world NOx and PM emissions from in-use diesel vehicles; • Review the adequacy of existing policy measures and formulate new controls to further improve air quality; • Identify diesel vehicles emitting higher real-world NOx and PM emissions than the permissible levels; and • Provide inputs for air quality modelling.
Desired Outcome	NEA seeks solutions for the low-cost, remote and real-time monitoring of NOx and PM emissions from diesel vehicles on the road.
Key Requirements	The requirements for the solution are: • The system must provide accurate real-time measurements of NOx and PM emissions; and use data analytic tools to generate reports of pollutant emissions from individual vehicles and cumulative emissions, including particulars of vehicles emitting excessive NOx and PM (vehicle registration number, location, date and time); • Measurement units for NOx/PM emissions shall be g/km for light duty diesel vehicles and g/kWh for heavy duty vehicles; • Sensors and on-board data loggers-cum-transmitters must be affordable for vehicle fleet operators/owners to install and replace (if defective), if the system is implemented; • Emissions data in the system can be made accessible by mobile devices via apps for fleet operators/owners to monitor performance of their vehicles and carry out prompt maintenance, if necessary; • Sensors and on-board data loggers-cum-transmitters must not affect the normal operation/performance of the vehicles and must comply with LTA’s requirements. • Sensors and on-board data logger-cum-transmitters must be robust, reliable and maintenance free during their service lives; and • Sensors and on-board data loggers-cum-transmitters must be tamper-proof and trigger alerts when tampered with (e.g. upon attempts to remove the sensors).
Test Scope	• Testbed vehicles involving between ten (10) to thirty (30) diesel vehicles (e.g. bus, light goods vehicles, heavy vehicles, taxis) retrofitted with the proposed solution monitoring of NOx and PM. • Testbed duration is at least three (3) months • Testbed location(s) is/are on public road(s)
(B) Odour monitoring and source tracing of odour incidents caused by industries
Background	Industries are located closer to residential areas from land use intensification, and despite the best efforts of pollution control measures to comply with emission standards, residual or fugitive emissions of smell cannot be totally eliminated. When NEA receives feedback on smell incidents, officers will be dispatched to the site to collect air samples for lab analysis and/or to deploy Gastec detector tubes for onsite identification of chemicals. Due to the rapid dispersal of the volatile, odour-causing chemicals, by the time the officers reach the scene, the current sampling and detection measures are often unable to capture sufficient data to identify the chemicals contributing to the smells. The relatively low odour threshold values of most chemicals increase the challenge of detecting and identifying the chemical. While there are air analysers with high sensitivity, such analysers are typically costly and bulky, and therefore unsuitable to be mass-deployed for field monitoring. There are also currently no efficient and effective means to identify the sources of odours detected at residential areas, especially those that have been influenced by multiple emission sources each.
Desired Outcome	NEA seeks scalable solutions for detecting and monitoring odours, characterising the chemicals contributing to the odours, and identifying the sources of the odours. A given solution shall be applicable for odours arising from different industrial types. The sensing devices shall be in-situ devices which can be used in a network for the near-real-time monitoring of odour source and receptor areas. The solution may also include sensing devices that can be handheld by NEA officers or mounted on vehicles for field investigation. The solution shall transmit in near-real-time the odour concentration and alert NEA of a potential odour incident, whenever the measurement exceeds a pre-set threshold. It shall also be able to identify the chemical components (which are likely to be present in very low concentrations) of the odours, as well as enable officers to trace the odours to its source.
Key Requirements	• The system shall monitor odours in real time and continuously, and alert NEA when odour concentration exceeds a pre-set threshold. • The system shall identify – or help to identify – the source(s) of a given odour emission, potentially by means of real-time, grid-based sensing that enables the triangulation of the odour emission source(s). • The system shall identify the chemicals contributing to a given high odour concentration. • Sensors shall require minimal maintenance and calibration, ideally no more than once quarterly.
Test Scope	Trial of system at Jurong West residential estate with nearby Jurong industrial area (odour potential industries include flavours and fragrances manufacturing, cocoa company, oil refinery, and factories using solvents and chemicals) Trial period of at least eight (8) months.

