Upgraded | Canadian Government Funding

NSERC Alliance, managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is a federal funding initiative that supports joint research collaborations between universities and industry. These partnerships typically run for 1 to 5 years, combining academic and business expertise to create innovative solutions with strong potential for economic benefit.

Funding Amount

Option 1: Up to 66% of project costs for SMEs or 50% for large companies, capped at $1M per project/year.

Option 2: Covers 90–100% of costs, up to $100,000/year.

Alliance Missions: Up to 100% of costs, capped at $500,000/year for two years.

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Eligible Applicants

NSERC Alliance Eligibility for Research Partners

Industry Partners

Must be Canadian-based and operate independently.
Need at least two years in operation or strong growth potential.
Require a minimum of five full-time employees.
Must have the capacity to collaborate and commercialize research outcomes.

University Partners

Canadian universities must have the necessary expertise and infrastructure.

Must meet expectations set by the partner company.

Cannot apply with a company they’ve partnered with in the past.

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Eligible Activities

Eligible Activities:

Research that generates new knowledge/technology or addresses complex challenges.
Activities that contribute to economic, environmental, and societal benefits.
Projects that strengthen Canada’s competitiveness and train new researchers.
Under Option 2, projects must focus on pressing societal issues, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and public use of the research outcomes.

Ineligible Activities:

University invention commercialization.
Routine equipment use or testing.
Certification/standardization of existing products.
Pure consulting services or literature reviews.

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Deadline to Apply

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NSERC Alliance Grants

Funding Amount

Eligible Applicants

NSERC Alliance Eligibility for Research Partners

University Partners

Eligible Activities

Deadline to Apply

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