National Research Council Canada

Administers National Research Council of Canada, Canada's federal research organization and Industrial Research Assistance programme.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is the Government of Canada's primary federal research and technology organisation. Its Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) is the dominant non-dilutive R&D funding mechanism for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, with approximately CA$414 million in annual contributions.

NRC IRAP operates through a network of approximately 275 Industrial Technology Advisors (ITAs) who provide combined advisory and funding support to SMEs across Canada. Unlike most government grant programmes, IRAP has no published competition cycles — applications are developed in collaboration with an assigned ITA and assessed continuously.

Alongside IRAP, the NRC runs the Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation program (CSTIP), which delivers non-repayable grant and contribution funding to external collaborators working with NRC researchers under topic-specific Challenge programs (e-Auto, Quantum Internetworking, Low Carbon Built Environment, Arctic and Northern, Applied Quantum Computing, and others). CSTIP supports up to 75% of eligible project costs and is administered through the NRC's National Program Office.

In FY2025-2026, NRC IRAP allocated direct funding to SMEs across every province and territory. Most awards range from CA$75,000 to CA$1 million, with the Accelerated Review Program offering fast-track decisions on projects under approximately CA$50,000.