CoSTAR-HS Seed Grants

The Collaborative Solutions Targeting Antimicrobial Resistance Threats in Health System (CoSTAR-HS) was funded to build up capacity, infrastructure, and networking opportunities for AMR research in Singapore under the National Medical Research Council’s (NMRC’s) Centre Grant. The funding was renewed in December 2021 to build on and enhance the prior strategy that has fundamentally remained unchanged since its inception in 2017. It is a partnership involving researchers and clinicians from the National University Health System (NUHS), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). The new partner institution for the CoSTAR-HS renewal is the National University Polyclinics (NUP) – a key partner for crucial research on AMR in primary care.

This grant is designed to encourage exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of research. It is intended for innovative research projects that

• Develop and strengthen inter-institutional research collaboration or networks in Singapore
• Improve our understanding of AMR and its control in Singapore

Applicants are encouraged to tap on the facility cores developed under CoSTAR-HS, the details of which can be found here.

Application Guidelines

• Each proposal must involve investigators/researchers from 2 or more institutions, with at least 1 institution from our CoSTAR-HS partners (NUHS, SGH, NCID and NUP). Investigators and collaborators from other institutions are welcome to apply.
• Proposals are encouraged to be in line with any of the research themes within CoSTAR-HS, although research in other areas will also be considered. (Details on research themes can be found here.)

Eligibility Criteria

• PI must have a PhD and/or MBBS/BDS/PharmD/MD and/or other appropriate Postgraduate Qualifications (at least a Master’s Degree). For proposals involving patients, either the PI or co-I should be SMC-registered; or should be able to demonstrate the ability to access patients through SMC-registered collaborators. It is recognized that some studies may not require patient involvement.
• PI must hold a primary appointment in a local publicly funded institution and be salaried by the institution.

Grant Forms

The fourth grant call for proposals is open from 19^th September 2023 and will close on 17^th October 2023.

Application

• CoSTAR-HS Seed Grant Application Form
• CoSTAR-HS Grants General Administrative Guidelines
• NMRC Guidelines for Programme Management

Post-Award Management

• Grants General Administrative Guidelines
  – CoSTAR-HS Terms & Conditions

• Progress Report
  – PIs are required to submit a progress report 6 months from the start date.

• Final Progress Report
  – PIs are required to submit a final report within 1 month after the project completion date.

• Fund Claim Form
  – PIs must utilize the funding strictly for the submitted breakdown within the stipulated funding period and be accountable for all the expenses incurred. PIs should use 100% of the total approved budget before the grant end date.

• Grant Variation, Amendment to the Research Proposal

1. Grant Variation: Use of funds shall be subjected to NMRC guidelines and regulations. Written approval from CoSTAR-HS ARG Secretariat is required for variation of grant funding within and/or across budget categories or any other changes/amendments to the project.
2. Amendment to the Research Proposal: PIs must inform CoSTAR-HS ARG Secretariat of any changes in the research proposal, such as changes in project title, protocols, etc. PIs must ensure strict adherence to the ethical guidelines and submit relevant ethics approval documents to the council if the changes involve new ethics approvals from the appropriate ethics committee.

Congratulations to the following successful grant awardees:

FY2023 Awardees for CoSTAR-HS ARG
(Fourth Grant Call released in September 2023)

FY2022 Awardees for CoSTAR-HS ARG
(Third Grant Call released in March 2023)

FY2022 Awardees for CoSTAR-HS ARG
(Second Grant Call released in September 2022)

FY2021 Awardees for CoSTAR-HS ARG
(First Grant Call released in March 2022)