A key priority of the NRF is to develop a significant concentration of research talent in order to sustain long-term research and development.

The research programmes and initiatives for promoting R&D activities all have the underlying objective of building up research competencies and capacity through the development and nurturing of a pool of local research talent, which is augmented by attracting and anchoring foreign talent in various fields of science and technology.

NRF has also implemented the NRF Research Fellowship scheme, which aims to attract and anchor brilliant young researchers, in particular post-doctoral fellows, to undertake independent cutting-edge research in Singapore.