National Research Council Canada · Grant program
Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program – Ideation Fund
The Ideation Fund is intended to encourage, test and validate transformative research ideas generated by teams of NRC scientific personnel and external collaborators with complementary capabilities, acting as a demonstration phase for a continually-evolving suite of research and development (R&D) deliverables at the NRC. The fund supports exploratory research through two mechanisms: the New Beginnings Initiative and the Small Teams Initiative.
- Total value
- $24.1M
- Agreements
- 425
- Mar 2019 to Mar 2026
- Median agreement
- $25K
- Typical range
- $25K–$25K
- the middle half of agreements
Federal grants and contributions, agreements starting Jan 2006 to Oct 2026, each counted once at its latest amended value. Source: Treasury Board proactive disclosure, published October 11, 2026.
See every record for this program on the government’s search. How to apply: look up the program on National Research Council Canada’s website.
Who got it
Organizations with the most funding under this program.
Plus 2 agreements ($377K) to individuals, sole proprietors and recipients this site does not name. They count in every total above. Why
By year
Agreements by the year they started.
| Year | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 50 | $1M |
| 2020 | 92 | $4.2M |
| 2021 | 75 | $3.8M |
| 2022 | 17 | $3.7M |
| 2023 | 59 | $3.6M |
| 2024 | 52 | $2.7M |
| 2025 | 48 | $4.3M |
| 2026 | 32 | $785K |
By province
| Province or territory | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 168 | $9.4M |
| Quebec | 98 | $3.6M |
| Outside Canada or not stated | 32 | $3.4M |
| Alberta | 33 | $3.2M |
| British Columbia | 51 | $2.8M |
| Manitoba | 11 | $581K |
| Nunavut | 1 | $416K |
| Saskatchewan | 14 | $292K |
| Nova Scotia | 8 | $199K |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 6 | $143K |
| New Brunswick | 3 | $70K |
By type of recipient
As the department classified the recipient.
| Recipient type | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Academia | 377 | $21M |
| For-profit organizations | 20 | $1.5M |
| Not-for-profit organizations and charities | 22 | $1.1M |
| Government | 2 | $441K |
| International (non-government) | 2 | $44K |
| Other organizations | 2 | $14K |
Industries funded
Where the department recorded an industry code (NAICS). Most agreements have none.
| Industry group | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific research and development services | 425 | $24.1M |
Latest agreements
| Start | Recipient | What for | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University | Hybrid Multifunctional Metal-Ceramic Architectures: A Novel Route for Additive Manufacturing of Resilient and Self-Sensing MetastructuresGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University | Robust quality and yield biomanufacturing of insulin-producing cells using bioreactors with environmental control and automation: a promising cellularGrant | $24,970 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Manitoba | Energy Harvesting from Seawater Currents via Maintenance-Free Metal 3D Printed Magnetohydrodynamic GeneratorsGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University | Proof of concept for the development of calibration artifacts for ultra high precision detection critical minerals by glow discharge mass spectrometryGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Université de Montréal | Multiplex generation and profiling of performant cell lines for scaled biomanufacturingGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Waterloo | Piloting an AI-Driven Trust and Semantic Verification Framework to Mitigate Synthetic and Harmful Health Content in Aging CommunitiesGrant | $24,970 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Ottawa | A Gene Therapy Approach to Prevent Cell Death and Preserve Heart Function in Ischemic CardiomyopathyGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The University of British Columbia | Engineering Targeted LNP Systems for Durable Gene Editing in Epithelial Stem CellsGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The University of British Columbia | Adaptive Modular Bridge Design for Circular and Climate Resilient InfrastructureGrant | $24,970 |
| Mar 2026 | The University of British Columbia | Evaluating the risk of variant emergence within human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) manufacturing pipelines using an in-silico modelGrant | $11,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal | Immunotherapy to preserve beta cell function in Type 1 DiabetesGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Carleton University | Precision Point-of-Care Biosensor for At-Home Inflammation Detection and MonitoringGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Carleton University | Grant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Ottawa | Fabrication of engineered intervertebral disk with multi-directional stiffnessGrant | $24,750 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Ottawa | Quantum super-resolution microscopy using photon-number-resolving detectorsGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Ottawa | InGaP nonlinear photonics on-a-chip for infrared single photon detectionGrant | $24,970 |
| Mar 2026 | Université de Moncton | Single-photon 3D imaging: depth sensing under extreme illuminationGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Institut national de la recherche scientifique | Design and Engineering of Ni-Mo Atomic-Site Electrodes: From Science to Practical Applications in AEM Water ElectrolysisGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Institut national de la recherche scientifique | Novel surface functionalization of lithium-ion conductors for cold spraying of solid-state battery electrolytes toward roll-to-roll manufacturingGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Governors of the University of Alberta | Advanced Lightweight High Entropy Alloy Coatings to Prevent Hydrogen Permeation for Safe, Efficient Hydrogen StorageGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Governors of the University of Alberta | Green hydrogen generation based on shape-engineered nanocolumnar electrodes with single-atom catalystsGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | Nanoplastic Resilience Scoring System for Stronger Plant–Microbe AlliancesGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | Transforming Ceramic 3D printing: Fast, Localized Pyrolysis of Polymer-Derived Ceramics via Ultrafast Laser PulsesGrant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | Exhilarare Inc. | Vision-assisted automated volumetric additive manufacturing of multi-material devices.Grant | $25,000 |
| Mar 2026 | University of Saskatchewan | Reprogramming Starch and Sugar Metabolism to Increase Pea Seed Oil Content: A Comparative Study of Pea and Soybean Seed DevelopmentGrant | $25,000 |