Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) Awards $5M to Ottawa Tech Company
The National Research Council (NRC) recently announced a $5M funding award to Ottawa-based Ross Video. The $5M in funding signifies the single largest funding award through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) and will help the organization to compete with other tech firms on a global level.
Funding from this federal program will be disbursed over three years and will support investment in 4K, cloud-based services, and new technologies in the next generation of Ross Video Products.
CEO of Ross Video, David Ross, attributes his success with the NRC-IRAP program to the organization’s strong track record of delivering on past NRC-funded projects:
“We were able to point to every single time that they’d given us smaller amounts of funding, what we had been able to do with that, how it had created jobs, how we had actually grown, how we’d never wasted any money…”
The funding Ross Video has received in the past from IRAP ranged from $50,000 to $500,000; this $5M award is a major cash injection for Ross Video’s growth and signifies IRAP’s commitment to funding Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and helping them increase their innovation capacity and compete globally.
In 2018, the IRAP program received a $700 million top-up along with a mandate to increase the funding threshold to successful applicants to up to $10 million for large-scale R&D projects.
About the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) Program
The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) is a Canadian government funding program designed to accelerate the research and development projects of Canadian innovators. Businesses who are developing and implementing process improvements are the primary targets to receive research funding contributions through IRAP, however, large-scale technology adoption projects that lead to new capabilities are also considered.
IRAP is administered and managed by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). NRC-IRAP funding contributions are funded through the Government of Canada; this means that applicants from across the country can apply to receive funding support. If performing a technology-driven research and development project in Canada, IRAP funding contributions should always be considered during the planning process.
NRC-IRAP Eligibility Criteria
When applying to IRAP, the program will consider, amongst other items:
- The project’s technical aspects and potential impacts to your company;
- The anticipated benefits to Canada; and
- Your company’s business, management, and financial capacity.
The IRAP program is currently open and actively considering projects.
- Funding Contribution: Contributions of up to 60-80% of internal technical labour and subcontractor expenses.
- Eligibility: Innovative technical R&D projects with a level of technical uncertainty.
- Timeline: Projects to be carried out between April 1 and March 31 of every year. Single-year projects must fall within that timeline. Potential for 12+ months for larger projects.
If your company is interested in learning more about IRAP and whether this program is the right fit for your research and innovation projects, please download Mentor Works’ IRAP vs. SR&ED slide deck.
