The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) was established in January 1984 as a channel for the community to provide feedback on MINDEF/SAF's policies and other issues related to defence. With its restructuring in 2014, ACCORD has become an action-oriented platform reaching out to employers, businesses, families, community and educational institutions, to encourage and implement ground-up initiatives in support of National Service (NS) and Total Defence. From 2016 - 2018, ACCORD members has built on the work laid in the previous term. This has enabled ACCORD to deepen its engagement with various sectors of society and elicit their support to develop numerous ground-up initiatives in commemoration of NS50 in 2017. 

Supporting Pre-enlistees 

To help pre-enlistee students get fit for NS, Temasek Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and the three ITE Colleges implemented fitness programmes since 2015 and have seen improvements in the IPPT pass rate of the participating students. Other than reaching out to more Polytechnics, ACCORD also reached out to more Institutions such as Polytechnics, Foreign System Schools and Privately Funded Institutions to organise similar fitness programmes. Through ACCORD, Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs), Foreign System Schools and Privately Funded Institutions conducted sharing sessions on NS experiences by their alumni. Since 2017, the Secondary Schools have started to organise their own alumni sharing sessions for secondary three students. 

Supporting National Servicemen

Since 2015, ACCORD (through People's Association (PA) and SAFRA) has been garnering the support of retailers and merchants to be part of "We Support YOU in NS" to show their appreciation for National Servicemen by offering discounts and benefits. 

To increase the value proposition of NS to National Servicemen and the employers, ACCORD has been involved in information sharing sessions with employers to educate and increase awareness of the enhanced Certificate of Service (COS) package, which reflects the skills and competencies National Servicemen gain during NS. In addition, through these sessions, ACCORD also incorporates employers' feedback on relevant skills to give inputs to the expansion of accreditation of other SAF vocational courses. 

Strengthening Employer Support for NS 

Building on past efforts in increasing awareness of the NS system, ACCORD widened its focus and outreach to new and foreign companies, while sustaining continued engagement with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Large Corporations. ACCORD has also developed communication collaterals to encourage greater awareness of NS among employers. The Council expanded its networks to reach out to more companies through trade fairs and expositions organised by Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), such as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Singapore Manufacturing Federation. 

With the successful launch of the NS Mark accreditation scheme in August 2016, efforts were developed to encourage a stronger NS-friendly workplace culture among businesses. For example, companies and organisations began to showcase NS-friendly practices in their corporate reports for FY17/18. 

Strengthening Family Support for NS 

ACCORD has collaborated with Families for Life Council (FFLC) since 2015 and to date, engaged a total of 6800 NSFs, NSmen and their families through the annual "Families For Life Celebrations" event. On 5 Aug 2017, FFLC and the Singapore Discovery Centre jointly organised a "Celebrating NS50" Picnic with more than 700 families participating. In conjunction with Army Open House 2017, Centre for Fathering organised a two-day-one-night "Dads For Life" NS50 camp from 28 to 29 May 2017. It attracted over 200 pairs of father and child participants. 

Strengthening Community Support for NS 

ACCORD has also encouraged organisations to rally public appreciation and recognition of National Servicemen through initiatives such as SAFRA's "We Salute our NSmen" and "We Thank NSmen" campaigns, and through PA's banners expressing appreciation for our National Servicemen. 

Through ACCORD, for the first time, the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) collaborated with schools for 50 students to show their appreciation for National Servicemen. On 26 May 2017, the students spent a few hours at Choa Chu Kang and Boon Lay MRT stations to distribute windmill flowers to National Servicemen as they booked out from nearby camps. They gave out about 350 flowers, which were contributed by SKM.