A few days ago, Igor Chigrin, our business funding expert, wrote a post on LinkedIn that went surprisingly viral. In that post, he reflected on his experience talking to an officer of the National Research Council (NRC) as a startup founder.

NRC is a long-time administrator of the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), the government grant to support research & development projects conducted by the private sector. They also have dedicated programs for AI Readiness, Clean Tech, Artificial Intelligence Tech and Defence Tech development.

“What struck in that conversation is how the NRC’s due diligence resembled that of the venture capital investors I spoke to earlier. I then realized why many of our clients at Fair Grant Writing have been unsuccessful, even after attempting to talk to the NRC,” Igor stated.

It’s actually been 10 years since we wrote the last NRC funding application. Not because clients don’t want it or don’t have projects. Getting even permission to apply is extremely difficult and involves meeting or exceeding minimum eligibility criteria and multiple touchpoints with the organization.

But it is still worth it because NRC grants are paid monthly, unlike other grants in Canada. If you are a right-sized organization with a strong IP and technology roadmap, you have a shot.