OSEO France – NRC-IRAP Agreement

In 2008, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) signed a memorandum of understanding with OSEO, the innovation agency in France that provides assistance and financial support to French small and medium-sized enterprises. The agreement fosters opportunities for collaboration between companies in Canada and France focusing on the following areas:

  1. Supporting collaborative research and development projects between firms in Canada and France.
  2. Identifying and supporting firms involved in Canadian and French clusters.
  3. Fostering technology partnering between firms in Canada and France.
  4. Facilitating exchanges on the evolution of respective mandates and promoting familiarity of one another's innovation systems.

This agreement between NRC and OSEO is aligned with NRC-IRAP's strategy of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada within the new global reality. In addition to technology partnering, this agreement capitalizes on the increasing trend toward collaborative research and development projects.

NRC already works with many French innovation players to create links between Canadian technology clusters and French clusters. This agreement with OSEO makes it possible to create partnership opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in both countries.

For more information, please contact:

Mathieu Lefaivre, Industrial Technology Advisor
National point of contact for the NRC-OSEO agreement
NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program
Telephone:  1-514-283-3775
Email:  Mathieu Lefaivre@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

France-Canada Technological Cooperation Program

To enhance cooperation between innovative SME from our two countries, NRC-IRAP and OSEO will now accept proposals for joint projects at any time during the year.

History of relationship between NRC-IRAP and OSEO

Beginning in 1990, the Canadian and French organizations supporting technology innovation, NRC-IRAP and OSEO (known as ANVAR until 2005), worked together to encourage cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) of both countries. Since 2008, they launched four calls for proposals to select innovation projects to be carried out jointly by Canadian and French firms.

Calls for proposals results

Altogether, approximately 60 proposals were submitted.

NRC-IRAP supported 20 Canadian firms with almost $4M of financial support. As for OSEO, about 20 French firms received approximately €3.5M of financial support.

Case studies will be published on the projects that led to technical and commercial success.

Streamlined process

In 2012, NRC-IRAP and OSEO agreed to end the call for proposal process and to accept new project proposals at any time during the year. From now on, Canadian firms interested in a joint technological innovation project can contact NRC-IRAP and French firms can submit their project to OSEO.

We hope this streamlined process will allow greater cooperation between SMEs of both countries.

For more information on OSEO, visit its international page (available in French only).

Contacts

NRC-IRAP

Mathieu Lefaivre Industrial Technology Advisor
Canadian coordinator for OSEO agreement
Telephone:  1-514-283-3775
Email:  Mathieu Lefaivre@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

OSEO

Isabelle Lebo
Telephone:  33 1 41 79 89 70
Email:  Isabelle.lebo@oseo.fr

Ineke Petit
Telephone:  33 1 41 79 91 32
Email:  Ineke.petit@oseo.fr