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Programme daide la

recherche industrielle
Industrial Research
Assistance Program
Proposal Guidelines for NRC-IRAP Projects
NRC-IRAP must have a good understanding of your firm your business, your resources and
your track record in past research and development proects! "his proposal provides an NRC-
IRAP representative #ith a summary of your firm$s profile and your proposed proect%activity!
"his is not a guarantee of approval! All material%information clearly marked &Proprietary
'usiness Information( #ill be treated as commercially confidential under the terms of the
Access to Information Act!
1. rgani!ation Information
1.1 "egal Name
Provide the full legal name of your firm! Also provide the firm$s operating name if different from
the legal name!
1.# $irms Contact Information
Provide the firm$s full address, phone number, fa) number, e-mail address and #ebsite! If the
firm$s mailing address differs from the physical address, provide this information as #ell!
1.% "egal &tatus
Indicate the firm$s date of legal creation or incorporation and its legal status! *tate if your firm is
a for-profit organi+ation! ,nly for-profit organi+ations established in Canada are eligible for
NRC-IRAP contributions! "his re-uirement refers to the legal urisdiction of the firms, not the
nationality of the firm$s o#ners!
1.' Products and ser(ices
Provide a brief description of the firm$s products and services!
1.) $inancial *ear-end
*pecify the firm$s financial year-end!
1.+ Registration Num,ers
Provide your .*"%/*" number and your 'usiness Registration Number!
1.- Num,er of emplo*ees
Indicate the level of employment in your firm! 0)press employment in terms of full-time-
e-uivalent employees! ,nly firms #ith 122 or fe#er full-time-e-uivalent employees are eligible
for NRC-IRAP! "he term &full-time e-uivalent( is used to properly account for part-time and
seasonal #orkers! 3or e)ample, a firm #ith 422 half-time employees #ould be eligible for the
NRC-IRAP Program because it #ould only have 522 full-time-e-uivalent employees!
"echnically, a full-time e-uivalent employee is an employee #ho #orks 6722 hours per year!
/o#ever, for practical purposes, and #here hourly data are not available, it is sufficient to count
each full-time employee as one full-time e-uivalent and estimate the fraction of a full-time
e-uivalent represented by each part-time or seasonal employee! 'reakdo#n full-time e-uivalent
into number of 0ngineers, *cientists, "echnicians and ,ther employees!
1.. rgani!ation /escription
Address the follo#ing in this section8
Nature of firm$s business, main products9
Affiliations to other companies9
:ain customers and competitors9
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:ission and corporate strategy, include key business challenges, plans for e)pansion9
Commitment to operations in Canada9
?oes the firm have a business planA Is it available for consultation by an NRC-IRAP
representativeA
1.0 Inno(ation 1ac2ground
Address the follo#ing in this section8
"echnical capability, staff, facilities, plans ;including proposed proect>9
Bey proect contacts ;business, technical and financial, as appropriate>9
Previous RC? proects9
*upported by the firm ;past t#o years>9 and
.overnment supported!
#. Project Information
"o facilitate the preparation of your proposal and to ensure that information necessary for the
technical revie# and approval process is provided, the follo#ing format is recommended for the
#ritten description! "he information contained in each section serves as guidelines9 they need
not be rigidly follo#ed, nor must all the issues mentioned be addressed, especially for small
proects!
#.1 Proposed Project &tart /ate
Dhat is the estimated proect start dateA
#.# Project 3itle
Provide a brief and descriptive proect title!
#.% 4uantified 3echnical ,jecti(es
Address the follo#ing in this section8
,verall obective8 #hat is the proect outcomeA
*ub-obectives8 #hat performance targets must be met to reach the desired outcomeA
"he sub-obectives should list and -uantify the key steps or sub-targets in the proposed
research!
,bectives should be -uantified! In the case of a product or process, the overall obective should
provide proposed or desired specifications and includes comparisons #ith e)isting products or
processes!
#.' Plan of 5or2
Provide an overall description of the methodology to be used in the proect! "his section should
clearly indicate the maor activities to be undertaken in order to achieve the desired
technical obectives of the proect!
:ore detailed information on the proect activities, results and costs #ill be covered under the
Phases section of this document!
#.) Anticipated Challenges and /ifficulties
?escribe anticipated challenges and difficulties in meeting your obectives and related tasks!
#.+ 3echnological 6n(ironment
Address the follo#ing in this section8
Current industrial practice - problems and opportunities9
Need for the product, improvements provided by the product, key innovative aspects of
the product or service9
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Is this a preliminary investigation or a continuation of an earlier IRAP proectA
#.- /escription of 5or2 to /ate
Include a description of #ork already completed leading up to this proect, including literature
and patent searches and associated proects! ?escribe the current stage of development of the
proect!
