NSERC’s Partnerships Programs:
Facilitating transfer of technology and know-how from
Universities to SMEs
Robert Déziel, PhD, MBA
Manager, NSERC Quebec Regional Office
NSERC FACTS AND FIGURES
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is
a federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering
research in Canada
 Budget 2013-2014: $1.1 billion
 $250 million in Quebec




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764 industry partners
$51 million in industry contributions
2,649 NSERC-supported professors
1,536 student grants
260 NSERC-supported research chairs
 $300 million for partnerships programs between universities or colleges and
enterprises in Canada
OPTICS AND PHOTONICS SNAPSHOT
NSERC FUNDING
$16.8M in 2011/12
• $8.4M in Research Partnerships Programs
Funding level doubled since 2002
50 participating companies in last 3 years
BOOST YOUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY
NSERC PROGRAMS (GRANTS) SUPPORTING TRANSFER
OF TECHNOLOGY AND KNOW-HOW *
Engage Grant (EG)
Collaborative Research and Development Grant (CRD)
Applied Research and Development Grant (ARD)
Idea to Innovation Grants (I2I)
* programs apply to Canadian-based companies only
ENGAGE GRANT (EG)
UP TO
$25,000 NO CASH CONTRIBUTION REQUIRED
Promotes new research partnerships between university researchers and
companies
Supports short-term R&D projects aimed at addressing a company-specific
problem
Company owns intellectual property (IP)
Applications are processed by regional offices within a 4-week turnaround time
Success rate: 85-90%
ENGAGE GRANTS IN CANADA
More than 3500 EG granted in Canada since 2010:
- 2500 enterprises
- 2000 university researchers
45% of enterprises have 10 or less employees
28%
30%
25%
20%
17%
15%
15%
18%
12%
10%
10%
5%
0%
1-3
4 - 10
11 - 25 26 - 100 100-500 > 500
Employees number
LET OUR PARTNERS SPEAK!
«The NSERC Engage has been one of the most useful government funding sources we at
TeTechS have received to date…. Being a focused and short term project, an NSERC Engage is
a great starting point to find the best fit between a company and the academic groups it would
like to collaborate with. »
Daryoosh Saeedkia, President and CEO, TeTechS Inc.
«…Overall, the Engage grants we have participated in have been quite successful, and in many
cases have led to ongoing collaborations… Working with Canadian research groups on the
leading edge of their fields allows us to explore the feasibility of new product features as new
techniques and approaches are discovered.»
James Pond, Chief Technology Officer, Lumerical Solutions Inc.
7
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT GRANT (CRD)
UP TO $500,000 YEAR
Covers the entire spectrum of R&D activities
Specific short- and medium-term objectives (up to 5 years).
Average grant of $65,000 a year
Equivalent contribution from the company (50% in cash + 50% in kind)
Success rate: 85%
Intellectual property agreement between the university and the partner
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT (CRD) GRANTS
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
 All applications are peer reviewed.
 Applications of $150,000 or less are evaluated at any time.
 NSERC turnaround time: 3 to 4 months
 Applications of $150,000 or more are evaluated by a selection committee that
meets four times a year (March, June, September and December)
 Applications of over $200,000 a year are evaluated by a site visit committee.
 Turnaround time: 3 to 5 months
 Average IP negotiation time: 3 to 5 months
APPLIED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS (ARD)
Intended to foster the development of research partnerships between colleges
and companies
Level 1: up to $25,000 for a new partnership with a college
•
•
Duration up to 6 months
No contribution from the company
Level 2: up to $75 000 per year
•
•
Up to 3 years
The company must contribute at least one-third of the project costs in cash and in kind of which at
least $10,000 annualy must be in cash
Level 3: from $75,000 to $150,000 per year
•
•
Up to 3 years
The company must contribute at least one-half of the project costs in cash and in kind of which at least
one half must be in cash
IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) GRANTS
Accelerate the pre-competitive development of promising technology from
universities or colleges and promote its transfer to Canadian companies by:
Provide funding to college and university faculty members for the advancement
of a product/technology with commercial potential
Offer to Canadian companies access to emerging/disrupting technologies
Cover in part market assessment costs
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IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) GRANTS
SUMMARY OF APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS BY PHASE
Market
Assessment
Phase Ia
Phase 1b
Phase IIa
Phase IIb
Duration (non
renewable)
Up to 12 months
Up to 12 months
Up to 6
months
6 to 18
months
Up to 24
months
Maximum
amount
requested
from NSERC
(% of project
costs)
$15,000
(75%)
$125,000
(100%)
$60,000
(100%)
$125,000
(67%)
$350,000
(50%)
$62,500
(33%)
50% of direct
costs through
in-kind and at
least 40% in
cash
Additional
funds needed
from partner
none
none
none
IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) GRANTS
TECHNOLOGY MATURATION PHASES
TRL
Phase I : Reduction-to-practice stage
•
•
•
•
the technology must be sufficiently mature
there must be a clearly identified and well described potential market
a plan describing how a partnership will be established with a Canadian company
possibility of a 6 months extension
Phase IIa: Technology enhancement, early-stage investment partner
•
•
•
technology transfer terms must be disclosed
the science has to be substantiated to the point that its end product is identifiable
thorough market research is required and potential buyers/markets must be
specified
Phase IIb:
•
•
•
•
a ‘’prototype’’ must be in existence
a strong business plan is required
the receptor capacity to manufacture, distribute, license, etc must be substantiated
adequate budgets are required to show that the product will be at the
marketing/manufacturing stage at the end of the Phase II grant
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IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) Phase Ia
«A cost effective process for low-loss light coupling between optical fibers
and integrated photonic circuits with high refractive index guiding layers»
NSERC: $125,000 for one year
Prs. Vincent Aimez and
Paul Charette
Université de Sherbrooke
Students/collaborators
Guillaume Beaudin
Étienne Grondin
development of a low-cost technology for
injecting/extracting light carried by optical
fibers to/from photonic Si-based chips
IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) GRANTS
Phase IIb –Partnership with a Canadian company
Pr. Richard Martel
Université de Montréal
 Carbon nanotubes and Raman
Imaging
 NSERC: $87,500/year for two
years
FIND HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL THROUGH
NSERC’S INDUSTRIAL SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAMS
PROGRAMMES DE BOURSES INDUSTRIELLE
Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards (I-USRA)
•
•
$4,500 for 16 weeks
Host organization supplements the award by at least 25% of its value
Industrial Innovation Scholarships Program (BMP Innovation)
•
•
•
•
Master’s: $21,000 per year
Doctoral: $27,000 per year
Host organization supplements the award by at least one-third of its value
50% of the research time must be spent at the company
44% of students participating in the BMP programs are offer a position from the host
company
WANT TO LEAN MORE!
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH US...
NSERC Québec Regional Office
505 boul. De Maisonneuve West, Suite 255
Tel: 1-877-767-1767
E-mail: nserc-quebec@nserc-crsng.gc.ca