Updated June 2026 · Verified against National Research Council Canada guidelines
▲ Growing ✓ First-Timer Friendly Reimbursement Est. 1962
Grant Federal Active

Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

National Research Council Canada
Maximum Funding
Up to $1M
Ongoing
Visit Official Program →
Difficulty
Moderate
Payment
Reimbursement
Trend
Growing
First-Timers
Friendly ✓
Co-Funding
80%
Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) provides Up to $1M typical (median actual award: $75K) · $10M ceiling for major capital projects. Provides advice, connections and funding to help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses increase their innovation capacity and take ideas to market. The program covers up to 80% of eligible costs. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
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Real recipient data

Who actually receives this funding

2,507 businesses received this funding in 2025 — 17,844 awards since 2010. Typical award: $75K. Half of all awards fall between $50K and $194.9K. The advertised maximum is $1M — most awards land closer to $75K. 99% of recipients are for-profit businesses. Top sectors among classified recipients: Custom computer programming, Computer systems design services, R&D in natural sciences. Top provinces: Ontario 30% · Quebec 22% · British Columbia 18%. Covers: NRC IRAP firm contributions (excludes Youth Employment, Green Youth, AI Assist, Clean Technology, Contributions to Organizations sub-streams). Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure data · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · Data through Q3 2026.

The typical Industrial Research Assistance Program award is $75K — the median of 17,844 awards since 2010, even though the program advertises up to $1M. In 2025, 2,507 businesses were funded; 99% were for-profit companies.

2,507funded in 2025
$75Ktypical award
17,844awards since 2010
99%for-profit

Most awards fall between $50K and $194.9K, with a typical (median) award of $75K. The program funds up to $1M for the largest projects — about 13 times the typical award.

Where awards land
typical $75K $50K $194.9K
up to $1M

Most awards land between $50K and $194.9K, with a typical award of $75K — and this program funds up to $1M for the largest projects.

Top sectors Custom computer programmingComputer systems design servicesR&D in natural sciences(of classified recipients)
Top provinces ON 30%QC 22%BC 18%
2,507 companies received this grant in 2025. See the 40 most recent — and how much each received. Included in Premium ↓

Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure

See all Industrial Research Assistance Program winners →

What winners did next

What IRAP winners won next

Among the 1,662 IRAP winners who went on to win a different program, 774 (47%) won CanExport SMEs next, typically about 2 years later. That is about 3.9x its rate across all the funding sequences in this data.

You are hereIRAP1,662 won again
Most common next winCanExport SMEs774 of 1,662 · 47%

Other programs the same group won next

Of 1,855 winners of this program who later won something else, 193 won a program excluded from this view (Canada Summer Jobs; Enabling Accessibility Fund; New Horizons for Seniors Program). Shares here are out of the remaining 1,662.

Counts winners of this program who later won a different program, using public government recipient disclosure. It describes businesses that went on to win again, not every past winner: recipients who never won a second program are not a path, and federal disclosure only lists awards above $25,000, so smaller first awards are invisible here. Timing is recorded by year only. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Eligibility & Details

What this program funds and who can apply

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Program Description

Provides advice, connections and funding to help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses increase their innovation capacity and take ideas to market.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Incorporated Canadian for-profit SME. NRC IRAP does not support unlimited or limited liability corporations (ULCs or LLCs), sole proprietorships or partnerships, or cooperatives
  • 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
  • Project involves genuine technological uncertainty and R&D in Canada
  • Sufficient commercialization plan and market pathway for the innovation
  • Can demonstrate the financial capacity to co-fund the project (NRC publishes no cost-share percentage)
  • Practitioners report that IRAP does not fund work started before the contribution agreement is signed; NRC does not state this on any of its published pages
Provinces
All Provinces
Industries
All
Business Stage
Startup Growth

Quick Assessment

Difficulty
Moderate
Competition
Moderate
First-Timer
Friendly

Funding Details

Amount
Up to $1M typical (median actual award: $75K) · $10M ceiling for major capital projects
Type
Grant
Level
Federal
Co-Funding
Up to 80% of eligible costs
Deadline
Ongoing

Program Scorecard

Competition, effort, and approval at a glance

Competition
Moderate
Deadline
Ongoing
Approval
Good
Accessibility
--/5
Competition
--/5
Approval Rate
--%
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How to Win

Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like

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Insider Tip

IRAP is a relationship program.

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Rejection Pitfalls 6

  • Project lacks genuine technical uncertainty — routine IT or incremental improvements don't qualify
+5 more pitfalls
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Success Profile

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Evaluation Criteria

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What's in this Playbook

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Application Playbook

Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses

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Application Steps

1 Initial Contact If you meet the minimum requirements, a senior executive from your business can call NRC IRAP at 1-877-994-4727. NRC's bilingual contact centre gathers details and determines whether you are ready to meet a client engagement advisor (CEA). The CEA reviews your business information, learns more about your operations and goals, and may also refer you to an industrial technology advisor (ITA). There are now two steps before an ITA, and NRC states the ITA referral is conditional.

Required Documents 11

✓ Your CRA business number
✓ A business plan

Eligible Expenses 5

Ineligible Expenses 7

Intake Periods

Deadline Notes

Ineligible Organizations

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Funding Stack Strategy

Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential

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Compatible Programs

SR&ED Tax Credit MITACS Accelerate/Elevate CanExport Innovation Provincial R&D Tax Credits
Combined Funding Potential See your total funding potential

Clawback Risk

Low Risk
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How IRAP Compares

Side-by-side with similar programs

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Program Amount Difficulty Payment Deadline
Industrial Research Assistance Progra... Up to $1M Moderate Reimbursement Ongoing
Mitacs Accelerate $15,000 per internship unit Easy Advance Payment Ongoing
CanExport Innovation Up to $37,500 Moderate Reimbursement Upcoming — the...

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Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about IRAP

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Can sole proprietors apply?
No. NRC IRAP does not support sole proprietorships, partnerships or cooperatives, and it also does not support unlimited or limited liability corporations (ULCs or LLCs). You need a Canadian for-profit corporation of another form.
What's the typical grant amount?
First-time SMEs typically receive $75,000–$200,000. Average grant size is $94,000 (Emergex data), with per-firm average at $168,000 including multi-project recipients.
When are decisions made?
NRC assesses businesses year round and publishes no intake windows or budget calendar. Practitioners report that regional budgets are fullest early in the fiscal year and can run short by late fall, so starting the advisor conversation early is experience-based advice, not an NRC rule.
Do I need to have R&D already started?
NRC does not publish a rule about work started before approval. Practitioners report that IRAP funds work from the contribution agreement onward, so treat an early start as a risk and raise the timing with your advisor before you begin.
What's the co-funding requirement?
NRC does not publish a cost-share percentage for IRAP. A contribution covers part of a project's cost, so plan to fund the rest yourself, and ask your advisor what share applies to your project before you build a budget around it.
Will NRC sign our non-disclosure agreement?
No. NRC states it cannot agree to a firm's confidentiality agreements, namely the non-disclosure clauses. Its own advice is to provide only the information NRC requests and to clearly mark sensitive information as Confidential or Protected.

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