#.. Proposed 3echnical &olutions
Address the follo#ing in this section8
"he firm$s strategy in selecting the technology to be developed and the primary
applications9
Competitive advantages e)pected9
*cientific basis for proposed technical advance9
*ource and o#nership of technology, if e)ternal to firm9 the possibility of ac-uiring the
technology through licensing9 and
,ther resources pursued!
#.0 1usiness pportunit*
"his section describes the potential applications and uses of the proect results in the conte)t of
your firmEs business model!
?escribe8
"he innovative characteristics #hich #ill give your firm a clear competitive an advantage
in the market! Dhat makes your product or process different from e)isting ones in the
market and #hat makes it superiorA Dhat #ill it do that other products or services in the
market cannot doA
"he economical advantages of the product ;pricing aspects>9
Dhat leads you to believe that this proect #ill generate sufficient income to make it
profitable! 0)plain and -uantify the profits and rate of return for the proect, if possible9
and
"he commercial risks and the anticipated competition!
A comparative table of e)isting and anticipated products or services characteristics #ould be
#elcome!
If need be, complete #ith the follo#ing information8
"he relevance of this proect #ith the actual positioning of the firm and its strategic plan9
"he reasons #hy this proect represents a business priority for your firm9
,ther advantages to the proect8 positioning in the market place, ne# generic
technology, etc!9 and
*ummary of the marketing plan, if one e)ists!
#.17 3echnolog* and 8ar2et
?escribe the precommerciali+ation activities that your firm must successfully carry out once the
proect is completed, before the ne# technology can be e)ploited commercially! "he
precommerciali+ation activities may include8
Process or product certification testing9
,ther trials designed to determine and%or improve the technologyEs performance9
0ngineering to meet user and usability re-uirements9
Pilot facilities9
*cale-up9 and
"echnical and production support!
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?escribe the sub-contractor programs or your firmEs production capabilities in Canada9
?escribe the commerciali+ation activities in terms of commercial obectives, main target market,
proposed method of commerciali+ation, distribution channels that #ill enable your firm to e)ploit
the ne# technology commercially! *tate the planned start date of the commercial application
and sales9 and
'riefly describe your firm$s marketing management capabilities in relation #ith the results of the
proposed proect!
%. Resources
Identify internal and e)ternal resources including any Related Parties assigned to the proect
and their roles!
Provide brief rFsumFs of key staff and descriptions of collaborators ;universities, laboratories of
government departments or agencies Ge!g! NRCH, research organi+ations, etc!> and their roles in
the proect ;e!g! the collaboratorEs proposal or #ork statement>! "hese can be provided to your
Industrial "echnology Advisor ;I"A> under separate attachment! Repeat as necessary for all the
internal resources and contractors #orking on the proect!
%.1 Internal Resources
Internal Resources are employees #ho #ill receive a salary from your firm to #ork on the
proect! "hese employees must be on your payroll!
Provide the name, proect role, phone number, e-mail!!
%.# Contractors
A contractor is a person or organi+ation hired by your firm under contract to perform a task,
provide e)pertise or advice re-uired to achieve the obectives of the proect!
Identify if the contractor is a Related Party! "#o or more parties are considered to be related
parties if one of them is controlled, directly or indirectly in any manner #hatever, by the other!
Dhere t#o unrelated parties are related to the same third party as described above, they #ill
also be deemed as related parties! A non arm$s length relationship covers people acting in
concert #ithout separate interest, including individuals #ho are related to each other by blood,
marriage, adoption, common-la# relationships, or close business ties! *uch a relationship may
also e)ist bet#een individuals and partnerships or corporations!
Provide the contractor$s name, postal code, phone number, the contractor$s labour fee! Note8 if
the Contractor is a Related Party, then the costs charged must be actual costs incurred by the
related party and not the charge-out rate!
?escribe #hy the proposed contractors are best suited to perform the #ork! Note that fees
charged by a contractor should be reasonable meaning that they fit #ith current market rates
and%or that it is a comparative fee paid by the firm to contractors in the past for similar #ork!
'. Phases
?ivide the #ork into a number of logical phases! 0very phase should include8 obectives,
planned activities, desired results, duration in #eeks and estimated phase costs!
3or each phase, provide a breakdo#n of internal resources and%or contractor costs as per the
follo#ing format!
