In-Between

Opportunity

Applying for community grants in Singapore is harder than it should be.

The SG Grant Portal hosts over 60 grants, but we learned that descriptions can be too generic to help applicants differentiate between options.

Even when people find the right grant, the application process is confusing. Officers at the Lively Places Fund—which gets over 100 applications yearly—still spend time going back and forth with applicants despite efforts to simplify forms.

The real issue isn't a lack of available grants—it's potentially the application process itself that can prevent good ideas from getting funded.

Velocity

We entered the month with two hypotheses and tested them with 5 officers from HDB and URA.

Hypothesis 1: People don't know which opportunities exist. We proposed a repository for discovering grants, but officers noted that applicants typically come with specific projects rather than browsing for inspiration. This was quickly invalidated.

Hypothesis 2: The application process is too complex to navigate alone, resulting in drop outs. Officers validated this strongly. Our initial concept was AI-guided forms, but since the grant form lives on the SG Grant Portal, a standalone replacement form isn't viable. This pushed us toward a better delivery mechanism: a AI-assisted browser plugin that works alongside the existing portal. As users fill applications, it generates personalised checklists showing stakeholders to engage, suggested timelines, compliance notes, and budget considerations tailored to each specific grant. Officers responded well to the concept—"Like the AI, very useful"—and the approach works across all 60+ grants, not just one

Traction

Our user interviews helped us quickly invalidate initial hypotheses and understand real constraints around the SG Grant Portal. Officers responded positively to the plugin concept: "It's a worthwhile project. We want to see it work." They highlighted that helping applicants navigate requirements upfront could reduce back-and-forth and improve application quality.

We're currently testing an early prototype. Next steps include refining the interface, testing with actual grant applicants, and expanding our knowledge base to cover more grants.

Team

• Lai Jing Yi

• Tham Si Mun