Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Company typePublic
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Legal name
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Website
- https://nserc-crsng.gc.ca
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Federal Research Funding
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration (BPAIAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)
Keywords
Where Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ottawa
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Government Funding Allocation: NSERC distributes federal government appropriations to Canadian researchers through competitive grant programs. As a non-departmental government agency, it receives annual parliamentary appropriations and allocates funds based on merit-based peer review.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NSERC is Canada's federal funding agency that distributes competitive grants and prizes to support research and research training in natural sciences and engineering at Canadian universities and colleges. Its core offering is the Discovery Grants program, supplemented by Alliance grants for collaborative research, RTI grants for equipment, and prestigious prizes including the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship and Geoffrey Hinton Prizes.
Product overview
NSERC is Canada's federal research funding agency for natural sciences and engineering at universities and colleges. Rather than a unified software product, NSERC operates a portfolio of grant programs and prize initiatives. The core offering is the Discovery Grants program, which funds fundamental research across disciplines. Allied programs include Alliance grants (supporting industry-academic partnerships in quantum, AI, critical minerals, and other strategic domains), Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) grants for equipment acquisition, and Discovery Launch Supplements for early-career researchers. Complementing these are prize programs including the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship, the newly launched Geoffrey Hinton Prizes recognizing AI-augmented research, and Canada Research Chairs funded through NSERC. Canada Research Chairs, and specialized prize programs including the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship and the newly launched Geoffrey Hinton Prizes for AI-augmented research. The organization also manages international partnerships through G7 quantum initiatives and bilateral research agreements with countries like Mexico and Norway.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Discovery Grants NSERC's flagship funding program supporting fundamental research in natural sciences and engineering across Canadian universities, providing multi-year grants to individual researchers and research groups.
- Discovery Launch Supplements Supplementary grants for early-career researchers within the Discovery Grants program, providing initial research support to researchers starting their academic careers.
- Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grants NSERC program supporting research equipment acquisition, enabling researchers to purchase necessary instruments and tools for their scientific investigations.
- Alliance Grants Funding program supporting collaborative research between industry, government, not-for-profit organizations and academic researchers in strategic areas including quantum technologies, AI, and critical minerals.
- Alliance Quantum Grants Specialized Alliance grants supporting large-scale mission-driven research collaborations addressing national priorities in quantum computing and sensing technologies.
- Alliance Advantage Alliance program variant supporting research partnerships with industry, government, and not-for-profit sectors to advance strategic research objectives.
- Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship $250,000 research prize recognizing exceptional international contributions by Canadian scientists, awarded to researchers demonstrating outstanding achievement in natural sciences and engineering.
- Geoffrey Hinton Prizes New prize recognizing Discovery Grant applicants who demonstrate creative application of artificial intelligence in their research, aimed at advancing AI-augmented scientific discovery.
- Canada Research Chairs Federal program funding Canada Research Chairs at universities and colleges, supporting world-class researchers in advancing knowledge and training future talent.
- NSERC-Alberta Innovates Advance Grants Joint funding program between NSERC and Alberta Innovates allowing eligible researchers to apply for combined funding to support advanced research initiatives.
Quantifiable outcome
- Distributed $630 million in national discovery research funding through Discovery Grants program
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- NordForskcoreNordForsk joined the G7 quantum research collaboration led by NSERC. Nordic partners can apply for up to 7 million Norwegian kroner per project through a joint funding call supporting participation in 12 quantum computing and sensing research projects. Initiative stems from Kananaskis Common Vision for Future of Quantum Technologies.
- G7 and Nordic Partners (JST, UKRI, DFG, NordForsk)flagshipNSERC leads an international quantum technology research funding initiative exceeding $100 million involving G7 and Nordic partners. JST (Japan), UKRI (UK), DFG (Germany), and Nordic funders coordinated through NordForsk participate, with NSERC serving as sole merit review agency for all proposals. Each collaborative project requires at least one Canadian researcher eligible for NSERC funding and one international partner.
- Mexico's Ministry of Science (SECIHTI)coreNSERC and SSHRC signed MoU with Mexico's SECIHTI formalizing bilateral cooperation in AI, energy transition, and health technologies. Agreement establishes nine specialized working groups to coordinate research and accelerate North American innovation, building on 82 years of diplomatic ties and 30+ years of free trade. Bilateral trade grew from US$4 billion (1993) to over US$36.1 billion.
- Mondelēz Canada and Grain Farmers of OntariominorIndustry partners Mondelēz Canada and Grain Farmers of Ontario contribute additional funding ($1.96M and $143,695 respectively) to Dr. Kari Dunfield's sustainable wheat research project funded through NSERC Alliance Advantage program.
