NSERC Idea to Innovation (I2I) Grants
Compared with the 241 other application forms we have read
- Winning means you must credit the funder publicly. 16 ask that.
- What does not disqualify you: Phase I business partner not required. 118 record an exemption like this.
- 16 documents to attach, against a median of 5.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Funds university and college researchers to advance promising technologies from proof-of-concept toward commercial use, with Phase IIb engaging a Canadian company partner to co-fund development. The program covers up to 100% of Phase I costs and 50% of Phase IIb costs, giving SMEs a direct pathway to license emerging academic IP.
Eligibility Requirements
- College or university researcher/faculty with promising technology at TRL 4 or higher
- Institution must be declared eligible by NSERC to administer grants
- Phase IIb requires a Canadian company partner that funds the other half of the project cost through cash and in-kind contributions; its cash should equal at least 40% of the amount requested from NSERC (for example, at least $140,000 cash on a $350,000 request); foreign companies considered if clear Canadian economic benefit
- IP must be managed by the institution's ILO with a commercialization strategy
- Phases I + II combined limited to 3 years per technology
- Companies cannot apply directly — must partner with an eligible researcher/institution
- A company partner must show it can take up the technology: in operation at least two years or poised for exceptional growth, not a holding company, working from separate offices or facilities (not a home address or virtual setting), and not earning most of its revenue from government aid
- A spin-off partly owned by the researcher can be the partner; NSERC reviews it case by case, taking the company's stage of development into account
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Phase I up to $125,000 (100%); Phase IIa up to $125,000/yr (67%); Phase IIb up to $350,000 over 2 years (50%)
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 100% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Four deadlines a year. The last published deadline was September 21, 2026; 2027 dates have not been published yet.
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 TipCompanies cannot apply directly — engage a university or college researcher first.
Rejection Pitfalls 6
- Technology not at minimum TRL 4 — insufficient experimental validation
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How I2I judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on nserc-crsng.canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-10.
6 of the sources
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What I2I favours
Clear market; strong letters from end users and value chain◦
“There must be a clearly identified and well-described potential market. Meaningful letters of support from potential receptors, end users/clients and industrial value-chain players may be very useful.”
The form
Team and organizations
- 1Collaboratorslistno limit
- 2Supporting organizationslistno limit
Summary and schedule
- 3Activity scheduletableno limit
Budget and contributions
- 4Contributions from supporting organizationstableno limit
- 5Contributions from supporting organizations - attachment (justification of in-kind)written answerno limit
Provide a detailed explanation of the in-kind contributions to the direct costs of research. This information will be used to assess the level and nature of the involvement of the supporting organizations (including the industrial partner[s]), the importance of their contribution to the success of the project and an appropriate cost-sharing ratio.
Phase I proposal
- 6Proposal (phase I) - Team expertisewritten answer · 5 pagesno limit
Team expertise: Highlight the research and practical experience of the project team. Explain how the knowledge and scientific and business experience of the team relate to the expertise needed to accomplish the project objectives, and how the contributions of the team members (including, if applicable, company personnel) will be integrated. Describe how the team will be organized and the project managed. Involvement of experienced business mentors is recommended when the team is planning to spin off a new company (include a CV).
- 7Proposal (phase I) - Market overviewwritten answer · 5 pagesno limit
- 8Proposal (phase I) - Commercialization strategywritten answer · 5 pagesno limit
Phase II development
- 9Proposal (phase II) - Description of the proposed developmentwritten answer · 10 pagesno limit
- 10Proposal (phase II) - Description of the technology transfer plan - who writes it and ILO identificationshort answer · 10 pagesno limit
Phase IIa technology transfer
- 11Proposal (phase IIa) - Market overviewwritten answer · 10 pagesno limit
- 12Proposal (phase IIa) - Intellectual property strategywritten answer · 10 pagesno limit
Phase IIb business plan
- 13Proposal (phase IIb) - Intellectual property strategywritten answer · 10 pagesno limit
Other support and IP
- 14Intellectual propertywritten answerno limit
- 15Intellectual property - attachmentuploadno limit
- 16Other documentsuploadno limit
Risk and attestations
- 17NSGRP Risk Assessment Form - Section 2: Know Your Partner Organizationselectionno limit
- 18NSGRP Risk Assessment Form - Section 5: Additional Requirementscheckboxno limit
- 19STRAC Policy attestation formcheckboxno limit
Reviewer suggestions
- 20External reviewer suggestions (Appendix C)listno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Is the science sound and commercially grounded?
