NGen Manufacturing Program
Receive between $25k and $8.8M in Funding.
The NGen Manufacturing Program supports collaborative technology development and application projects that help Canadian manufacturing companies compete globally. As administered by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the program taps into Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI) funding to support groups of businesses that develop high potential technologies, create groundbreaking process transformation, and de-risk the adoption of technology. Funding is provided through two streams: the Cluster Building stream and the Pilot Projects & Feasibility Studies stream.
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NGen Manufacturing Program
Amount of Funding
NGen Manufacturing Program
Through the NGen Manufacturing Program, innovative partnerships may receive up to 37% of eligible project costs to a maximum $20 million per project.
Due to the collaborative nature of supercluster funding, innovative manufacturing grants are awarded to support partnerships involving NGen members. To qualify for funding, your organization needs to partner with other for-profit NGen members that can also contribute towards project deliverables. Projects typically span 18-36 months and conclude upon the successful implementation of a new, technology-based manufacturing innovation.
Cluster Building Stream
Through the Cluster Building stream, successful applicants may receive up to 50% of eligible cluster project costs of up to $150,000 may be reimbursed.
Capital & equipment expenses may not exceed the lesser of 10% of total project value or $15,000. The project must be completed within 12 months of contract initiation.
Pilot Project Stream
Through the NGen Manufacturing Program Pilot Project Stream, innovative partnerships may receive up to 50% to a maximum $250k grant per project.
Pilot project funding can be used as a gateway to accelerating high-risk activities to quickly determine their capabilities and be used as an introduction to larger funding applications under subsequent NGen or other funding.
Feasibility Study Projects
Applicants may receive non-repayable funding up to 50% to $25,000 – $100,000 per project.
The NGen Manufacturing Feasibility Studies Stream assists Canadian firms in de-risking their advanced manufacturing, business planning, and technology implementation strategies using feasibility studies.
NGen Manufacturing Program
Eligible Applicants
NGen Manufacturing Program
Partnerships requesting funding from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada must:
- Have at least three private sector partner companies contributing to the project;
- Bring together manufacturing and technology capabilities for the project (although partners may come from all industries and sectors); and
- Exclusively include project contributors who are NGen members. Membership is free.
Cluster Building Stream
Eligibility criteria for the NGen Manufacturing Program Cluster Building Stream is as follows:
- Applicants must be SMEs (fewer than 500 employees) that are members of the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster and must have a NGen membership;
- Recipients must be incorporated in Canada;
- Must be either for-profit or not-for-profit organizations that perform research and development for whom over 50% of their costs are received from private-sector organizations in the form of costs like membership fees; and
- International organizations can act as partners in an NGen Cluster Building Project. However, projects undertaken by these organizations aren’t eligible for Supercluster funding.
Pilot Project Stream
Eligibility criteria for the NGen Manufacturing Program Pilot Project Stream is as follows:
- Must have at least two for-profit SME partner companies contributing to the project;
- Participants can come from all industries and sectors but must bring together manufacturing and technology capabilities for the project;
- Each partner must have less than 500 full-time employees; and
- All project contributors must be NGen members. Membership is free.
Feasibility Study Projects
Feasibility Study applicants should align with the following criteria:
- Have at least one Canadian SME and a partner organization;
- Partnering organizations can be subcontractors to the SME. This may include academic and not-for-profit organizations as well as large companies; and
- SMEs must have less than 500 full-time employees.
- All project contributors must be NGen members. Membership is free.
NGen Manufacturing Program
Eligible Activities
NGen Manufacturing Program.
To be considered for NGen Manufacturing Program funding, projects must:
- Be transformational in scale or impact for its participants;
- Have a wider benefit to Canada’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem; and
- Help Canadian manufacturing companies compete globally.
Additionally, projects must align to at least one of four project streams:
- High-Potential Technology Development: Developing and scaling technology solutions that give Canadian manufacturing companies a distinct competitive advantage;
- Technology Adoption: Game-changing technologies applied in transforming existing manufacturing processes;
- Technology Diffusion: Developing new manufacturing capabilities based on the application of advanced technologies; and
- Ecosystem Development: Development of new training programs, tools, and testbeds that fill gaps in Canada’s infrastructure in support of manufacturing.
Cluster Building Stream
- Eligible activities should foster collaboration and cooperation among SMEs to speed up the growth of advanced technologies for Canadian manufacturing;
- Projects must be developed by Canadian clusters and stimulate a manufacturing transformation for participating SMEs and Canada as a whole;
- NGen will only fund eligible Innovation Supercluster Initiative (ISI) costs. Eligible costs incurred in Cluster Building activities must involve support for enhancing collaboration among Canadian SMEs in advanced manufacturing;
- The maximum eligible costs of a project initiated by a cluster may not exceed $150,000, and must be applied to Canadian subcontractors;
- If there are multiple organizations in the project cluster, a Collaboration Agreement must be agreed upon to outline the roles of project partners, how project costs will be shared, and joint risk management provisions. The Collaboration Agreement should also outline how IP resulting from the Cluster Building project will be managed for member organizations; and
- A one-time, non-refundable Ngen fee, equal to 2.5% of total project costs, will be charged to funded project clusters. How this fee is paid is up to the discretion of cluster members.
Eligible Costs:
- Staffing costs;
- Office costs;
- Legal costs;
- Travel Costs; and
- Costs incurred for joint assessments, studies and reports
Pilot Project Stream
Project costs must be between $100,000 and $500,000. To be considered for NGen Manufacturing Program Pilot Project Stream funding, projects should align under the following criteria:
- Must be transformational in scale or impact for its participants;
- Must have a wider benefit to Canada’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem;
- Must develop technology to improve manufacturing processes and de-risk adoption; and
- Must involve advanced manufacturing and include at least one of the following:
- Risk mitigation planning;
- IP Commercialization strategy development;
- Business case development;
- Manufacturing process development;
- Technical program development;
- Technology development; and
- Manufacturing process scale-up from bench-scale toward full-scale.
Eligible Costs
- Sub-contracts and consultancy fees;
- Salaries and wages;
- Equipment related to project; and
- Materials and supplies.
Feasibility Study Projects
Project costs must be between $50,000 and $200,000 and must be competed by within nine months of initiation. Types of studies that may be undertaken include, but are not limited to:
- Initial design or technical work to define and characterize the manufacturing principles involved;
- Developing a refined understanding of the manufacturing innovation under consideration and an analysis of the expected impact of the implementation;
- A verification of the potential benefits of a new technology or process innovation enough to drive a decision to continue development thereof;
- An economic analysis assessing the potential impact of the innovation;
- A risk assessment and a strategy to minimize the risk of development of the innovation;
- A market study defining the potential impact of the innovation on the revenues, market share, and profitability of the partner organizations and potential impact on GDP and employment in Canadian manufacturing;
- A proposal for the development of the exploitable ideas from the innovation, a detailed development plan to produce a prototype or demonstrator; and
- An improved business process enabled by an advanced manufacturing technology or process.
Eligible Expenses
- Salaries and Wages
- Sub-Contracts and consultancy fees
- Materials and Supplies
NGen Manufacturing Program
Program Deadline
Speak with a member of our team about current intakes for this program and other funding programs your business may be eligible for.
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