Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development

What Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development does

The Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development (CHILD) is a translational research centre established in August 2020 under the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine with a $30 million endowment from the Lien Foundation. It is structured as a university-affiliated research hub rather than a commercial entity, operating across Singapore and focused on shortening the lag between child development research and real-world implementation — from a typical 10-20 years to under five. CHILD's portfolio centres on five evidence-based programmes: the EASEL Approach (nine educator-led practices for children aged 3-6 promoting social-emotional and executive function outcomes, validated across 558 children and 47 educators in 18 centres), LET'S Care (a 6-session $50 training programme for domestic helpers using the O-U-R framework), LET'S Play (a 4-6 session coaching programme for grandparent caregivers reaching ~40 families), the Appetite Toolbox (eating self-regulation intervention with PCF Sparkletots and A*STAR SICS), and HEADS-UPP (an integrated health and development service for low-income children and families targeting 350-400 children by June 2025).

CHILD convenes the biennial CHILD Conference, the Evidence to Policy and Practice webinar series, the Navigating Parenthood webinar series, and publishes Evidence Insights & Briefs and the Everyday Moments Matter video series. Revenue mechanics are non-commercial: the endowment funds operations, supplemented by research grants (e.g., Temasek Foundation support for LET'S Care, and over S$6 million secured by Dr. Keri McCrickerd as Principal Investigator) and nominal participant fees. Go-to-market is community- and event-led, delivered through in-person training sessions, an e-learning portal, and partnerships with government agencies (ECDA, MOH, MSF, MOE), healthcare institutions (NUH, NUHS), Singapore's largest preschool operator (PCF Sparkletots), and community organisations (Care Corner, Suncare SG, Bayanihan Centre).

The centre's core technology is its evidence-synthesis and implementation-science methodology, drawing on multi-disciplinary translational research (psychology, nutrition, speech therapy, occupational therapy, early childhood education) and privileged access to Singapore-based longitudinal cohort data such as GUSTO and S-PRESTO via its A*STAR IHDP partnership. CHILD is governed by representatives from NUS Medicine, Lien Foundation, A*STAR IHDP, and CEI, with Dr. Keri McCrickerd serving as Executive Director and Prof Chong Yap Seng (Dean, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) as Board Chair. The operating model is best understood as a translational research intermediary — not a product company — whose customer-facing segments are caregivers, early childhood educators, policymakers, and at-risk children and families, with PCF Sparkletots and NUH as primary enterprise delivery anchors.

Name

Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development

Legal name

Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development

Website

https://thechild.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CHILD is a translational research centre under NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine that designs and evaluates evidence-based early childhood programmes — EASEL, LET'S Care, LET'S Play, Appetite Toolbox, and HEADS-UPP — for caregivers, educators, policymakers, and at-risk families in Singapore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Development Research and Translational Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health & Infant/Early Childhood Consultation (0–5) (EDACAFAO), Health Education & Parent Coaching (Sleep, Safety, Illness Management) (EDACAMAN), Early Childhood & Child Development Policy Research (EDADADAJ)

Keywords

• Early childhood research
• Caregiver training programmes
• Implementation science services
• Policy translation consulting
• Evidence synthesis publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Endowment Funding: CHILD was established with a generous endowment from Lien Foundation. The centre operates as a non-profit research centre under NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, funded through endowments and research grants rather than commercial revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CHILD is a translational research centre that designs, evaluates and delivers evidence-based early childhood development programmes for caregivers, educators, and policymakers in Singapore. Its sellable outputs include training programmes (LET'S Care for domestic helpers, LET'S Play for grandparents), educator practice frameworks (EASEL Approach), and health and nutrition interventions (Appetite Toolbox, HEADS-UPP), complemented by knowledge products such as Evidence Insights & Briefs, the Everyday Moments Matter video series, and conference and webinar convenings. Most offerings are delivered free or subsidised through endowment and grant funding rather than commercial pricing.