FAQs AND SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FOR PROBLEM STATEMENTS A AND B

GENERAL FAQS [PDF, 385.48 KB]

PROBLEM STATEMENT A [PDF, 199.96 KB]

PROBLEM STATEMENT B [PDF, 195.55 KB]

FUNDING SUPPORT

The call is targeted at Singapore-registered companies, as well as Institutes of Higher Learning and Research Institutes based in Singapore, with the following funding support for successful applicants:

Applicant – Nature of Organisation	Funding Support
Institutes of Higher Learning/Research Institutes	Up to 100% of qualifying project cost
Local Small and Medium Enterprises	Up to 70% of qualifying project cost
Large Local Enterprises	Up to 30% of qualifying project cost
Multi-National Companies	Up to 30% of qualifying project cost
QUALIFYING COST COMPONENTS
Manpower	i. Research staff who are employed specifically to conduct and support R&D content of the project may have their manpower costs supported. ii. Existing staff whose salary depends solely on the R&D project secured may be considered for funding and eligible for reimbursement.
Equipment and Software	i. Only specialised and dedicated hardware/software, including rental of equipment/tools, used for the project, and that are non-existing within the organisation, may be supported. ii. Costs of capital works, general infrastructure, general purpose IT and communication equipment, software for office use, office equipment, and furniture and fittings are not supported.
Materials and Consumables	i. Examples of supportable items are specialised laboratory supplies, materials and consumables. ii. Examples of non-supportable items are stationery, printer consumables, basic laboratory consumables, books, journals, manuscript and reports.
Testing and Certification	Third-party testing and certification services for the project may be supported.
Consultancy	Consultancy and/or advisory costs for professors/experts may be supported, if specifically requisite for meeting the milestones and deliverables of the project.
Intellectual Property	Technology licensing-/acquisition-/patenting-related costs, in direct relation to core technologies of the solution, may be supported.

DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS

Funds will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis, and in accordance with project milestones being achieved.

PROJECT DURATION

The duration of each awarded project shall not exceed two (2) years.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The proposed project is to be conducted in Singapore and proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

S/N	Evaluation Criterion		Weightage (%)
1	Operational effectiveness of solution		30
2	Cost-effectiveness of solution		25
3	Potential for commercialization		25
4	Capacity and expertise to execute project		20
		Total Score	100

RIGHTS OF AWARDING

NEA and SPRING Singapore reserve the right to select proposals to be awarded. For the avoidance of doubt, NEA and SPRING Singapore also reserve the right not to award funding to any proposal.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

Proposals are to be submitted using the application form [XLSX, 102.31 KB] template available on the NEA website, together with all supporting documents. Softcopy submissions shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel format, together with supporting documents to pollutioncontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg with the following email title: “Application for NEA/SPRING Singapore’s Innovation Call on Pollution Monitoring Solution – [Problem Statement A or B]" by 12 February 2018, 12:00 hrs (Singapore Time, GMT+8). Hardcopy submissions must be endorsed by the organisation and received by NEA by 23 February 2018, 12:00 hrs (Singapore Time, GMT+8). at the following address:

National Environment Agency
Industry Development and Promotion Office (IDPO) (Attention: Amirul)
40 Scotts Road
#11-00 Environment Building
Singapore 228231

CONTACT DETAILS

For further enquiries on this Innovation Call, please email NEA at pollutioncontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg.

^[1] One of the recommendations from the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) is for the Government to use lead demand more systematically to support the development of promising industries, particularly where this supports our strategic national needs. Under Gov-PACT, agencies may embark on projects to obtain novel solutions which may be more manpower-lean, achieve cost savings, achieve quality improvements or meet new operational requirements. SPRING Singapore will work with the partner procuring agencies to craft suitable problem statements and find suitable SME partners for the projects. SPRING Singapore will also provide grant support directly to the local SMEs and start-ups who are selected by the procuring agencies, at various stages of product and solution development.

