2026 Call for Proposals

Population ageing is reshaping economies, labour markets, retirement systems, healthcare needs and patterns of care. At the same time, enabling older adults to remain independent and live well within their homes and communities for longer is becoming an increasingly important aspiration in ageing societies such as Singapore and Canada.

This theme invites research that explores ageing in place as a multidimensional economic and societal challenge, examining the economic, financial, social and technological conditions needed to make ageing in place sustainable for individuals, families and society. It seeks to investigate how demographic change, financial preparedness, health, family and caregiving arrangements, housing, access to services and technology can support longer, more financially secure and independent lives.

Topics of interest include, but are by no means limited to: 

• Population ageing and its economic and fiscal implications: Examine how longer lives and changing demographic structures affect economies over time, including their implications for labour-force participation, productivity, retirement, healthcare expenditure, social protection and public finances. Research could investigate how ageing in place may alter these effects, and how policy, labour-market and retirement systems might adapt to support longer and more financially secure lives.

• Labour, retirement and financial resilience across longer lifespans: Investigate how demographic change affects labour supply, productivity and retirement patterns, and the factors that determine retirement adequacy and financial resilience across longer lifespans. Research could examine how individuals, employers and policymakers can prepare for and support longer working lives and retirement.

• Financial preparedness, health and household resilience: Examine how financial preparedness, health, family support and caregiving arrangements interact to determine whether individuals can successfully age in place. Research could investigate how these factors accumulate and interact across the life course, producing differences in individuals' ability to remain independent as they age, and identify interventions that improve financial security, well-being and resilience in later life.

• The economics and organisation of ageing in place: Analyse the economic costs and benefits of supporting older adults at home relative to alternative models of care. Research could examine how households, families, care providers and society share the financial and social costs of ageing, and which policies and interventions can support healthy, financially secure and independent living.

• Technology in extending independent living: Investigate how vital-sign monitoring, sensing technologies, digital health tools and other home-based care technologies can enable earlier intervention, reduce dependence on institutional care and support older adults and caregivers. Research could examine the effectiveness, adoption and affordability of these technologies and how their economic and societal value should be assessed.

• Comparative approaches to sustainable ageing in place: Examine how the challenges and potential solutions associated with ageing in place differ across Singapore and Canada. Research could explore how differences in demographic structures, labour markets, retirement systems, healthcare and care arrangements, housing and social protection shape approaches to supporting older adults to live independently within their homes and communities.

Advances in robotics and embodied artificial intelligence offer new possibilities for supporting older adults to live safely and independently at home. Robots may assist with everyday activities, mobility, monitoring, cognitive assistance and communication, while complementing the roles played by family members and professional caregivers. 

However, deploying robots within homes creates challenges that go beyond technical performance. Domestic environments are dynamic and unstructured; users differ in physical, sensory and cognitive capabilities; and robots operate within intimate social environments where safety, trust, autonomy and privacy are critical. This theme invites research that investigates the technological, social and human dimensions of assistive robotics and human-robot interaction, and examines how older adults, caregivers and intelligent machines can interact and work together safely, effectively and appropriately within the home.

The topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Safe and reliable human-robot collaboration: Investigate how assistive robots can perceive and respond to human behaviour and changing environments, while minimising the risks associated with incorrect or unexpected actions. Research could examine how risks in robot execution around older adults are identified, quantified and mitigated, and how robots determine when to act autonomously, seek clarification or defer to humans.

• Inclusive interaction and adaptation: Examine how older adults communicate and interact with technologies in different ways, including how physical and cognitive disabilities may affect the fidelity and suitability of different modes of interaction. Research could investigate appropriate combinations of speech, gesture, gaze and other interaction modalities; how robots learn individual preferences and routines; and how assistance can adapt as users' physical or cognitive needs change.

• Task planning and personalised assistance: Investigate how robots can reliably perform task planning and execution under instructional or goal ambiguity, while taking benefit of the long-lived, persistent nature of their interactions with elderly residents. Research could also examine how robots can adapt their assistance to changing user needs or preferences while preserving independence and autonomy.

• Data collection and testbeds: Propose innovative new ways of collecting ecologically valid datasets on performance of robots and modes of human-robot interaction in homes inhabited by older adults, to help with the design of relevant future embodied AI algorithms and models. Research can examine a combination of real-world instrumentation as well as simulation-based environments, as well as novel techniques to bridge the associated Sim2Real gap.

• The human and social dimensions of living with robots: Examine what properties, including robotic form and behaviour, enable older persons to appropriately trust an assistive robot, and the factors that determine trust, acceptance and appropriate reliance on such technologies. Research could investigate the social norms that should govern the behaviour of robots within private homes, how autonomy, dignity, privacy and consent can be protected, and how robots should respond when the preferences of older adults, family members and caregivers differ.

