NRC IRAP Financial Support
National Research Council Canada (NRC IRAP) · Innovation grant
VariesNon-repayable contributions toward R&D project costs (mainly salaries and contractors) plus advisory services; amount set per project with an Industrial Technology Advisor (not published).
Canada's flagship SME innovation program: advisory support and non-repayable funding for technology development and commercialization projects in Canada.
Key terms
- Must be incorporated, for-profit and operating in Canada
- Up to 500 full-time-equivalent employees
- Does not fund day-to-day operating costs, purely commercial activity or work done outside Canada
- Meeting minimum criteria does not guarantee funding; projects are scoped with an ITA
Eligibility
- Where
- Canada
- Stages
- pre-seed, seed, series-a, growth
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- Yes
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Not eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- <=500 FTE employees
- Technology-driven product or service with economic benefit in Canada
How to apply
Call 1-877-994-4727 or use the NRC IRAP contact form to be matched with an Industrial Technology Advisor, who assesses the project and invites a funding application.
- Benefit
- mixed
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- —
- Credit validity
- —
- Deadline
- Rolling
- Status
- Open
Verified 2026-10 · source