NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Winning means you must assign rights to the funder. 9 ask that.
- Scored mainly on your track record and who is on your team. 18 lead with that.
- Publishes the score sheet reviewers actually use. Only 30 do.
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 →
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
A collaborative R&D challenge program run by the National Research Council of Canada from 2022 to 2028, funding applied quantum computing research in partnership with industry and academia. The program supports the development and adoption of quantum computing algorithms, hardware, and applications across sectors including human health, climate science, and advanced materials. Eligible collaborators — including SMEs, academic institutions, and other government partners — can access grant and contribution funding to defray research costs in joint projects with NRC researchers. The program is delivered mainly through NRC's Digital Technologies research centre, with the Quantum and Nanotechnologies research centre also funding hardware-adjacent projects.
Eligibility Requirements
- Canadian SMEs, academic institutions, and other eligible organizations
- Must be willing to collaborate with NRC researchers on applied quantum computing projects
- Projects must address applied quantum computing (algorithms, hardware, applications) rather than pure quantum physics theory
- Government agencies and Crown corporations may also participate as collaborating partners
- Project must align with program focus areas: human health, climate change, advanced materials, and other quantum application domains
- International collaborators may be eligible if their participation would result in a benefit for Canada and Canadians; NRC's own funded-agreement record includes international collaborators.
- Businesses must be Canadian small or medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees; companies of 500 or more are generally not eligible for grant and contribution funding under this program.
- The project team must include at least one NRC researcher delivering on the collaborative initiative — if you have no NRC contact yet, NRC states it will try to match you with one for projects aligned with the scope of the call.
- Projects must be completed within 2 years.
- NRC will not directly fund a project where any individual or organization on the team is affiliated with an organization on ISED's Named Research Organizations list.
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Grant and contribution funding sized to project scopeGrant and contribution funding sized to project scope; exact per-project ceiling not published
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Rolling — contact program team for current call status
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
High competition — many applicants
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipEverything starts with one email.
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+ source documents on nrc.canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-04.
6 of the sources
Sign up free to save this programme and track your application in your workspace.
What National Research Council Canada favours
Show metrics of success: IP, publications, HQP training, technology advancement◦
“Provide metrics of success (IP, publications, HQP training, technology advancement, etc.)”
The form
Before you apply
- 1Assemble the project team (including at least one NRC collaborator)short answer
- 2Request the expression-of-interest form and return itshort answer
Annex A expression-of-interest criteria
- 3Annex A criterion 1 - Methodologywritten answer
Describe how the project will be carried out, including a high-level description of the tasks and methodology.
- 4Annex A criterion 2 - Project team and resourceswritten answer
Detail the roles, ability and capacity of the planned project team to undertake the work over the duration of the project and to provide continued support upon completion.
- 5Annex A criterion 3 - Alignment with scopewritten answer
- 6Annex A criterion 4 - Addressing a gapwritten answer
- 7Annex A criterion 5 - Innovationwritten answer
- 8Annex A criterion 6 - Economic and social impactswritten answer
- 9Annex A criterion 7 - NRC collaboration (reviewer assertions the proposal must satisfy)written answer
Budget
- 10Project costing - the budget the applicant buildstable
Full proposal
- 11Full proposal - commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and GBA+written answer
- 12Full project proposal - who submits it, to whomshort answer
National Research Council Canada states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
National Research Council Canada publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
Can this team deliver the workplan?
Show them Give a task-level workplan with owners and methods, a percentage split of work across collaborators including NRC, and evidence it fits the two-year cap.◦
In the funder’s words · 3
- Strength of the project team and capacity to achieve expected results
- Technical aspects, including science plan and budget
- Risks and associated mitigations
- 2
Is it novel and does it fill a real gap?
What to show them in Premium
- 3
Does it serve the call and benefit Canada?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Have you lined up an NRC collaborator?
What to show them in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Applicants must provide all mandatory information in order to be considered for funding.”
“Note that an invitation to submit an FPP is not a funding commitment from the NRC.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 11 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
7 more rules that can reject you · 3 more criteria · 10 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
A Canadian SME under 500 employees
Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (those with fewer than 500 employees)
Your organisation
An academic institution
Academic institutions
A not-for-profit research organization
Not-for-profit research organizations
The project
Completed within two years
Projects must be completed within 2 years
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Call funding$4.2M envelope, $400K per project
The Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program is planning to make up to $4.2M available to support this call, with anticipated funding of up to $400k in the form of non-repayable grants and contributions per project over 2 years.
Indirect cost capup to 10% of eligible costs
Indirect costs not directly applicable to carrying out the project but necessary for conducting the recipient's general business, up to a maximum of 10% of total eligible project costs
Equipment ceilingup to $10,000
Equipment up to $10,000
Your shareUp to 75%; more in exceptional cases
Overall, the NRC will support up to 75% of eligible project expenditures. At the NRC's discretion, it will also consider contribution funding above 75% under exceptional circumstances.
StackingTotal government assistance capped at 100%
The maximum limit of total Canadian government assistance (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal assistance for the same eligible costs) cannot exceed 100% of the total eligible project costs
What it pays for · 5
- Salaries for highly qualified personnel (HQP) working on the project activities
- Research support costs: direct costs incurred in the project implementation phase, for example: Consumable materials; Supplies; Equipment up to $10,000
- Costs for travel and accommodation required specifically for execution of the project
- Amounts invoiced to the recipient by a contractor for services rendered relating directly to the project (e.g., fees for professional services)
- Indirect costs not directly applicable to carrying out the project but necessary for conducting the recipient's general business, up to a maximum of 10% of total eligible project costs
What it does not pay for · 6
- Purchase of land
- Leasehold interest
- Property taxes
- Any portion of costs subject to refunds, rebates or credits, including HST, GST and PST
- Costs incurred or paid by the NRC
- Excludes salaries of Canadian academic principal investigators (not eligible)
From application to money
- Find an NRC researcherEmail idea; NRC tries to match
- Return the EOISubmit EOI by August 29, 2025
- Invitation to full proposalInvitations for full proposal in September 2025
- Submit the full proposalSubmit FPP by September–October 2025
- Results notifiedFinal results notified November 2025
- Project startsFunding and project start March–April 2026
In the funder’s words · 6
- Find an NRC researcher
- Email the programme mailbox with your project idea and NRC will try to make a match for projects aligned with the scope of the call.
- Return the EOI
- Request the expression-of-interest form by email and return it completed to the same address. (August 29, 2025: Submission deadline for expression of interest)
- Invitation to full proposal
- Eligible applicant projects deemed to have high impact potential on the basis of the EOI will be invited to submit a full project proposal (FPP). (September 2025: Invitations sent out for a FPP)
- Submit the full proposal
- The applicant's principal investigator emails the FPP to the named programme officer, copying the programme mailbox. (September–October 2025: Submission deadline for FPP)
- Results notified
- NRC notifies applicants of the final results.
- Project starts
- Funding and the project are anticipated to start in this window. (March–April 2026: Anticipated start date for funding and project)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 5-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
- 3-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 5
Eligible Expenses 6
Ineligible Expenses 6
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 6 more application steps
- 3 more required documents
- 6 eligible expenses
- 6 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challen... | Grant and contribution funding... | Hard | Milestone-Based | Rolling — contact... |
| NSERC Alliance Quantum Grants — SME P... | $100K–$650K | Hard | Milestone-Based | Between intakes for new... |
| NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program | $100,000–$500,000 | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
| Strategic Response Fund (formerly Str... | Minimum $10 million contribution | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing — continuous... |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program