Small Business Funding Grants – IRAP Accelerated Review Process

The Canadian Government provides funding support for Canadian SMEs to develop and commercialize their innovative products and technologies. The ARP program supports technical problem solving by providing grant funding for business research and development. The program has undergone some minor adjustments as a result of increases to the 2012 Federal Budget Funding Support for the NRC-IRAP Organization.

Business Funding Grants for Technical Problem Solving

IRAP has expanded the scope of the ARP program to include technology, business and market oriented project activities. Businesses are eligible to receive $50K in non-repayable Canadian Government grants through this program. Funding support is applicable to 80% of the direct labour and 50% of the contractor fees required to carry out the development and commercialization of a new product or technology. Eligible project activities include:

• Competitive market and product research
• Technical and market consulting
• Productivity Improvements
• IP management and licencing
• Global marketing strategies
• Software implementation
• Production planning and design

IRAP ARP funding support can apply to a wide array projects including those that are oriented towards business, marketing, and technological aspects. However, ARP’s funding support is not suited for the certification or training activities regarding software and technology implementation. Businesses that are interested in projects with a heavy focus on technological improvements may want to consider the IRAP Digital Technology Adoption Program.