AWARDED PROJECTS

Project Title	Lead Principal Investigator	Organisation
Smart Emissions Monitoring for Diesel Vehicles	Peter van Hooft	Nederlandse organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek, TNO Singapore Branch
Clean Drive Solution	Maxime Sicard	Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies Development (Shanghai) Company Ltd. Singapore Branch

Innovation Call for Rat Tracking Solutions

Rats transmit diseases such as murine typhus, leptospirosis and hantavirus infection. The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore is committed to keeping the incidence of rat-borne diseases low. NEA carries out rat surveillance and control, along with other efforts such as Research and Development (R&D) to understand rat ecology and behaviour. A better understanding of the rats’ nesting area and environment, and their travel patterns, such as their travel path to sources of food in our urban environment enables NEA to develop more effective strategies to tackle rat issues.

NEA is calling for proposals to develop an underground burrow mapping and rat tracking solution(s) to:

Work Area A - Map the underground rat burrow network; and
Work Area B - Track the location and movements of rats.

The information and data collected from Work Area A and B are to be produced for the users to meaningfully visualise and understand the extent of rat infestation in the locality studied.

Interested parties may submit proposals for (i) either Work Area A or Work Area B or (ii) both Work Areas.

1. Background

1.1. Government agencies, estate/building management agents and premises owners engage Pest Control Operators (PCOs) for rat control services. In an outdoor environment, active rat burrows are usually used to locate the area of heightened rat activity. However, the presence of surface rat burrows may not reflect the extent of the rat infestation underground. Moreover, time consuming and laborious investigation is usually needed to determine the extent of the infestation before trapping and treatment works can be carried out.

1.2. Rats typically build a network of underground tunnels with multiple opening/exit holes, as pathways to their feeding zones or nesting areas. Rats can adapt to man-made structures such as underground drains/lines, bin chutes, false walls and structural defects easily. The current method of detection based on line-of-sight limits the number of rat burrows that can be detected. There is currently a lack of information on the extensiveness of the underground burrow network and the pathways taken by rats, as well as the rat population.

Desired Outcomes

1.3. With a rat tracking system, NEA will be able to effectively gather reliable intelligence on the extent of the underground burrow network. Information such as the rat movements, pathways taken and rat nesting grounds in the burrows can be assimilated to plan targeted rat inspection efforts and guide PCOs to deploy more effective rat control measures such as treatment at the nesting grounds. Periodic surgical rat culling operations can be undertaken and a reduced need for human surveillance efforts will lead to increased productivity in the industry. Such a rat tracking system can assist NEA to conduct backfilling, treatment and assessment of biologically based rodenticide to test their efficacies.

2. Scope of Call for Proposals

2.1. This call for proposals consists of two work areas as follows:

Work Area A: To map the underground rat burrow network

Develop a mapping solution to map the key features of underground rat burrow network, minimally at grassy area and concrete building substructures such as housing block bin chutes, with the following key functionalities:

(i) Detect and map the underground rat burrow network to a depth of two metres from the surface,

(ii) Produce the information and data collected for the users to meaningfully visualise and understand.
This shall include, but not limited to, the following:
a) the location, depth and size of the burrows,
b) whether the burrows are active and identify any rat infestation (optional),

(iii) Provide a user-friendly interface for the user to visualise, understand, process and output the data
and information into commonly used digital file format(s) for further analysis.

Work Area B: To track the location and movements of rats

Develop a rat tracking system to trace the pathways taken by rats, with the following key functionalities:

(i) Device(s) that can be attached to rats for tracking, or any other tracking methodologies, and establish the rat routes with timestamps and movement patterns over a period no shorter than two weeks,

(ii) Transmit/retrieve and produce the information and data collected for the users to meaningfully visualise and enable data analysis/interpretation,

(iii) Provide information e.g. through photographs or videos on rat behaviour, its travel pattern and travel distance for sources of food,

(iv) Provide information on the rat nesting grounds and potential nearby food sources (e.g. location),

(v) Provide a user-friendly interface for the user to visualise, understand, process and output the data and information into commonly used digital file format(s) for further analysis.

A hypothetical closed loop of rat movement is illustrated in Figure 1, with the blue arrows indicating rat movement.

Figure 1: A hypothetical closed loop of a rat's path to and fro nesting ground and food sources over the tracking period

2.2. The location of trial sites will be conveyed after the award of project.

3. Proposal Requirements

3.1. Each applicant’s proposal may entail solutions for either Work Area A or Work Area B, or both Work Areas. All proposals should include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(i) Detailed descriptions of the proposed solutions and how they could address the requirements of the Work Area(s). Proposals should include study design of the R&D phase.

