SPRING Singapore

The Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (Chinese: 标新局),(Abbreviation: SPRING Singapore) was a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. It worked as an agency for enterprise development, and helped enterprises to enhance the competitiveness in Singapore market. It was also the national standards and conformance body.

SPRING Singapore
Logo of SPRING Singapore
Agency overview
Formed1 April 1996 (1996-04-01) (as Productivity and Standards Board)
April 2002 (2002-04) (as SPRING Singapore)
Preceding agencies
  • National Productivity Board
  • Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research
Dissolved1 April 2018 (2018-04-01)
Superseding agency
JurisdictionGovernment of Singapore
Headquarters1 Fusionopolis Walk, #01-02 South Tower, Solaris Singapore 138628
Agency executives
Parent agencyMinistry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)

On 1 April 2018, SPRING Singapore was merged with IE Singapore to form Enterprise Singapore.[2]

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.[3]

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'.[4]

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.[5]

SPRING Singapore was divided into five departments:[6]

  • 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.[7]

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.

See also

References
  1. "SPRING Singapore appoints new CEO". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  2. Heng, Janice. "IE and Spring merger timely, given global changes: Iswaran". The Business Times. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. Wee, Jane (29 May 2003). "SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board)". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  4. "SPRING – About SPRING Singapore". SPRING Singapore. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  5. "SPRING- Board of Directors". About Us. SPRING Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. "About Us – Organisational Chart". SPRING Singapore. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  7. "About Us – SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board)". Ministry of Trade and Industry. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
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