Funding Opportunities Info
Alberta Innovates
In partnership, NSERC Alliance and Alberta Innovates’ (AI) Campus Alberta Small Business Engagement (CASBE) program support post-secondary R&D collaborations that utilize emerging technologies to assist Alberta small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing technology for regional economic development and commercialization.
Deadline: Continuous Intake. Program may be paused if sponsor funding has been exhausted.
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- Technology-focused companies in any sector
- Health researchers and innovators
- Clean technology
- Advanced hydrocarbons
- Environmental Innovation
- Sustainable Materials and Agriculture
- Post-secondary Institutions
- Whether or not your organization is located in Alberta;
- The type or size of your organization;
- How far along your project technology is/ Technology readiness.
- No fixed formula for matching funds but in-kind support from industry is necessary
Mitacs Accelerate
Mitacs is a nonprofit national research organization that partners with Canadian universities, industry and government, to support research and training programs in the broad fields of industrial and social innovation.
Most Mitacs programs require a supervisor that is eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds and also typically require a 50% (+GST) cash contribution from an eligible partner. The intern must be an active student or postdoctoral fellow at the University, but the sponsor may consider recent graduates for internships. Most applications require the knowledge/approval of a Mitacs adviser (see below).
Please note for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, running from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026 there is limited funding available for Accelerate and BSI in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario.
Deadline: Continuous Intake
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- Internship programs covering primarily stipends for graduate students and PDF, with a small allowance for travel and research costs.
- Topics:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Artificial intelligence
- Cleantech
- Cybersecurity
- Health & Life Sciences
- Information and communications technologies
- Quantum
- Our standard funding model requires a partner contribution starting at $7,500 CAD per internship (4 or 6 months) which results in a $15,000 CAD research award. Of this award, the intern must receive a minimum $10,000 CAD stipend or salary.
- Our Postdoctoral researcher funding model requires a contribution of $10,000 CAD per internship (4 months) which results in a $20,000 CAD research award. This funding model is only available to postdoctoral interns.
- This program requires three core participants: an eligible intern, an eligible academic supervisor and an eligible partner organization.
- Mitacs offerings are available to our Canadian member and participant postsecondary institutions.
- Matching funds from industry required, and level depends on funding program
- Can be used as top-up to NSERC Alliance grants to cover graduate student stipends
- More info about eligibility here
NSERC Alliance Advantage
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) hosts a variety of funding competitions for both investigator-led and strategic, priority-driven research. NSERC funding competition deadlines occur throughout the year, usually in May or September.
Deadline: Continuous Intake
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- Generate new knowledge and/or technology to address complex challenges.
- Create economic, environmental and/or other societal benefits.
- Contribute to Canada’s long-term competitiveness.
- Support public policy.
- Train new researchers in areas that are important to Canada and partner organizations.
- Draw on diverse perspectives and skill sets to accelerate the translation and application of research results.
- Support projects of varying scale and complexity.
- Collaborative focus/partner-driven with at least one partner sharing in the costs of research.
- on your own or as a team with co-applicants who are also eligible academic researchers.
- must have at least one partner organization (in the private, public or not-for-profit sector) that can be recognized for cost sharing (see Alliance Advantage: Partner organizations).
- you may include other partner organizations who play an important role in your research project, whether or not their cash contributions are recognized for cost sharing.
- Provides up to 2/3 of direct research costs with 1/3 from industry or other government departments – Max NSERC cash contribution per year is $1million
- In-kind contribution is not eligible for matching.
- More Info on eligibility here
NSERC-Alberta Innovates Advance Grants: Stream I
In 2025-26, Alberta Innovates will offer supplemental funding opportunities to NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual) researchers who hold active NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual) in Alberta, awarded in Competition Year (CY) 2024, and have R&D activities addressing at least one of the emerging technology topics outlined in Appendix A and a priority focus area outlined in Appendix C.
Intake Deadline: July 25, 2025
Full Application Stage Deadline: September 8, 2025
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- Align with the objectives of the Advance Program;
- Meet NSERC’s eligibility criteria;
- Align with at least one of the emerging technology topics as outlined in Appendix A (for Stream I); or one of the emerging technology topics as outlined in Appendix B (for Stream II); and Priority Focus Area in Appendix C (for both Steam I and Steam II) in the Program Guide.
- Be completed within the two-year term;
- Technology being developed by the Stream II Project must be within TRL levels 2 to 4; and
- Comply with other criteria that Alberta Innovates may develop from time to time
- Researchers with active NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual), currently holding at a post-secondary institution in Alberta for Competition Year 2024 with research focusing on one or more of the emerging technology topics outlined in Appendix A and a priority focus area outlined in Appendix C. Applicants cannot hold more than one Advance Stream I grant simultaneously.