- Research Councils NorwaycoreCanada and Norway reaffirmed bilateral research cooperation during ministerial meeting in Ottawa, identifying priority areas including Arctic research, climate studies, marine science, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies. Joint statement expands existing frameworks such as Horizon Europe and Eureka, with enhanced dialogue on research security in Arctic region.
- U.K.-Canada Sustainable Critical Minerals Research PartnershipscoreOne of University of Saskatchewan's critical minerals research projects receives support from U.K.-Canada Sustainable Critical Minerals Research Partnerships program alongside NSERC Alliance Missions funding, supporting international collaboration on rare earth elements and critical minerals research.
- MitacscoreMitacs co-funds Industrial Research Chair in Tokenization at École de technologie supérieure with NSERC, providing over CAD $3 million over five years for advanced asset tokenization and privacy-preserving federated learning research.
- T-RIZE GroupminorIndustry partner T-RIZE Group works with ÉTS researchers funded by Mitacs-NSERC program to commercialize tokenization research outputs. Platform has reportedly tokenized over $100 million in assets with pipeline exceeding $5 billion.
- Government of Canada Defence Industrial StrategyNSERC participates in Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy allocating $1.6 billion to attract researchers and integrate universities into defence R&D. Strategy ramps military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 and targets 70% domestic sourcing for military procurement.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF): The U.S. federal agency that funds discovery research in non-medical science and engineering, NSERC's most direct international counterpart with a similar merit-review, grant-allocation model. NSF operates at a much larger annual budget scale but shares the same institutional logic as NSERC.
- European Research Council (ERC): EU-level funding body for frontier investigator-driven research across all fields, including natural sciences and engineering. ERC's individual grants to principal investigators closely mirror NSERC's Discovery Grants model and serves as the principal peer for European competition in attracting top talent.
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): UK's national funding agency for research and innovation, formed by merging multiple research councils. UKRI is an active partner in NSERC's G7 quantum initiative and operates an analogous portfolio of discovery, training, and equipment grants with peer review.
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): Germany's central research funding organization for basic and applied research in all disciplines. DFG is a participating funder in NSERC's G7/Nordic quantum initiative and runs similar individual research grants, research training, and equipment programs.
- Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST): Japan's primary funding agency for science and technology research. JST is a participating funding partner in NSERC's G7 quantum initiative, and operates a comparable portfolio of competitive grants supporting university-based research and international collaboration.
- Australian Research Council (ARC): Australia's national funding body for university-based research, administering the Discovery and Linkage grant programs that closely parallel NSERC's Discovery Grants and Alliance programs. ARC operates a similar peer-review merit-based model.
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): Canada's federal health research funding agency, a sister council to NSERC under the tri-agency framework. CIHR is highly comparable to NSERC in operating model (federal grants via peer review) but focuses on health rather than natural sciences and engineering.
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC): Canada's third federal research council, co-signed with NSERC the SECIHTI Mexico MoU on AI, energy transition, and health technologies. SSHRC mirrors NSERC's grant structure but supports social sciences and humanities rather than natural sciences and engineering.
- NordForsk: Nordic intergovernmental organization that coordinates research funding across Nordic countries. NordForsk is a participating partner in NSERC's G7 quantum initiative, providing up to 7 million Norwegian kroner per project and serving as a comparable funder-of-funders in a regional context.
Others
- Mitacs: Canadian not-for-profit research and training organization that co-funds Industrial Research Chairs with NSERC (e.g., the CAD $3M+ tokenization chair at École de technologie supérieure). Mitacs is a partner/adjacent organization rather than direct competitor, bridging NSERC's academic funding to industry internships.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) social profiles
Digital presenceNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments55 records
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Frequently asked questions about Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
What does Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) do?
NSERC is Canada's federal funding agency that distributes competitive grants and prizes to support research and research training in natural sciences and engineering at Canadian universities and colleges. Its core offering is the Discovery Grants program, supplemented by Alliance grants for collaborative research, RTI grants for equipment, and prestigious prizes including the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship and Geoffrey Hinton Prizes.
Is Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) a public or private company?
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) founded?
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) was founded in 1978. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) based?
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) make money?
One revenue line is on record: government Funding Allocation.
Who are Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), European Research Council (ERC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Australian Research Council (ARC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and NordForsk. Mitacs is listed as an others.
Does Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) have an API?
No public API is recorded for Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
What industry is Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in?
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)'s product category is Federal Research Funding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAAAC, Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAI, Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 8132 and its SIC code is 8200.