Ontario

So Much to Discover

NRC-IRAP helps small and medium sized firms develop new technology and products that have the potential to materially increase the firm's sales or employment. Our Industrial Technology Advisors work with you on-site to assess your company's needs and help you design solutions tailored to your business.

NRC-IRAP can offer you technical and business expertise, either directly or through a network of business support organizations throughout the region. We can also potentially provide linkages to suppliers, customers, and investors, as well as financial support of research or product development projects with commercial potential.

There are a total of 70 Industrial Technology Advisors organized into five teams in 35 offices across Ontario. In addition to the regional headquarters, there are three teams based in the Greater Toronto Area (Seneca College in Markham, MaRS in downtown Toronto, and in the Oakville Corporate Centre in Oakville). There is also one team based at Canada's Communication Research Centre in Ottawa, which serves Ottawa, and northern and eastern Ontario, and one team based at the Accelerator Centre at the University of Waterloo, which serves southwestern Ontario. A full range of expertise, including electronics, software, photonics, cleantech, manufacturing, life sciences, medical devices, construction, and aerospace is available to firms through the Ontario Industrial Technology Advisor network.

In Ontario, NRC-IRAP works closely with a number of Federal Government organizations, such as:

• Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT)
• Export Development Canada (EDC)

The NRC-IRAP Ontario Region collaborates with several Provincial agencies to provide assistance to firms, such as:

• Ministry of Research & Innovation (MRI)
• Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)
• Ministry of Economic Development and Trade

The NRC-IRAP supports several non-profit organizations across the province who provide a range of business support services to small and medium-sized enterprises, such as:

• ventureLAB, formerly known as Innovation Synergy Centre in Markham (ISCM)
• MaRS in Toronto
• Communitech in Waterloo
• Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
• Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT) in Sudbury
• Ottawa Center for Research and Innovation (OCRI)