SPRING Singapore

History

Formerly known as Productivity and Standards Board (PSB), it was formed from the merger between the National Productivity Board (NPB) and the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research (SISIR) in April 1996. It helped to bring together the soft skills of productivity handled by NPB and the technical aspects handled by SISIR.

In April 2002, the organization was renamed SPRING Singapore and shifted towards an innovation-driven economy, and its new role in promoting creativity to sustain growth for Singaporeans.

Mission

As the national standards and conformance body, SPRING Singapore 'helped to lower technical barriers to trade, provide quality assurance for products and services and promote industry use of Singapore and international standards'.

SPRING Singapore's mission was "to help Singapore enterprises grow and build trust in Singapore products and services".

Organisation

SPRING Singapore was headed by Philip Yeo, former head of A*STAR.

SPRING Singapore was divided into five departments:

• Enterprise Capabilities
• Enterprise Promotion
• Industry Development
• Quality & Standards
• Corporate Development

Portfolio

The agency had three areas of focus: productivity and innovation; standards and quality; and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the domestic sector.

Scholarships

In 2008, SPRING Singapore awarded their first batch of Executive Development Scholarships (EDS) to focused junior college and university students with business and entrepreneurship goals.

The Management Development Scholarship (MDS) was also available to employees of SMEs who wish to pursue their Masters with a university on SPRING Singapore's list. Up to 90% of the course fees was subsidised by SPRING Singapore, with the remaining 10% fully borne by the SME company. This scholarship came with a bond of up to two years with the sponsoring SME company.

References

References

1. "SPRING Singapore appoints new CEO". Channel NewsAsia.
2. Heng, Janice. "IE and Spring merger timely, given global changes: Iswaran". The Business Times.
3. Wee, Jane. (29 May 2003). "SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board)". [[National Library Board]].
4. "SPRING – About SPRING Singapore". SPRING Singapore.
5. "SPRING- Board of Directors". SPRING Singapore.
6. "About Us – Organisational Chart". SPRING Singapore.
7. "About Us – SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board)". [[Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore).