Question 1

What is IRAP (NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program) and who is it for?

Accepted Answer

Non-repayable contributions from the National Research Council to help Canadian SMEs develop and commercialize innovative technologies. Covers eligible salaries of technical staff and sub-contractors working on R&D projects. One of Canada's most accessible innovation grants. Typical applicant: Tech startups, software companies, manufacturers, and any SME investing in R&D to develop new products or improve existing ones — especially those with technical staff on payroll

Question 2

Who qualifies for IRAP?

Accepted Answer

Incorporated, for-profit Canadian SME with 500 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees (sole proprietorships and partnerships do not qualify, confirmed verbatim on the live page) Project involves genuine technical uncertainty: developing a new product, process, or service Must hire or retain technical staff to work on the project; capacity to co-fund required Work must be conducted in Canada No minimum revenue required — startups eligible ⚠️ NO minimum time-in-operation / 'must have operated for X years' requirement — re-confirmed against the live NRC page 2026-07-19 (full-page search for 'one year / 12 months / been operating / established' returned nothing). Do NOT confuse with BUMP (mb_bump), which DOES hard-gate on 'fully operational for at least 1 year, no exceptions' — a newly incorporated company is IRAP-eligible on paper. The only new-company caveat is the ITA's discretionary readiness assessment (see note), not a formal operating-age gate. ⚠️ The '80% of eligible salary costs / 50% of subcontractor costs' figures and the '$50,000–$500,000 typical project' range do not appear on NRC's own overview page (checked 2026-07-10 and again via deep research) — they are commonly cited by third-party funding consultants (e.g. CanaGrants, Hubvention) but remain a NON-OFFICIAL estimate, not an NRC-published figure. Present as "typically cited around X, confirm with your Industrial Technology Advisor" — never as a settled NRC policy.

Question 3

Is IRAP currently open for applications?

Accepted Answer

CONFIRMED (deep research, 2026-07-10): the 'AI Assist' initiative is real and official — NRC's own page states: "NRC IRAP's AI Assist program … designed to help innovative SMEs navigate the challenges of developing and adapting generative AI and deep learning solutions." Official URL: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/support-technology-innovation/nrc-irap-support-smes-innovating-artificial-intelligence — the earlier 'unconfirmed' flag on this is resolved. Access point (checked 2026-07-18): all IRAP funding, including the Youth Employment Program wage-subsidy stream (see nrc_irap_yep), starts with a phone call (1-877-994-4727) to be matched with an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA) — there is no separate standalone application form; the ITA relationship IS the access mechanism, not an additional program. Eligibility clarification (consultant question 2026-07-19): IRAP has no operating-age gate — the live page's only 'must' criteria are incorporated + for-profit + operating in Canada, ≤500 FTE, developing/commercializing innovative tech, and ready to create Canadian economic benefit. The common '1 year operating' belief comes from BUMP (mb_bump), a different program; for a very new company the ITA's discretionary technical/financial/management readiness review is the real hurdle, not a formal time-in-operation requirement. CIC transition (consultant question 2026-07-19, verbatim from NRC's top-level page nrc.canada.ca/en/support-technology-innovation): "NRC IRAP to be integrated into the new Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC). On December 19, 2023, the Government of Canada announced that the full implementation of the Canada Innovation Corporation will take place no later than 2026-27. The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) will remain with the NRC until that time and employees will continue to work directly with clients." Practical read for clients: the CIC move is a government-side structural change, NOT a change to eligibility or the application process — until it completes, IRAP runs normally at NRC (same ITA relationship, same intake). Advise clients to engage now as usual; treat the '2026-27' date as a moving target (it has slipped repeatedly). NOTE this CIC banner lives on the top-level /support-technology-innovation page, NOT on this entry's sourceUrl eligibility subpage — so the automated drift check on sourceUrl alone would not have caught it.