Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)
Can you win this grant?
Get your instant eligibility verdict plus a head start on the application. Free, no account needed.
We use this program’s real eligibility rules. 4 short questions follow.
Want your full match picture across 850+ programs? Take the 2-minute quiz →
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.
Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure
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.
Other programs the same group won next
- IP Assist Program 224 (13%), about 2 years later
- Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) Funding 142 (9%), about 2 years later Quebec only
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
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
Quick Assessment
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
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipIRAP is a relationship program.
Rejection Pitfalls 6
- Project lacks genuine technical uncertainty — routine IT or incremental improvements don't qualify
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How National Research Council Canada judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6 documents published by National Research Council Canada: the application form, the applicant guide and the judging criteria, condensed into one brief. Updated 2026-09-01.
6 funder documents
Sign in free: we show which checks your profile already answers and keep your document ticks.
What National Research Council Canada favours
Fund projects with greatest potential to help Canada succeed◦
“We work with businesses and fund projects that demonstrate the greatest potential to help Canada succeed.”
The form
There is no application form to fill in: a senior executive from the business calls 1-877-994-4727, and the project proposal itself is written later with an NRC IRAP industrial technology advisor.◦
Judged against
- 1
Is this a real technical problem, not routine development?
Show them Name the technical unknown the project has to resolve, the approach you will take, and what would count as success.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- The technical aspects of your innovation
- 2
Can this team and this balance sheet finish it?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Who buys this, and how do you reach them?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
What does Canada get if this works?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Important: Meeting these minimum requirements is the first step but does not guarantee NRC IRAP support or funding.”
“Working with an advisor or being invited to submit a proposal does not guarantee funding.”
“NRC IRAP does not support: unlimited or limited liability corporations (ULCs or LLCs) sole proprietorships or partnerships cooperatives”
“Please note that these programs cost-share only a portion of the youth candidate's salary costs. You remain responsible for other expenses, including benefits and overhead costs.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 21 rules run against your profile, every criterion the reviewer scores, and your draft laid out in this form. On every programme you match.
16 more rules that can reject you · 6 more criteria · 4 more pitfalls
Do you pass?
21 checks. Sign in free and we show which ones your profile already answers.
Your business
Incorporated, for-profit, operating in Canada
Be incorporated, for-profit, and operating in Canada
Employs 500 people or fewer
Employ up to 500 people (full-time equivalent)
Not a ULC or LLC
NRC IRAP does not support: unlimited or limited liability corporations (ULCs or LLCs)
Not a sole proprietorship or partnership
Sole proprietorships or partnerships
Not a cooperative
Cooperatives
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
R&D project fundingR&D of tech-driven products and services
NRC IRAP provides funding to support the research and development of innovative, technology-driven products and services, and other innovation activities to help your business grow, create jobs, and compete globally.
Youth placement salarySalary cost offset for young talent
The Youth Employment Program offers financial assistance to offset the cost of hiring young talent to work on projects with R&D, engineering, multimedia or market analysis components or to help develop a new product or process.
Paid as reimbursementReimbursement within 35 business days
Once approved, you will need to submit monthly reimbursement claims to NRC IRAP. We issue payments within 35 business days of receiving all required documents and a correctly completed claim form.
Your shareYou cover benefits and overhead costs
Please note that these programs cost-share only a portion of the youth candidate's salary costs. You remain responsible for other expenses, including benefits and overhead costs.
What it pays for · 4
- NRC IRAP provides funding to support the research and development of innovative, technology-driven products and services, and other innovation activities to help your business grow, create jobs, and compete globally.
- The Youth Employment Program offers financial assistance to offset the cost of hiring young talent to work on projects with R&D, engineering, multimedia or market analysis components or to help develop a new product or process.
- Level 3, Action: Provides funding to help your business execute the actions prioritized in your IP strategy
- AI Assist supports Canadian SMEs in undertaking scientific research, product development, testing and validation of AI technologies, allowing them to incorporate GenAI and DL technologies into their core products and services.
From application to money
- Call NRC IRAPCall 1-877-994-4727 for readiness screening
- Meet the CEACEA reviews business info and contacts you
- Work with an ITAITA assesses technical, financial and management strengths
- Proposal with the ITAITA helps develop your project proposal
- Funding decisionYouth Employment Program answer within two weeks
- Monthly claimsSubmit monthly reimbursement claims to NRC IRAP
In the funder’s words · 6
- Call NRC IRAP
- A senior executive from the business calls 1-877-994-4727, and the bilingual contact centre decides whether you are ready to meet a client engagement advisor.
- Meet the CEA
- The CEA will review your business information and contact you to learn more about your operations and your goals.
- Work with an ITA
- Your ITA will assess your business's technical, financial and management strengths to ensure you are ready to collaborate.
- Proposal with the ITA
- The ITA will work with you to develop a project proposal for submission to NRC IRAP.
- Funding decision
- The clock starts only once NRC IRAP has a complete proposal and the documentation it asked for; a Youth Employment Program answer comes back within two weeks. (20 business days for projects with a contribution of $50,000 or less; 30 business days for projects with a contribution greater than $50,000 up to $500,000; 45 business days for projects with a contribution greater than $500,000 up to $3 million; 65 business days for projects with a contribution greater than $3 million up to $10 million)
- Monthly claims
- Once approved, you will need to submit monthly reimbursement claims to NRC IRAP.
Every quotation is National Research Council Canada’s own wording; lines marked ◦ are our reading of it. Brief updated 2026-09-01.
Everything you need to win IRAP
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 6 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 11-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 7-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 11
Eligible Expenses 5
Ineligible Expenses 7
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow IRAP Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| 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... |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about IRAP