• Privacy, consent and accountability in assistive robotic systems: Explore how privacy, consent and accountability can be designed into assistive robotic systems, particularly within private and intimate home environments. Research could examine how responsibility and decision-making should be managed when robots interact with multiple stakeholders and when intelligent, but not perfect, machines make or contribute to decisions.

• Human-machine systems and the future organisation of care: Analyse how assistive robotics may redistribute tasks and decisions across older adults, family members, professional caregivers and machines. Research could investigate how these human-machine systems should be designed, how caregiving practices, skills and the work of caregivers may consequently change, and how tasks and decisions should be appropriately distributed among humans and machines.

• Effectiveness and societal value of human-robot systems for ageing in place: Examine how the effectiveness and societal value of human-robot systems for ageing in place can be evaluated, including their impact on older adults, caregivers and the wider organisation of care.

Am I eligible to apply for the SMU-UofT Joint Seed Research Grant?
Eligible applicants must be full-time SMU faculty members, including faculty on term-track appointments.

Do I need a collaborator from the University of Toronto before applying?
Yes. Every proposal must include one Principal Investigator (PI) from SMU and one Principal Investigator (PI) from the University of Toronto (U of T). Applications without an eligible U of T PI will not be considered.

Can I include Co-Investigators on the project?
Yes. In addition to the required SMU PI and U of T PI, proposals may include Co-Investigators and other collaborators where appropriate, subject to the eligibility requirements of their respective institutions

Can I submit more than one proposal?
No. Applicants may submit only one application per funding round.

Can I apply if I already collaborate with the University of Toronto?
Yes. The grant supports both new collaborations and the strengthening of existing research partnerships between SMU and U of T researchers.

What themes can proposal be submitted under?
Applicants must select one main theme:

1. Economics of Ageing-in-Place
2. Human-Robot Interactions for Elderly Assistance in Homes

Can I submit an interdisciplinary proposal?
Yes. Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary proposals are strongly encouraged. However, applicants should indicate the primary sub-theme that best aligns with their proposed research.

How much funding can I apply for as an SMU PI?
Funding is awarded as two separate grants for each successful application:

• Up to SGD 25,000 to the SMU PI (administered by SMU)
• Up to CAD 25,000 to the U of T PI (administered by U of T)

The maximum project duration is 12 months. Funds must not be transferred between institutions.

Can SMU funding be used to pay expenses incurred by the U of T team?
No. Funding should only be used by the recipient institution. The utilisation of funding cannot cross institutions

What does PI need to check for their budget?
SMU PI to ensure that:

• The total budget is within the approved grant limits

• Budgets requested are reasonable and well-justified

• No non-fundable items are included

• Budget figures are rounded to the nearest SGD 10

• GST is excluded from all budget items

What are examples of non-fundable costs?
Non-fundable items include (non-exhaustive):

• Salaries or research ninths for PIs / Co-PIs / Visiting Professors / Collaborators

• Teaching buy outs

• Administrative and office costs

• Undergraduate stipends and tuition

• Entertainment and staff retreat

• Patent filing and legal fees

• Professional membership fees

• Conference attendance without meaningful participation

Please refer to the full list of non-fundable items listed in Annex A.

What documentation is required for equipment or OOE items in my proposal submission?

• All equipment requests must be supported by quotations. 

• For OOE items above SGD 3,000, quotations must be attached with proposal submission.

• These are mandatory for SMU PI submissions.

What documents must be submitted with the application?
A complete application package comprises:

• SMU-U of T Research Seed Fund Application Form

• CV of the SMU Lead PI (maximum 2 pages)

• CV of the U of T Lead PI (maximum 2 pages)

• Quotations for applicable SMU budget items

• Budget Excel Template

How many files can I upload?
Only two files should be uploaded:

1. One consolidated PDF containing all required application documents.
2. One Budget Excel file.

Is there an expectation to pursue external funding?
Yes. While the intellectual and scientific merit is paramount, applicants are urged to frame the seed project as part of a longer-term, broader research agenda, with a pathway to strengthen the evidence base or pilot approaches that can scale into competitive applications for external research funding.

Key Dates 

1. Grant Call Opens: 9 October 2026
2. Application deadline: 4 December (11:59am EDT in Toronto / 11:59pm SGT in Singapore)
3. Outcomes expected to be announced: March 2027
4. Project Commencement: 1 April 2027 
5. Projects awarded under the 2026 Joint SMU-UofT Grant Call will start on 1 April 2027, with a project duration capped at 12 months.