(ii) Resource requirements of the proposed mapping and/or tracking methodologies (e.g. power and connectivity requirements, and manpower, training and time taken to set up and deploy the equipment/devices).

(iii) Data retrieval, processing, analysis and visualisation, as well as network communications.

(iv) Deployment strategy (e.g. whether release/recapture operation or loss/replacement operation, number of equipment/devices to be deployed), technical specifications of the equipment/devices to be deployed, data transfer and infrastructure and any other deployment requirements and an account of related costs.

(v) Validation methodology of results of the proposed solutions.

(vi) Project deliverables and timeline showing the milestones to be achieved and how the achievement of these milestones is determined.

(vii) Proposed budget with a breakdown of the cost items and justifications for the cost items.

(viii) Composition of the project team and their expertise and experience.

Exclusion

3.2. The proposed solutions shall exclude merely using commercial off-the-shelf products without any form of R&D.

4. Project Duration and Schedule

4.1. The project duration shall not exceed 18 months. There shall be two phases of development for each Work Area: R&D phase (Phase 1) and test-bedding phase (Phase 2). Progression to Phase 2 is contingent on Phase 1 having achieved satisfactory results. The two phases of the project are illustrated in Figure 2. Applicants submitting proposals for both Work Area A and Work Area B may propose to conduct both Work Areas concurrently. Both Work Areas must be completed within 18 months.

Figure 2: Schematic diagram for project timeline comprising Phase 1 (R&D phase), Phase 1 evaluation and Phase 2 (test-bedding phase)

5. Eligiility and Funding Support

5.1. This call is targeted at Singapore-registered companies¹, as well as Institutes of Higher Learning and Research Institutes based in Singapore, with the following funding support for successful applicants:

Applicant – Nature of Organisation	Funding Support
Institutes of Higher Learning/Research Institutes	Up to 100% of qualifying project cost
Local Small and Medium Enterprises	Up to 70% of qualifying project cost
Large Local Enterprises	Up to 30% of qualifying project cost
Multi-National Companies	Up to 30% of qualifying project cost

¹ Companies registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), including foreign companies registered and based in Singapore.

6. Evaluation Criteria

6.1. The research and development work is to be conducted in Singapore. Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

S/N	Evaluation Criterion	Weightage (%)
1.	Effectiveness of Solutions The proposal will be assessed on the technical feasibility of the solutions and how they effectively address the respective Work Area(s). The proposal would also be evaluated on the method practicality, completeness in addressing the proposal requirements in Section 3, as well as appropriateness of the proposed project milestones and deliverables.	30
2.	Feasibility of Deployment in Actual Operational Environment Solutions will be assessed on their potential scalability and feasibility for deployment in an actual operational environment, as well as the anticipated operating and life cycle costs for the deployment. Simple solutions that require minimal, installations and training as well as low manpower reliance would be preferred.	30
3.	Expertise and Capacity to Execute the Project The project team will be assessed on whether they have the requisite capabilities and resources to undertake the research/innovation project.	20
4.	Cost Competitiveness The proposal will be assessed on the cost and benefits of the proposed solutions, and relative cost to other proposals.	20
	Total Score	100

7. Rights of Awarding

7.1. NEA reserves the right to select proposals in full or in parts to be awarded. For the avoidance of doubt, NEA reserves the right not to award funding to any proposal.

8. Submission Procedure

8.1. Each proposal must be submitted in accordance with the application form template together with all supporting documents. Please download all files below:

S/N	Document Type
1.	Application Form
2.	Notes on Cost Schedule
3.	Terms and Conditions of Grant

8.2. The softcopy of the application form and all supporting documents shall be submitted to vectorcontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg no later than 22 May 2019, 11:00 hours (Singapore Time, GMT+8).

9. Contact Details

9.1. For enquiries on this call, please contact NEA at vectorcontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg.

10. Overview

10.1. For information presented at the briefing session held on 23 Apr 2019, please click here.

General Enquiries

Please refer to the following contact details if you require further information.

Pollution Control: pollutioncontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg
Vector Control: vectorcontrol_innovation@nea.gov.sg

Grants and Awards