Collaborate 2 Commercialize — Stream 2: NSERC ARD (Colleges)

• Letter of Support
• Sample application form
• Eligible expenses guidelines
• Funding Agreement

Who is eligible?

• Applied research officers at Ontario publicly funded colleges
• For-profit Ontario companies that meet the program’s incorporation, employment and commercialization requirements

Eligible expenses

• Registration fees and travel and accommodation costs incurred and reimbursed in accordance with the Government of Ontario's Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive, except meals
• Salaries and benefits for technicians, support staff, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants and students involved exclusively in eligible project activities
• Research materials, licence fees, publication, workshop costs, supplies, and services directly related to the project
• Pro-rated research equipment purchase for project activities, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of the OCI contribution
• Lab analyses and related services, subcontractor and consultant fees approved by OCI management before the project starts, dissemination costs, and translation costs

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Institutional overhead
• Travel outside the province of Ontario
• Meals
• Commuting costs between residence and place of employment
• Passport and immigration fees

• Significance of the challenge or opportunity to support the company’s business strategy and/or growth
• Feasibility of the project plan, including milestones, budget, timeframe, project management plan and risks
• Likelihood of economic benefit for the company in Ontario within three years of project completion
• Overall quality and completeness of the application

• The industry partner should contact its OCI Business Development and Commercialization Manager to start the application process.
• If new to OCI, the industry partner should complete the Program Enquiry Form.
• If selected as eligible and suitable, the applicant will receive an auto-generated link to AccessOCI.
• The Industry Partner and Research Partner must complete the online application jointly in AccessOCI.
• After completion, the application must be submitted to the post-secondary institution’s Research Office for endorsement.
• The Research Office must endorse the application in AccessOCI before OCI final endorsement and submission.

• After approval, the post-secondary institution and industry partner receive OCI’s standard Funding Agreement.
• The Funding Agreement must be signed by the institution and industry within 30 days of notification of award.
• The project is activated upon receipt of the signed funding agreement.
• The holdback is released after completion and approval of final progress and financial reports, outcomes, and the institution’s attestation on use of funds.
• At one, two, and three years after project completion, the industry partner must complete a retrospective survey.

Stream 2 — NSERC ARD: This page applies to collaborations with Ontario publicly funded colleges.

2026 targeted calls with NSERC

• Defence & Dual-Use Tech: unclassified, non-weapon-specific solutions. Applications are accepted from June 1 to July 31, 2026.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI-enabled technologies for commercialization. Applications are accepted from July 15 to September 15, 2026.

• C2C is a discretionary, non-entitlement program with limited funding.
• Applications are assessed through OCI internal review and an external peer review by three subject-matter experts from academia, industry and/or government.
• For NSERC-supported applications, the application must also be submitted on the NSERC portal; OCI AccessOCI submission is required afterward.
• For NSERC Alliance and ARD streams, OCI is only able to provide a maximum extension of 3 months.