Translational Social Research

NCSS conducts various nationwide surveys in a bid to produce research findings that guide our organisation, social service agencies, funders and other stakeholders in developing and prioritising evidence-informed solutions to improve the lives of different population segments in Singapore.
Using a variety of methodology (e.g., longitudinal/ panel and birth cohort studies; environmental scanning and sense making; economic evaluation), NCSS examines various areas of research, including family and child welfare, offending and rehabilitation, population studies, social service provision, and quality of life.
The role of the Translational Social Research Division (TSRD) is to translate research into impactful insights that can inform policy and be applied for practice.

Research Resources

Observing the need for greater resources in the Social Service Sector, TSRD has offered a suite of Research Resources exclusively for NCSS Members to build their research capabilities. These include:

Social Service Sector Repository

The Repository is a first-of-its-kind online database, housing rigorous research conducted by NCSS member organisations and public service agencies on local social service sector and relevant topics.

Registration for the Repository is free for NCSS member agencies (one shared account per agency). The Repository may be accessed here. Please click this link to register. To check the login details registered to your agency's account, please email research@ncss.gov.sg for assistance.

Scholarly Journal Database

NCSS subscribes to the EBSCO scholarly journal database and provides free access to our member agencies (one shared accuont per agency).

Interested parties may write in to research@ncss.gov.sg to apply for a new account or to check the login details registered to your agency's account.

NCSS Ethics Review Committee

The NCSS Ethics Review Committee (ERC) provides an accessible, timely and robust ethics review platform for research studies that social services agencies would like to conduct.

For more information on the criteria and application process, please click here.

Volunteer Researcher Matching Service

NCSS provides this service to match volunteer researchers with social service agencies that require assistance with research projects (e.g. consultancy, advice, data analysis).

Please click this link to apply.

Research Pulse

The Research Pulse is a new initiative consolidating and highlighting key announcements/ research findings from TSRD. These include research resources developed for NCSS members as well as bitesized articles on the latest research findings.

To join the mailing list for the Research Pulse, please email research@ncss.gov.sg.

Coming Soon: Online Dashboard

NCSS will be providing interactive online dashboards of Quality of Life (QOL) datasets for the public's information at-a-glance via this website. These QOL datasets will showcase specific population groups in Singapore to understand their quality of life and experience with social services.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Research Publications

As part of research dissemination, TSRD has published many papers in academic peer-reviewed journals, as well as research studies helmed by TSRD itself, which include:

Research on Vulnerable Population Groups

Quality of Life Studies

Needs Assessment on Respite Care for Caregivers of Persons with Disabilities found in Quality of Life of Adults with Disabilities below

. .

Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Criminality in Singapore

Study on the Demand and Factors to Overcome Barriers in Employing Persons with Mental Health Conditions

Employment of Young People with Mental Health Conditions

Research on SSAs and the Sector

Social Service Sector Survey 2018

Research on Public Attitudes

Study on Public Attitudes Towards Persons with Mental Health Conditions

Study on Public Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities

Research Engagements

Seminars and Research Coalitions

As part of efforts to raise sector awareness and build greater capability on research and evaluation, NCSS will be hosting a series of half-day virtual seminars, which include:

Evaluation & Research: Navigating our Evaluation & Research Journeys as One

1st August 2022
2:00 - 5:00pm

NCSS will be hosting a half-day virtual seminar titled 'Evaluation & Research: Navigating our Evaluation & Research Journeys as One' on 1st August 2022 from 2:00 - 5:00pm. Through a series of sharing and presentations, this webinar will showcase evaluation and research practices that SSAs can adopt to improve the effectiveness of their interventions. The webinar will also highlight the various research resources NCSS has to offer to our member organisations.

Click here to sign up, before 22 July 2022!

Coming Soon: Roundtable Discussions with SSAs

NCSS will be hosting half-day virtual roundtable discussions with SSA researchers and staff to discuss various topics like strategies, feedback and challenges faced during research.

With such discussions, SSAs will be able to identify the complexities of data collection on the ground, cross-share best practices and recommendations that can benefit services, and in doing so, develop a greater understanding of research processes.

Sector Evaluation Framework

The Sector Evaluation Framework aims to provide a common language to consider progress and impact across NCSS-funded programmes, while allowing for flexibility at the programme level. The Framework is one which all stakeholders can use as a consistent set of measures for evaluation.

More details will be provided at a later date.