Vital insights, signature perspectives.

We are passionate observers and analysts of the trends shaping Asia. We frequently engage communities across the region for real-time insights and publish our perspectives prolifically.

You can find out what matters to Southeast Asia with ASEANScan, explore contemporary community insights on SensingSG, and stay informed with our fresh perspectives via our blog below.

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Month

SensingSG Q2 2026 Briefing: Economic Rebound Underway, But Yet to Reach Every Household

Singapore’s economic sentiment rebounded in Q2 2026 (July 2026), but cost-of-living pressure continues to shape household confidence and spending. SensingSG findings show why policymakers must look beyond headline recovery to the lived experience of different households, while businesses should prepare for consumers who feel more optimistic about the future but remain highly disciplined about price and value.

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SensingSG Q2 2026 Special Report: Singapore Welcomes AI, Even as Tech Fatigue Sets In

Singaporeans increasingly value AI in their personal lives, yet remain concerned about digital fatigue, career disruption and the unequal distribution of productivity gains. SensingSG Q2 2026 findings show that lasting support for AI will depend on stronger workforce protections, transparent job redesign and a clearer employment bargain between government, businesses and workers.

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SensingSG Q1 2026 Briefing: Singaporeans Back National Direction even as Personal Finance Sentiment Diminishes

SensingSG’s Q1 2026 data shows that Singaporeans continue to back the country’s overall direction, with 89% saying it is on the right track. Yet beneath that headline resilience, household sentiment is weakening fast. Economic pessimism has doubled in a single quarter, personal finance confidence has slipped to a two-year low, and the impact of global price shocks is beginning to register more sharply in daily life.

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Navigating the Year of the Horse: 8 Signals Reshaping Singapore’s Communication Landscape in 2026

Is your strategy ready for the "Year of the Horse"? Blackbox CEO David Black identifies eight signals reshaping Singapore's communications landscape—from Chinese brand dominance and AI disruption to healthcare anxieties and PR-IR convergence. The mandate: transform from message carrier to strategic interpreter in 2026.

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The Legacy of LKY in the Age of Extremes

In a fragmenting world, Lee Kuan Yew’s principles have evolved from lived memory into Singapore’s "active DNA". While most citizens now view his legacy as more significant than a decade ago, this is not a slide into nostalgia or personality cults. Instead, Singaporeans are using LKY’s core virtues — foresight, meritocracy, and discipline — as a moral yardstick to scrutinize the performance of current leadership.


Drawing on original data from Blackbox’s SensingSG, this essay by David Black explores how LKY's "operating philosophy" serves as a global benchmark for governance.

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SensingSG: Sentiment on Trump Slumps in Singapore

The final SensingSG wave of 2025 reveals a significant "Trump Slump" in Singaporean sentiment, driven by economic friction and tariff concerns. Conversely, domestic stability remains high, with Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy of meritocracy and foresight continuing to anchor public confidence ten years after his passing.

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GE2025: How the PAP Clinched a Convincing Win - And What the Data Tells Us

Singapore’s GE2025 may have handed the PAP a stronger mandate, but voter sentiment reveals a more complex story. Drawing on final-week polling from Blackbox Research, this analysis unpacks how ground strategy, issue salience, and digital engagement shaped the outcome — and why the Workers’ Party isn’t going away.

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5 Things Nomination Day Signals About GE2025

Nomination Day 2025 has set the tone for a competitive and closely watched election. Drawing from Blackbox’s latest data, this analysis explores what the candidate line-ups reveal about voter sentiment, leadership favourability, and top concerns — from cost-of-living pressures to rising interest in opposition rallies and political engagement.

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Sensing the Shift: How Singaporeans Are Thinking Ahead of GE2025

As GE2025 approaches, the latest SensingSG findings show rising voter engagement, strong leadership approval for PM Wong and the Workers Party's Pritam Singh, and cost of living as the top electoral issue. Find out how Singaporeans are thinking, feeling, and preparing to vote.

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Countdown to GE2025: Sensing Singapore’s Mood

As Singapore approaches GE2025, find out what Singaporean voters are thinking. Our latest insights explore how rising optimism, shifting voter priorities, and key social trends are shaping the nation’s political landscape. From evolving cost-of-living concerns to the impact of leadership transitions and local issues, this Blackbox Research briefing provides a data-driven analysis of what to expect in the months ahead.

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SensingSG Q32024: Riding a Wave of Optimism

SensingSG is back with its Q32024 data wave, having conducted fieldwork in the final week of September, and we find that the optimistic vibes we saw in Q2 have continued unabated, especially in relation to economic sentiment. Elsewhere, we see the Good Governance Meter stay steady overall, albeit with some shifts on individual issues, while our Media Monitor surprisingly finds that the trial and imprisonment of a former Cabinet Minister raised barely a shrug.

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Keep your finger on the pulse of Asia - Blackbox Research