Singapore held its first ever Urban Sustainability R&D Congress on 27 and 28 June 2011. 800 participants from government agencies, research institutes and private sector companies gathered at Biopolis to discuss R&D responses to national urban sustainability challenges and possible areas of collaboration in "living labs" projects such as Punggol Eco-town, CleanTech Park, Jurong Lake District, and Marina Bay. This is the first attempt at bringing together multiple stakeholders to articulate and coordinate key national challenges in urban sustainability.

MOS MND Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin announced that $400 million would be committed to support R&D efforts in urban sustainability:

1. NRF: $300 million as the first National Innovation Challenge on building "Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth". The aim is to develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years.
2. MND:  An additional $50 million (total of $100 million) to the MND Research Fund, which supports research in aspects of urban sustainability beyond energy.
3. NRF: $50 million under its Competitive Research Programme (CRP) Call on "Meeting Future Food Demands for Singapore".