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Internal Resources ;salary net of any incentive or bonus>
Name Rate 3re-uency Number of units "otal
e!g! Internal resource A I12 /our <22 hours I62,222
e!g! Internal resource ' I622 ?aily 61 days I6,122
","AJ I66,122
Contractors Jabour 3ee ;e)clude all other fees>
Name Rate 3re-uency Number of units "otal
e!g! Contractor A I6122 ?ay 62 days I61,222
","AJ I61,222
"otal cost of the phase I<7,122
). Costs
).1 Project Costs ,rea2do9n
"he level of support provided by NRC-IRAP #ill be determined under the Contribution
Agreement! NRC-IRAP Proect Costs is the sum of salary costs, contactor labour fee and
overhead costs associated #ith the Dork to be carried out over the proect period! Although
NRC-IRAP may only support a percentage of salaries and contractor labour fees, for evaluation
purposes, you are re-uired to provide a proect costs breakdo#n as follo#s8
Internal Costs
Internal Resources ;*alaries> I
,verhead ;K of salaries> I
,ther internal costsL I
3otal Internal Costs :;A<
6=ternal Costs
Contractor Jabour 3ee I
,ther e)ternal costsL I
3otal 6=ternal Costs :;1<
33A" PR>6C3 C&3& :;A<?;1<
*ome e)amples of overhead costs are ;but not limited to>8 supervisory costs9 accounting
e)penses9 office personnel9 purchasing9 computer support9 leasing of materials9 location, and
maintenance and materials handling!
LProvide a detailed breakdo#n of #hat encompasses &,ther Costs(!
+. $inancing
,ne of the elements taken into consideration #hen establishing the level of financial
contribution is the influence the NRC-IRAP contribution #ill have on the technological innovation
capacity of your firm! In regards to this criteria, #e #ill evaluate the influence of our financial
contribution on factors such as8 the choice of the proect and the activity, the magnitude of the
proect, the reach, the acceleration in time, the choice of resource, the -uality of potential results
and the importance of the financial assistance!
+.1 &ources of funds for the project@ Complete the follo#ing table, sho#ing the proected
sources of financing for the proect! "he 3irm$s share of the cost of the proect must be at least
<1 per cent! "he 3irm$s share does not include RC? ta) credits and federal, provincial and
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municipal support ;grants, contracts, etc!> received as part of the proect! Note that the total
government support from the NRC-IRAP contribution, RC? ta) credits related to the proect and
all other government financial assistance ;federal, provincial and municipal> may not e)ceed @1
percent of the total eligible costs!
&ources of funds for the project Amount
Re-uested NRC-IRAP Contribution I
,ther government assistance I
3irm$s contribution I
3otal project costs :
+.# $irms financial contri,ution to the project
Provide details on ho# the firm #ill finance its share of the proect costs! Include any
involvement by third parties and specify the conditions for this support!
+.% Need for financial assistance
?escribe #hy NRC-IRAP assistance is necessary!
+.' Additional e=penses to reach commerciali!ation
Identify the additional e)penses re-uired to reach commerciali+ation! /o# #ill the firm finance
these additional investmentsA
-. Impact
-.1 /irect impact of the project on the firms competiti(eness
/o# #ill the increased technical ability affect the firmEs competitive position relative to the
leaders and%or main competitors in its fieldA Dhat intellectual property #ill be developed as a
result of this proectA /o# #ill it be protectedA /o# #ill this proect help your firmEs chances in
obtaining additional investmentA Are there any 'enefits to Canada e)pected to result from this
proect other than the proect$s direct commercial benefitsA
-.# Impact of the project on the firms capacit* for technological inno(ation
/o# #ill the proect improve the firmEs innovation capabilityA ;RC? staffing, RC? activity, etc!>!
/o# #ill the ne# technical capability affect the firmEs ability to undertake research after NRC-
IRAP support ceasesA Is there a potential for further innovation or spin-off of ne# products as a
result of the supported researchA ?escribe ho# #ill this proect enable the firm to attract
additional investment to the firmA
-.% Related project considerations
"his section should address issues such as the effect of the proect on the environment,
occupational health or safety and e)periments #ith human or animal subects! If none of the
above applies, a sentence stating so is all that is re-uired! "he potential environmental impact
of both the research phase ;short-term effect> and the resulting product or process ;longer-term
effect> should be assessed! If there are any concerns regarding the effect of the proposed
proect on the health or safety of firm employees, these should be discussed! Research
involving testing of human or animal subects must follo# established ethical protocols! If you
are not already a#are of the relevant protocols, the I"A can provide information!
.. /eclaration
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If NRC-IRAP does subse-uently provide financial support, the firm #ill be re-uired to sign a
Contribution Agreement #hich contains the attached Conditions of Contribution! *tate #hether
the firm accept the follo#ing statements8
Mes%no
"he firm declares that all information provided to NRC-IRAP related to this
proect proposal is true and correct! "he firm further declares that it is not
#ithholding any information that may materially affect this proect application!
"he submission of false or misleading representation of information is grounds
for immediate termination of this proect application!
Mes%no I have read the Conditions of Contribution!
Mes%no I accept the Conditions of Contribution!
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