The Research and Innovation Scheme for Companies (RISC), administered by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is a strategic partnership designed to encourage established companies to deepen their technological capabilities and develop proprietary products and processes from Singapore.

For large local enterprises and multinational corporations (MNCs) with significant, multi-year R&D roadmaps, RISC serves as a vital financial anchor, de-risking the capital and operational expenditure required for high-impact innovation. Understanding the scheme’s strategic intent is the key to securing this long-term funding.

1. Defining the Strategic Fit: Who is RISC Designed For?

RISC targets projects that demonstrate both technological complexity and a clear line of sight to economic value for Singapore. This scheme is structured to support companies making substantive, long-term commitments to R&D.

Eligibility Criterion	Strategic Imperative
Project Type	Development of proprietary technologies, products, or processes that go beyond routine engineering and leverage advanced R&D.
Project Scope	Projects must typically be substantial, encompassing multiple workstreams and a minimum eligible cost that justifies EDB support.
Economic Outcome	Projects must contribute positively to Singapore’s economy, such as high-value job creation, capability transfer, or development of a new industry segment.
Company Scale	Typically aimed at larger companies (LEs and MNCs) that possess the internal capacity and financial stability to undertake and sustain long-term R&D.

RISC effectively acts as a strategic co-investment, signaling the EDB’s confidence in the company’s ability to execute a large-scale innovation agenda.

2. The Core Value: RISC’s Multi-Year Funding Horizon

Unlike short-term grants, the defining feature of RISC is its long-term tenure, which is crucial for complex research programs.

Sustained Support for Deep R&D

RISC awards typically span three to five years initially, providing the financial certainty necessary for research and product development that requires multiple stages of experimentation and refinement. This multi-year certainty is invaluable for:

Talent Acquisition: Allowing companies to hire and retain highly specialized R&D talent over the required product lifecycle.
Capital Expenditure: Supporting investments in specialized equipment, laboratories, or pilot plants that are essential for the project but too costly for standard operational budgets.
Phased Development: Funding distinct project phases, from feasibility studies and prototyping to final validation and commercialization planning.

This approach ensures that projects are not prematurely curtailed due to funding cycles, aligning the financial commitment with the biological timeline of innovation.

3. Maximising RISC Value: Aligning with the EDB Mandate

Securing a RISC award is fundamentally about demonstrating alignment with the EDB’s economic development goals. Maximization is achieved through rigorous preparation and articulation of value.

Financial and Technical Structuring

The funding covers key expenditure categories, including:

Manpower Costs: Salaries and costs of local and expatriate researchers directly involved in the project.
Capital Expenditure (CAPEX): Investment in plant, machinery, equipment, and software essential for the research.
Consumables and Materials: Costs related to testing, prototyping, and experimentation.

A successful application requires meticulously structuring the financial model to isolate and justify every dollar of support requested, linking it directly back to the project’s technical deliverables and the promised economic outcomes (e.g., jobs and total business spending).

4. RISC in the Innovation Funding Portfolio (Tax vs. Grant)

It is crucial to understand how RISC interacts with other incentives, particularly the Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS), to ensure a globally optimized R&D strategy.

Grant vs. Tax Deduction: RISC provides direct grant funding (a government contribution to project costs), whereas the EIS offers a 400% tax deduction on qualifying R&D expenditure.
The Strategic Complement: For MNCs, the R&D costs not covered by the RISC grant, or those incurred outside the RISC project scope, can often be strategically claimed under the EIS to yield a further tax benefit, provided the expenditure meets the specific statutory requirements of the Income Tax Act.
Mitigating Clawback Risk: Because RISC is a performance-based grant, a specialist consultant is essential for managing the multi-year reporting, ensuring that the company meets all defined milestones, expenditure levels, and head-count commitments stipulated in the award letter to avoid potential clawback of funds.

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