The National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) plays a huge part in developing new and innovative Canadian technologies by helping established Canadian businesses and high growth start-ups receive grants of up to 80% of labour costs towards an innovative project.
The Canadian federal government has committed $100M/year towards the IRAP program until 2026, totaling $500M.
NRC IRAP is one of Canada’s most successful Research & Development grant programs, helping to not only fund Canadian-made inventions, but also offer advisory services throughout a project’s conceptualization, development, and commercialization.
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IRAP Business Research Grant Funding
The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) is a Canadian government funding program designed to help Canadian SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) increase their innovation capacity and take ideas to market.
Amount of funding: Access up to 60%-80% of internal technical labour and subcontractor expenses.
Eligible Applicants: Incorporated and financially stable businesses with 1-500 employees are eligible to apply.
Eligible Activities: Innovative technical R&D projects with a level of technical uncertainty.
Deadline to Apply: Open intake. Two-stage application process that starts with meeting an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA).
Learn more about grant funding through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).
IRAP High-Growth Startup Funding
The Canadian federal government has allocated $250M in NRC IRAP funding specifically meant for Canadian startups and early-stage businesses. In order to help startups navigate pandemic-induced impacts, this funding can be accessed by those currently generating revenue or those still in the pre-revenue stage. Businesses accessing grant funding through the IRAP program mentioned above can also apply to receive startup funds through the high-growth startup stream.
This funding is part of a larger $270M that will be shared with Futurepreneur to help young Canadians start their own businesses by offering financial and business consulting support.
For a list of Canadian grant, loan, and wage subsidies for early-stage businesses, please visit our startup resources page.
Apply for IRAP R&D Grant Funding
Applying for an NRC IRAP government grant can be a heavily administrative and taxing process when it is undertaken internally. Mentor Works, a Ryan Company is a team of government funding application writing specialists that provide our clients an average of 95% time-savings when compared to applying for IRAP funding in-house.
Consider speaking with the Mentor Works team to have a free consultation on what government grant and loan programs your business may already be eligible for, and how strong of an application your innovative project may be for IRAP funding. Call us at 1-888-599-3111 or message us directly.