- Successful applicants will receive 2/3 of NSERC’s annual Discovery grants (individual) award value from Alberta Innovates to a maximum of $20,000 per year per award for a maximum of two years.
- As the principal investigator [PI], you must hold an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant when you apply. You must meet NSERC eligibility criteria when you apply and for the duration of the grant.
- You must be a faculty member from one of the NSERC eligible Alberta-based universities.
- You may submit only one application as a PI in each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- You may submit as many applications as you wish as a co-applicant.
- You may not hold more than one Advance Stream II (General stream) grant simultaneously. However, current Advance Stream II (General stream) grant holders may be eligible to apply for Stream I funding if they meet eligibility requirements.
NSERC-Alberta Innovates Advance Grants: Stream II
Stream II is the general stream of the program. Funding is available to NSERC-eligible researchers at Alberta-based universities .
In 2025-26, Stream II targets emerging technology topics under two broad categories:
- Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
- Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies.
Pre Intake Deadline: July 23, 2025
Intake Deadline: August 22, 2025
Full Application Stage Deadline: October 6, 2025
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- Align with the objectives of the Advance Program;
- Meet NSERC’s eligibility criteria;
- Align with at least one of the emerging technology topics as outlined in Appendix A (for Stream I); or one of the emerging technology topics as outlined in Appendix B (for Stream II); and Priority Focus Area in Appendix C (for both Steam I and Steam II) in the Program Guide.
- Be completed within the two-year term;
- Technology being developed by the Stream II Project must be within TRL levels 2 to 4; and
- Comply with other criteria that Alberta Innovates may develop from time to time
- Researchers submitting an application must be from a university on NSERC’s list of Alberta-based universities. To view this list of eligible universities, click here. The researcher must hold an NSERC peer-reviewed grant when they apply and meet NSERC eligibility criteria when applying and when funding is released.
- Applicants cannot hold more than one Advance (Stream II) grant simultaneously, and only one application per Primary Applicant (PI) per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) is permitted. Current Advance (Stream II) grant holders, however, may be eligible to apply for Stream I funding, meeting the eligibility requirements of Stream I.
- Individual proposals can request a maximum of $150,000 per year for a maximum of two years.
- Alberta Innovates will provide up to $100,000 per year, and NSERC will match their contribution at a ratio of 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.
- Projects must advance the readiness of technologies for future market opportunities in the emerging technology areas/topics (see Appendix B for Stream II in the program guide available on the Alberta Innovates Advance program website). As the primary applicant, the principal investigator must hold an active peer-reviewed grant from NSERC at the time of application.
- Eligible technology development within this program can begin as early as the conceptual research stage (beginning from TRL 2), up to testing/validation of ad hoc component integration in a laboratory setting (TRL 4).
- Projects developing technologies at later TRL stages are not eligible for this program.
- Partners are not permitted in this program; projects with partners should apply to the main NSERC Alliance Advantage program or other Alberta Innovates/NSERC support programs.
- As the principal investigator [PI], you must hold an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant when you apply. You must meet NSERC eligibility criteria when you apply and for the duration of the grant.
- You must be a faculty member from one of the NSERC eligible Alberta-based universities.
- You may submit only one application as a PI in each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- You may submit as many applications as you wish as a co-applicant.
- You may not hold more than one Advance Stream II (General stream) grant simultaneously. However, current Advance Stream II (General stream) grant holders may be eligible to apply for Stream I funding if they meet eligibility requirements.
Prairies Economic Development Canada
PrairiesCan, previously known as Western Economic Diversification (WED), was established to promote the development and diversification of the economy of Western Canada and to advance the interests of the West in national economic policy, program and project development and implementation.
Funding Priorities
Eligibility Factors
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- PrairiesCan makes strategic investments in initiatives that enhance and strengthen the economy of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
- Funding is available to not-for-profit organizations (ie., universities and other post-secondary institutions, research institutes, industry associations, Indigenous organizations) for projects that support innovation, business development and/or community economic growth.
- A number of funding programs mainly to support economic growth of Prairie provinces- most programs provide fundings to companies in the form of repayable loans.
- Mainly to support economic growth of Prairie provinces.
- most programs provide fundings to companies in the form of repayable loans.
- The Regional Innovation Ecosystems program can provide funding to non-profit organizations to conduct research, but it must be in partnership with industry (portion of funding to non-profit organization is non-repayable).
- Maximum cash contribution is 50%, matching funds can come from industry, non-profit and provincial and federal government agencies.
- The Regional Innovation Ecosystems program can provide funding to non-profit organizations to conduct research but it must be in partnership with industry (portion of funding to non-profit organization is non-repayable)- maximum cash contribution is 50%, matching funds can come from industry, non-profit and provincial and federal government agencies.