About Cities of Tomorrow (CoT)
Launched in 2017, the Cities of Tomorrow (CoT) R&D programme is a multi-agency effort led by MND that seeks to sustain Singapore’s success in the decades ahead by leveraging on Research and Innovation (R&I). It is supported under the NRF’s Research, Innovation & Enterprise (RIE) efforts which are organised along 4 domains, with MND and MSE co-leading the Urban Solutions and Sustainability (USS) domain. The CoT aims to establish Singapore as a highly liveable, sustainable, and resilient city of the future, and as a vibrant urban solutions hub, through a suite of carefully curated research to develop urban solutions that address our national needs.
Building on earlier R&D efforts on space creation and optimisation, the CoT has expanded its research focus in RIE2020 to also support Built Environment (BE) industry transformation efforts. In 2022, the CoT Research & Innovation (R&I) Framework was refreshed to guide research priorities to support other national goals such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030, and in view of emerging challenges such as climate change and ageing infrastructure.
There are six strategic thrusts under the Cities of Tomorrow R&I Framework:
The Cities of Tomorrow R&I Framework supports our national priorities in the following ways: