Leveraging investment
Federal and provincial governments have created a range of programs to help industry tap into the university system. Sometimes federal and provincial programs can both be accessed for a single project. Therefore, relatively modest industry funding can be leveraged into a much larger research project.
Moreover, university students completing their degrees can be hired for far less than their credentials would suggest in the industrial world (e.g., graduate engineers for less than $20,000 per year and PhDs for $40,000).
UOIT's Office of Research Services has expertise in structuring research projects with industry partners to maximize the impact of your investment in research and development (R&D). Please contact us at research@uoit.ca to discuss.
Matching programs
Agencies such as the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council opf Canada (NSERC) match cash and in-kind contributions to university-industry collaborative projects. In-kind contributions include provision of materials, staff time, facility use, etc. As a result, projects involving only $20,000 to $30,000 from industry can be turned into projects with budgets of well over $100,000.
UOIT has also received grants from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) as part of the Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative. This initiative was created to help small- and medium-sized businesses in southern Ontario access applied research and development and pre-commercialization expertise found in post-secondary institutions.
Programs to support industry R&D
- Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SRED) credits apply to research contracted to a university partner. This allows a substantial refund based on cash and in-kind contributions to the research project. For details, please visit the SRED Tax Incentive Program page on the Canada Revenue Agency website.
- National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) can be used to support the internal and external costs of research for small- and medium-sized companies.
