Canada - UK 2024-2025 multisector collaborative industrial research and development

• Innovate UK IFS project application form
• NRC IRAP Canadian SME annex form
• Draft international consortium agreement

Who is eligible?

• Canadian incorporated, profit orientated SMEs
• UK registered businesses of any size
• UK registered businesses, academic institutions, charities, not for profits, public sector organisations, and research and technology organisations (RTOs)

Who is not eligible

• Canadian partners cannot start the application on Innovate UK IFS
• Canadian partners cannot be invited onto the Innovate UK IFS platform
• Fundamental research projects
• Projects dependent on export performance or domestic input usage

Eligible expenses

• Canadian SMEs: labour, contractor costs, travel, and other project costs
• UK participants: eligible project costs under UK funding rules

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Fundamental research
• Projects dependent on export performance
• Projects dependent on domestic inputs usage

Eligible geographic areas

• Canada
• United Kingdom

• The bilateral joint cooperation between the partners and its added value is an important aspect to be considered within the evaluation.

• Canadian SMEs must register and submit an expression of interest (EoI) before being eligible to apply.
• Each project consortium must complete and submit the joint project application form via the UK IFS application portal.
• The UK lead project applicant must register and apply through the UK IFS application portal.
• Each project partner seeking funding must submit all required documents to their respective national funding body and meet its due diligence process requirements.

• NRC IRAP will review Canadian registrations and invite qualifying applicants to the next phase.
• EOIs will be evaluated by the applicant's NRC IRAP representative and the NRC IRAP International Office.
• Canadian ICPP applications will be evaluated by an NRC IRAP evaluation team.
• Once each national funding body has evaluated the submitted applications, a final joint project selection will be performed.
• Successful project partners will complete funding proposals and sign legally binding funding agreements with their respective national funding body.

• The competition was jointly run by Innovate UK and NRC IRAP.
• Canadian applicants had to complete an EoI before joining the joint proposal stage.
• Project proposals required a balanced contribution between countries and partners.
• Selected applicants had to sign legally binding funding agreements with their national funding body.