NRC IRAP: funding and advisory support for innovative SMEs

What IRAP is

The National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) is one of Canada's most founder-friendly public funding programs. It provides cost-shared contributions toward R&D projects at small and medium-sized companies, delivered through a nationwide network of Industrial Technology Advisors — experienced practitioners who help scope the project before any money moves.

What it funds

IRAP contributions typically cover a share of the technical salaries on a defined R&D project — hiring engineers and researchers, or upskilling existing staff to de-risk a technology. There is also a youth employment stream that subsidizes a large share of early-career technical salaries, which young companies use to stretch their first R&D hires.

• Cost-shared R&D projects, weighted toward technical labour
• A youth employment stream for hiring early-career technical talent
• Advisory services that often start before funding does

Contribution, not grant

IRAP money arrives as a contribution rather than a grant or a loan: it is non-repayable as long as the agreed work and reporting are completed, which makes it non-dilutive funding with conditions attached. Expect progress reports and a close-out review. If the project changes materially, tell your advisor early — the terms are negotiable in a way most programs are not.

Who qualifies

IRAP serves incorporated, revenue-generating or revenue-ready SMEs with the financial capacity to fund their share of the project and a genuine technical challenge. Firms from a few employees to a few hundred have received support; what matters is the strength of the technology and the team, not a polished pitch deck.

• Incorporated in Canada, SME-sized
• A technically ambitious project you cannot fully de-risk with your own money
• Capacity to fund your share of costs and the roles to deliver the work

How to start

There is no public deadline and no application form to perfect — intake is rolling and starts with a conversation with an Industrial Technology Advisor for your region. That advisor relationship is the program's real advantage: money plus someone whose job is to help you spend it well. Start the conversation early, then track the funding directory for complementary programs.