Giving
Why We Exist
Social service plays an integral role in society. It is a profession that helps ensure the needs of the disadvantaged are heard and addressed, thus improving the well-being of people within the community.
In Singapore, social service has played a significant role since the country’s independence. Today, over 500 Social Service Agencies (SSAs) are registered with the National Council for Social Services (NCSS), providing all forms of help and support to the various groups in the community. While there are numerous bespoke programmes and initiatives for various communities such as the elderly, the disabled, low-income families and youths-at-risk, there is a lack of strong research and evidence-based approaches to drive the evaluation of existing programmes and to initiate and test new and innovative solutions.
To address this gap in social intervention research, the Social Service Research Centre (SSR) in the National University of Singapore (NUS) was launched in April 2015.
First Research Centre in Singapore Dedicated to Social Intervention Research
The Centre, first of its kind in Singapore dedicated to social service research, aims to bring together resources and ideas to promote social innovations, and help evolve a new social service infrastructure for Singapore’s next phase of social development. The SSR also organizes seminars and conferences, providing a platform for industry practitioners to exchange ideas and develop solutions on the most pressing social issues. (View our past conferences and seminar series here).
Building a Strong Social Service Infrastructure to Support Singapore’s Next Phase of Social Development
As the nation progresses, social issues will become increasingly complex and multi-faceted. A strong social service infrastructure – where innovative social solutions can be initiated and developed – is necessary to support Singapore’s next phase of social development.
What We Have Achieved
Since its founding in 2015, the SSR has embarked on 20 research projects, working in partnership with government agencies and SSAs. These projects span across various areas in the industry, such as:
- Enhancing the operational delivery of social services
- Evaluating the utility of existing social services programmes
- Improving social services interventions for various groups, e.g. children and low-income families. (View our past and current research projects here)
Importantly, the focus is on translational research that has a direct impact in the social service sector.
Close Partnerships with SSAs and Social Service Practitioners to Develop Solutions to Pressing Needs in the Industry
Dr Charmaine Lee from National Council of Social Service, shares on how SSR events have helped her work in the social sector.
Why Give?
Equipping the Social Service Sector
As the saying goes, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. The SSR strongly believes that it is far more impactful to directly equip SSAs and social service practitioners with the knowledge and tools to perform their own empirical evaluations of programmes and to seed new innovative ideas. To that end, the SSR has launched a Research Mentoring Programme, where practitioners initiate projects based on the needs of their respective agencies and are trained and mentored by SSR researchers in developing solutions using evidence-based approaches.
The feedback thus far have been very positive with participants indicating that they gained new perspectives in their work, were enabled to have cross-sector learning and learnt how to integrate research into their programme design. These benefits were over and above the gains of the findings of the research that they had embarked on.
Building a Community of Inventive Social Services
SSR needs your continuous support to:
- Conduct pilot or field studies relating to social service practice and interventions
- Provide expert inputs to evidence-based practice in the social service sector
- Develop the research capability in the social service sector by providing training and mentorship to SSAs and social service practitioners
The impact of your gift creates a positive change in society. It builds a strong social service infrastructure for Singapore, where innovative social interventions can be developed to produce better outcomes to meet the evolving social needs of Singapore – which has a direct impact on the quality of life of the disadvantaged.
Benefits of Giving
As a donor to NUS, you can enjoy tax benefits, have your gift matched by the Singapore government and receive naming opportunities.
If you are a Singapore tax resident, your gift to NUS made from today is eligible for a tax deduction that is 2.5 times the gift value.
To recognise the generosity of our donors, NUS offers naming opportunities. You can make a gift to honour individuals such as mentors or loved ones, or corporations or foundations.