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Science and Technology Assistance Program

Our team manages the Science and Technology Assistance Program, which is designed to help small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada grow and strengthen their competitiveness through innovation.

Â鶹´«Ã½ the program

Supported by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), this initiative funds a research project valued at up to $5,000 between a Â鶹´«Ã½ research team and an eligible industry partner. 

These partnerships typically cover 3-5 days of work (or a maximum of 50 hours) per project. Projects aim to assist companies with:

  • New product development
  • Resource allocation/optimization
  • Production process improvements
  • Removal of product performance limitations
  • Product or production cost reduction
  • Reliability/quality improvements
  • Enhanced product functionality
  • Environmental technology issues
  • Strategic planning

At the end of a project, the researcher(s) will produce a confidential report that will be provided to their industry partner and may contain items such as:

  • A detailed analysis of the problem 
  • One or more proposed solutions and approaches
  • Further avenues of research or investigation
  • An academic literature survey
  • A proposed research project description
  • Existing technology details
  • A list of known experts or institutions
  • Copies of relevant research and industry papers

Eligibility and application

Companies eligible for this program must be incorporated as for profit and headquartered in Canada with 500 employees or less.

Eligible companies must initiate the application process by completing the Science & Technology Assistance Program Request Form and sending it to the OCIE team via scitech@dal.ca.

Additional information

  • The majority of the project funding covers the researchers’ time and limited travel; those resources go directly to the research team.  

  • Companies can have one active Science & Technology Assistance Program-funded project at a time.Â