Product overview

CHILD operates as a research-to-practice translational centre focused on early childhood development, offering a portfolio of evidence-based programmes, educational resources, and professional development initiatives. The core programmes include LET'S Care (a training programme for domestic helpers), LET'S Play (grandparent caregiving support), the EASEL Approach (educator practices framework), and the Appetite Toolbox (healthy eating intervention). These are complemented by knowledge products including Evidence Insights & Briefs publications and the Everyday Moments Matter video series. CHILD also convenes the biennial CHILD Conference and regular webinar series to engage stakeholders across research, policy, and practice. The centre does not operate as a commercial product company but rather as a translational research hub connecting academic evidence with real-world implementation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LET'S Care: LEarning To Support Caregiving in Singapore families - a 6-session training programme for domestic helpers co-caring for young children under 6, conducted by early childhood experts from CHILD.
• LET'S Play
• EASEL Approach
• The Appetite Toolbox
• HEADS-UPP

Products and services

• LET'S Care (LEarning To Support Caregiving in Singapore families) A 6-session training programme that equips domestic helpers co-caring for young children under 6 with science-backed knowledge on child health, caregiving best practices, and positive adult-child interactions using the O-U-R (Observe, Understand, Respond) framework. Delivered in-person on Sundays at The Lighthouse Punggol and Bayanihan Centre, with e-learning reinforcement.
• LET'S Play (LEarning To Support Play) A 4-to-6-session coaching programme that helps grandparent caregivers observe, understand and respond better to their young grandchildren during play, enhancing caregiving responsiveness and sensitivity. Delivered at families' preferred locations (home, centre, or online), with the pilot involving approximately 40 families.
• EASEL Approach (Enhancing and Supporting Early Development to Better Children's Lives) A set of nine universal, educator-led practices designed for use with children aged 3 to 6 in early childhood settings to improve social, emotional, behavioural, and executive functioning (SEB+EF) outcomes. Delivered via training workshops, one-to-one coaching, and communities of practice in partnership with PCF Sparkletots, Little Olive Tree, and MY World.
• The Appetite Toolbox A health intervention programme for preschool children aged 4 to 6 years old that cultivates healthy eating behaviours by enhancing appetite awareness and self-regulation skills, delivered in partnership with A*STAR SICS and PCF Sparkletots.
• HEADS-UPP (HEAlth and Development Support in Preschool Partnerships) An integrated health service redesign programme targeting low-income children and families in Singapore, integrating primary care, dental care, Women's Emotional Health services, and child development support across NUHS, NUH Child Development Unit, Care Corner, and PCF Sparkletots.
• Evidence Insights & Briefs A publication series synthesising the best available global and local research evidence on early childhood development practices, published in English, Chinese and Spanish and made available for download on the CHILD website.
• Everyday Moments Matter (Video Series) A video resource series designed for parents, caregivers and educators that explains early childhood development science and introduces easy-to-adopt caregiving guidance for responsive caregiving.
• CHILD Evidence to Policy and Practice Webinar Series A Zoom-based webinar series engaging policymakers, academics, clinicians and practitioners in dialogue on innovations in research, policy, and practice related to early childhood development.
• Navigating Parenthood: Myths vs Science Webinar Series A public-facing webinar series co-organised with partners that addresses parenting topics such as screen time, sleep, fussy eating, and child mental health by debunking myths with scientific evidence.
• CHILD Biennial Conference A hybrid biennial conference providing a global platform for early childhood researchers, practitioners and policymakers to debate and generate creative solutions, exchange ideas, and share international research and best practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research translation timeline reduced from 10-20 years to under 5 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered founding/core, core, major and supporting.

• NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicinefounding/coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHILD is established under the umbrella of NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, providing institutional hosting, academic infrastructure, and access to medical expertise and research capabilities.
• Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI)founding/coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI is a strategic core partner bringing expertise in evidence synthesis and translation, implementation science, and programme design and evaluation. CEI has offices in Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, and London.
• National University Hospital (NUH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNUH is a key partner providing clinical and medical expertise. CHILD collaborates with NUH's Child Development Unit and other clinical programmes to develop and integrate research with clinical practice.
• A*STAR Institute for Human Development and Potential (A*STAR IHDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA*STAR IHDP is a strategic core partner focusing on clinical sciences and translational research. They contribute expertise from longitudinal cohort studies like GUSTO and S-PRESTO.
• Suncare SGmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuncare SG is a partner for the LET'S Play programme and co-organized the launch of The Lighthouse activity centre. Suncare SG focuses on youth mental health and development.
• Bayanihan CentresupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBayanihan Centre co-organises the LET'S Care training programme and provides venue for training sessions, serving the domestic helper community in Singapore.
• Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECDA is the government agency overseeing early childhood development in Singapore. CHILD collaborates with ECDA on the EASEL Approach evaluation and implementation.
• PAP Community Foundation (PCF)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPCF is Singapore's largest preschool operator. CHILD partners with PCF Sparkletots for the Appetite Toolbox programme and HEADS-UPP initiative.
• Care Corner SingaporemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCare Corner is a social service agency partnered for the HEADS-UPP programme, providing services for low-income children and families in the Queenstown Health District.
• Little Olive TreesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEarly childhood provider partnered for EASEL 2.0 rollout across Singapore childcare centres.
• MY WorldsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEarly childhood provider partnered for EASEL 2.0 rollout across Singapore childcare centres.
• A*STAR Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSICS partnered with CHILD and PCF Sparkletots for the Appetite Toolbox programme to address childhood obesity through eating self-regulation interventions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Zero to Three: Zero to Three is a leading US-based non-profit that translates early-childhood brain-development research into practitioner training, family resources and policy advocacy. It shares CHILD's translational-research-to-practice model, educator certification programmes and policy advisory role, making it a comparable international peer.
• Bernard van Leer Foundation: Bernard van Leer Foundation is a global philanthropic foundation funding early-childhood development research, policy and practice. While CHILD operates as a delivery-and-research entity and BvL funds externally, both occupy the same translational niche and frequently co-fund or partner on international early-childhood programmes.
• Harvard Center on the Developing Child: The Harvard Center on the Developing Child produces evidence-based frameworks, training and policy resources on early-childhood development from birth through age five. It is a comparable translational-research hub focused on communicating developmental science to practitioners, educators and policymakers globally.

Direct peers

• A*STAR Institute for Human Development and Potential (IHDP): A*STAR IHDP is a core translational research partner of CHILD, with whom it shares the GUSTO and S-PRESTO cohorts. Both organisations conduct longitudinal child-development research and translate findings into community-facing programmes, directly overlapping on scientific focus and Singapore footprint.
• KidSTART Singapore: KidSTART Singapore is a national programme supporting children from low-income families with home visiting and family coaching, structurally aligned with CHILD's HEADS-UPP and LET'S Care work. Both target the same at-risk caregiver and child segments in Singapore and operate through NGO and government partnerships.
• Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI): CEI is a founding core partner of CHILD and runs the same evidence-synthesis-to-implementation model with offices in Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and London. Both organisations focus on translating research into early-childhood and social-sector programmes using implementation-science methodology, making it the closest operational peer.

Others

• Lien Foundation: Lien Foundation is the founding philanthropic funder that endowed CHILD with $30M SGD in 2020. While it is a funder rather than an operator, it funds parallel early-childhood and eldercare initiatives in Singapore and Asia, making it a thematic and ecosystem peer relevant for assessing CHILD's strategic positioning.

Regional players

• National Institute of Education (NIE) Singapore: NIE is Singapore's primary teacher-training institution and conducts early-childhood education research. CHILD draws research assistants from NIE and co-develops training frameworks; both operate academic-led early-childhood research with practitioner-facing outputs in Singapore.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theCHILDSG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thechildsg
• Instagraminstagram.com/thechildsg
• Xx.com/theCHILDSG

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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