An Expanded Mandate to Support Singapore’s Broader Research Ecosystem

Expanded Scope and New Governance Structure

The newly designated RIE TRUST Office will transition from its current focus on Human Health and Potential (HHP) domain projects to supporting additional research areas, beginning with urban solutions, sustainability, and built environment. This extension positions TRUST as a national research infrastructure serving multiple RIE domains.

The office will transit from the Ministry of Health’s Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) to the National Research Foundation (NRF), and administratively hosted in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). This transition, commencing 1 April 2026, reflects TRUST’s evolving role in Singapore’s research landscape and leverages A*STAR’s cross-sectoral capabilities and multidisciplinary expertise.

Continuity for Existing Users

Despite these changes, existing HHP domain users can expect a seamless experience. All current frameworks will remain unchanged, including TRUST Data Request (TDR) submissions and Data Access Committee (DAC) review processes. The same Concierge and Operations teams will continue providing support, and platform access will remain uninterrupted throughout the transition.

The existing TRUST policy for ‘bring your own data’ (BYOD) projects will also continue unchanged, maintaining data custodianship with principal investigators and institutions whilst ensuring data is used only for approved projects and deleted at end of each research project.

Enhanced Opportunities and Future Developments

This broader mandate creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and innovation, particularly through access to wider datasets from other RIE domains. For 2026, users can anticipate an expanded data catalogue and enhancements to the enTRUST platform, including an updated user interface with improved design and navigation.

The transformation positions TRUST as a cornerstone of Singapore’s vision for a harmonised, cross-domain research data ecosystem that drives innovation whilst maintaining rigorous data governance standards and public trust.