NRC Quantum Internetworking Challenge (QUIN)
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.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
A multi-year collaborative R&D challenge program running 2026–2033 under NRC's $161M quantum commitment that connects NRC research expertise with industry and academic partners to advance quantum networking technologies toward commercialization. QUIN focuses on the physical and systems layers of quantum internetworking: advanced photonic, semiconductor, and superconducting materials; quantum components and devices (sources, repeaters, memories, detectors); interfaces and transducers for converting quantum information; and integrated quantum network demonstrations. The program's 2026 call for collaboration opened February 2, 2026 and is now closed, with no successor call announced as of September 2026. Contact with the program team is always welcome — a project team must include at least one NRC researcher — but formal applications are only accepted during a dated call.
Eligibility Requirements
- Academic institutions with relevant quantum networking research capabilities
- Canadian industry partners with complementary expertise in photonics, semiconductors, superconducting systems, or quantum devices
- Not-for-profit research organizations and research institutions (the QUIN call's funding-eligible list is academic institutions, research institutions, not-for-profit research organizations and Canadian SMEs — it does not include other government agencies as funding recipients, though the program page invites contact from them for non-funded collaboration)
- Organizations able to contribute complementary expertise and resources to the collaboration
- Partners must be able to actively contribute to and benefit from the quantum internetworking research agenda
- Canadian companies must be small or medium-sized — fewer than 500 employees. Companies with 500 or more staff are generally not eligible for the funding, though they may still collaborate with the NRC under other programs.
- Every project team must include at least one NRC researcher delivering on the collaborative initiative. Applicants without an NRC contact are not disqualified — NRC will try to match one for projects aligned with the call.
- Projects must be completed within 3 years. Eligible applicants can also propose to engage third-party collaborators and subcontractors from across the technology ecosystem, subject to NRC approval.
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $500KThe 2026 call offered up to $500,000 per recipient in non-repayable grants and contributions over 3 years, from a $5,000,000 call envelope. NRC's record of Quantum Internetworking agreements signed in FY2025-26 (14 agreements, predating this call) runs $110,138 to $605,000 per recipient, median $340,965.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Ongoing — first call launched early 2026; program runs 2026–2033
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipQUIN is one of three parallel NRC quantum challenge programs (alongside IoT Quantum Sensors and Applied Quantum Computing) and they deliberately cover different technical domains.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How QUIN 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
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What QUIN favours
Advance reproducible metrics to lead global quantum research◦
“By defining clear benchmarks and advancing reproducible metrics such as loss, fidelity, rate, coherence time and efficiency, the program will drive continuous improvement and help position Canadian innovations at the forefront of global quantum research and commercialization.”
The form
Before you apply
- 1Assemble the project team (including at least one NRC collaborator)short answer
- 2Request the EOI formshort answer
- 3.2Research-security review (requirement before applying)checkbox
- 4Return the completed EOI by the deadlineshort answer
Annex A criteria
- 1Methodologywritten answer
Describe how the project will be carried out, including a high-level description of the tasks and methodology.
- 2Project 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.
- 3Alignment with scopewritten answer
- 4Addressing a gapwritten answer
- 5Innovationwritten answer
- 6Economic and social impactswritten answer
- 11NRC collaborationwritten answer
EDI and budget
- 3.3Commitment to EDI and GBA+written answer
- 4.1Project costing overview - eligible coststable
Full proposal stage
- 14Full project proposal (invitation only)written answer
- 15Submit the full project proposalshort answer
Funding agreement
- 16Collaborative research and funding agreementshort answer
QUIN states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
QUIN publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
Can this team actually deliver the work?
Show them Give a task-level workplan, a percentage split of work across named team members, and the expertise each task needs.◦
In the funder’s words · 5
- Methodology
- Project team and resources
- Strength of the project team and capacity to achieve expected results
- Technical aspects, including science plan and budget
- Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in the team and training component as well as in the research proposal
- 2
Does it fit the call and close a real gap?
What to show, and the funder’s 4 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
What is novel, and what will it change?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Is this genuinely an NRC collaboration?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“The program is not intended to fund exploratory or fundamental research without relevance to the critical problems of quantum networking. Proposals must demonstrate a well-defined connection to the program's long-term objectives.”
“Note that an invitation to submit an FPP is not a funding commitment from the NRC.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 9 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
6 more rules that can reject you · 8 more criteria · 13 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Academic, research, non-profit or Canadian SME
Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (those with fewer than 500 employees)
The project
At least one NRC researcher on team
Project teams must include at least 1 NRC researcher delivering on the collaborative initiative
Completed within three years
Projects must be completed within 3 years
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Per recipient ceilingUp to $500,000 per recipient
up to $500,000 in the form of non-repayable Grants and Contributions per recipient over 3 years
Program envelopeUp to $5,000,000 available
up to $5,000,000 available to support this call
Indirect cost capMaximum 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
Your shareUp to 75% of eligible project costs
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 Canadian 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 (S2 5.1).
What it pays for · 6
- 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
- Reasonable and necessary costs for research equipment of $10,000 or more, including testing tools, instruments, computer equipment, secure equipment and information technology costs such as for high-performance computers and secure servers
What it does not pay for · 5
- 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
From application to money
- Email the programme teamEmail programme mailbox for EOI form
- Submit the EOIApril 2, 2026Submit EOI by April 2, 2026
- FPP invitationsMay 2026Invited to full proposal, May 2026
- Submit the full proposalJuly 3, 2026Submit full proposal by July 3, 2026
- Results notifiedOctober 2026Results notified October 2026
- Project startJanuary 4, 2027Project start January 4, 2027
In the funder’s words · 6
- Email the programme team
- Email the programme mailbox to request the EOI form and, if you have no NRC contact, to ask NRC to try to make a match.
- Submit the EOI
- Return the completed EOI form by email with the subject line "QUIN EOI Submission".
- FPP invitations
- Projects deemed to have high impact potential are invited to submit a full project proposal.
- Submit the full proposal
- The applicant principal investigator emails the FPP on NRC templates, developed together with the NRC partner.
- Results notified
- Notification of results to applicants.
- Project start
- Expected 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 QUIN
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 8
Ineligible Expenses 8
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 6 more application steps
- 3 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 8 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow QUIN Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRC Quantum Internetworking Challenge... | up to $500,000 | Hard | Milestone-Based | Ongoing — first call... |
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| 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... |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about QUIN