Capability Development Grant

Who qualifies

• Organisation types: Natural person (worker, trainee, founder); Sole proprietorship; Limited liability partnership; Private limited company (Pte Ltd); Company limited by guarantee; Registered society.
• Individuals must be Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, preferably residing in Singapore and actively contributing to the local arts scene.
• Organisations must be registered with ACRA (including sole proprietorships, LLPs, CLGs and private limited companies) or the Registry of Societies at application.
• Informal groups or collectives may apply where most members are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, but an individual member or legally constituted organisation must assume legal and financial responsibility.
• Supported activities must span no more than 12 consecutive months and must not have commenced or taken place before the applicable project-start date.
• Individuals who are employees of a company and whose training is required or organised by the company are not eligible; the employer should apply and bear the cost instead.
• Organisations constituted for non-secular purposes, recipients of ongoing government operating grants other than NAC Major Company Scheme members, CLGs receiving MCCY or NAC organisational funding, and applicants with outstanding NAC reports or debts are not eligible.

What it funds

• Employee training, upskilling, course fees
• Core capabilities — strategy, HR, finance, branding, processes

Costs covered: Course fees and trainer costs; Overseas travel and logistics; Explain in notes; Third-party consultant or professional service fees; Internal staff salary attributable to the project; Space, incubation or facility rental; Physical materials and consumables consumed by the funded project (e.g. construction materials, prototypes); Marketing, advertising, trade-fair booth costs.

Maximum support: up to 90%.

Percentage of actual supportable expenses varies by applicant type: individuals up to 70% (up to 90% for Self-Employed Persons/SEPs), non-profit organisations or collectives up to 70%, for-profit organisations up to 50%.

Recorded cap: S$75,000.

Overall cap per financial year varies by applicant type; individuals are capped at $20,000 and organisations at $75,000.

Payment: Paid in tranches against milestones.

How to apply

Submit online via the OurSG Grants Portal by 23:59 SGT on the applicable closing date.

1. Read the CD Grant Guidelines.
2. Prepare the proposal details, budget template, CV of key parties and write-up or supporting materials for the proposed activity.
3. If applying as a Self-Employed Person for the 90% tier, prepare the three required proofs of SEP status.
4. Submit online via the OurSG Grants Portal by 23:59 SGT on the closing date.
5. Submit the outstanding partner or collaborator information to NAC once available.

Before applying

• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Documents

• Proposal details — Completed within OurSG Grants.
• Budget template — Template is available for download within OurSG Grants.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) of key parties involved — Mandatory from 15 August 2026; format is not specified.
• Write-up and supporting materials of proposed capability development activity or programme — Listed under other documents required in the guidelines.
• IRAS Notice of Assessment or Consolidated Statement of Income (if applicable) — For Self-Employed Person applicants; most recent financial year.
• CPF Contribution (Employment and Self-Employed) or Transaction History (if applicable) — For Self-Employed Person applicants; last six months.
• Self-Declaration that the applicant does not concurrently hold full-time employment (if applicable) — For Self-Employed Person applicants; form available within OurSG Grants.

Claiming support

The grant is disbursed in 2 instalments for grants under $20,000 (80% on award/acceptance and 20% after project completion and required reports) or 3 instalments for grants of $20,000 and above (50% on award/acceptance, 30% on project completion and 20% after the required reports). Submit closure reports through OurSG Grants. Grants below $10,000 use a Financial Report; grants of $10,000 and above use a certified Statement of Accounts with proof of the accountant's registration.

Required after successful completion of the project; no fixed number of days is stated

Contact: NAC_Feedback@nac.gov.sg

Application window: NAC lists four apply-by deadlines (not three, and dates were previously scrambled): 15 Dec 2025, 15 Apr 2026, 14 Aug 2026, 15 Dec 2026 - each followed by a notified-by date roughly 2.5 months later and a project-start date shortly after. Next open deadline from today (2026-09-07) is 15 Dec 2026; no cycle-open date is published.

Closes: 2026-12-15