Show them Show experimental data at TRL 4 or beyond, a quantified work plan with go/no-go decision points, and the named technical risk with your mitigation.◦
In the funder’s words · 5
- Scientific/technical merit
- Scientific basis for the expected commercial application
- Clarity and focus of research objectives
- Novelty, technical complexity, technical risk and feasibility
- Appropriateness of work plan, milestones, deliverables and decision points
- 2
Can this team deliver the plan?
What to show, and the funder’s 5 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Will it transfer to a Canadian company?
What to show, and the funder’s 5 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Does national security risk need mitigation?
What to show them in Premium
Where applicants fail
“One of the main reasons why phase I proposals are rejected is that the technology is at too early a stage to be eligible for the I2I grants.”
“Where page limits are stated, pages in excess of the number permitted will be removed.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 19 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
17 more rules that can reject you · 10 more criteria · 15 more prompts
Do you pass?
19 can rule you out; 1 is a preference. Tick the ones you meet.
The project
Technology at TRL 4 or beyond
The technology must be sufficiently mature. The basic parameters of the concept must have already been explored, and sufficient testing should have been done to assess the potential of the innovation to work in a “product” environment or for its intended purpose. This represents at least technology readiness level (TRL) 4.
Your partner
Receptor company must cost-share
When a collaborating company is the intended receptor for the technology (i.e., the company that will market the end product), the cost of the project should be shared with this partner and the application submitted as a phase IIb proposal
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Phase IIb request capUp to $350,000 over two years
Phase IIb proposals with a Canadian company are expected to be completed within two years, and funding requested should not exceed $350,000 for the duration of the project.
Technology transfer ceilingUp to 10% (max $12,500)
NSERC may provide support up to a maximum of 10% of the total requested amount (i.e., the NSERC contribution will be no more than $12,500 for a $125,000 requested budget).
Patent filing costsUp to $10,000
Costs incurred by the company during the course of the project for the filing and issuing of patents may be claimed as eligible contributions to the project to a maximum of $10,000.
In-kind staff rateUp to $100.00 per hour
Actual salary cost (including benefits) for scientific/engineering and technical or expert staff (up to a maximum of $100.00 per hour)
Next instalment conditionCurrent-year commitment confirmed first
The next instalment will not be released until the partner has confirmed that it has met its current year’s commitment and that it intends to support the project in the next year.
Your shareHalf; cash at least 40% of request
NSERC may fund up to half the cost of the project, with the company providing the other half through a combination of cash and in-kind contributions. Each case will be evaluated on its merits; however, the cash component should equal at least 40% of the amount requested from NSERC.
StackingNo partner flow-back; no federal leveraging
Under no circumstances can project funds flow back to a partner organization, nor can NSERC funds be used to leverage partner cash contributions that have already been leveraged by another federal public source.
What it pays for · 1
- Certain expenditures related to project management are eligible as a direct cost of research in phase IIb projects, up to a maximum of 10% of the total direct costs
What it does not pay for · 4
- Do not include salaries of faculty in project costs.
- Staff activities are not considered an eligible expense and cannot be used to leverage NSERC funds.
- Technology transfer expenses related to the proposed technology and incurred previously will not be considered in the cost-sharing of proposed activities.
- any requests for expenses, such as publications, attendance or travel to conferences, are not expected in the budget.
From application to money
- Work with the ILODraft with ILO before deadline
- Submit by deadlineSubmit via NSERC portal by deadline
- Decision in 11 weeks11 weeksDecision within 11 weeks with reasons
- Final reportInterim report and expenditure statements due
In the funder’s words · 4
- Work with the ILO
- Draft the proposal with the institution's industry liaison office and send a draft to NSERC I2I staff well before the deadline.
- Submit by deadline
- Submit through the NSERC On-line System, with an earlier internal deadline at the institution's research grants office. (January 7, 2026 March 30, 2026 June 22, 2026 September 21, 2026)
- Decision in 11 weeks
- NSERC notifies the result with the main reasons for rejection.
- Final report
- Interim reports and statements of actual expenditures are required during the project.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win I2I
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 6 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 9-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-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 9
Eligible Expenses 6
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 I2I Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about I2I