The Cost of Innovation: Strategizing and Funding your Innovation, Part II

PART II: NRC’s IRAP, an Opportunity for Funding your Innovation

Authors: Massimo Orsini, Ridhey Gill

In our previous article, “The Value of a Comprehensive Intellectual Property Review and Strategy”, we summarized the value of creating a comprehensive intellectual property (“IP”) strategy for application toward a business’ efforts to develop, and commercialize, its IP assets. In this article, we will explore one possible source of funding: the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (“IRAP”) program which offers grants as part of its IP Assist initiatives.

What is IRAP?

The National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (“NRC IRAP”) is a government program that assists small and medium-sized businesses with financial assistance, advisory services, and connections that can further assist with business growth.

IRAP is more than just a source of capital grants – it provides resources that help businesses expand their innovative missions through advisors and connections to business and research expertise across Canada. IRAP can also assist with funding required for employment.

There are different amounts of funding available depending on your project proposal. During the application process, an IRAP Advisor will work with you to determine which subprogram you should apply for.

How can you get IRAP Funding?

Meet Basic Eligibility Requirements

There are some basic eligibility requirements for a business to be able to apply for IRAP funding. For example, your business must be incorporated and have 500 or less employees with a goal to make profit through an innovative or technology-based product or service.

Before reaching out to NRC IRAP to assess your eligibility, it will be helpful to be prepared with important information related to your business including: a business plan, financial information, and details about the members of your team.

You can read more about requirements here.

Call an IRAP Advisor and Submit Your Proposal

After ensuring your business meets the basic eligibility requirements, you will need to call an IRAP Advisor to confirm your eligibility and work towards submitting your funding proposal.

An IRAP Advisor will want to better understand your business. You should be prepared to discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and goals so that your Advisor can better guide you through your project proposal. While many businesses are successful submitting applications independently, a number of service providers facilitate the preparation of proposals.

If you are interested in learning more about the application process, you can find additional information here. If you would like to learn how this funding can be applied toward legal fees related to the development of an IP strategy for your business, please contact us!

If you have any questions about this article or wish to learn more, please contact Massimo Orsini or Allan Oziel. Oziel Law communications and legal articles are intended for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or an opinion on any issue. To obtain additional details or advice about a specific matter, please contact our lawyers.

For permission to republish this content, please contact us at info@oziellaw.ca.