IRAP vs Mitacs Accelerate: which fits your R&D project?
Choose NRC IRAP if your incorporated, for-profit company has 500 or fewer employees and wants funding toward its own R&D project, done by your own people, with an NRC industrial technology advisor guiding it. Choose Mitacs Accelerate if you want a graduate student, postdoc or other academic intern, supervised by a professor, to work on your research problem: you contribute $7,500 per four- or six-month internship and Mitacs turns it into a $15,000 research award.
You can use both, on separate work. The one hard rule: a for-profit company must pay its Mitacs share from private-sector money, and Mitacs counts government grants as government aid, so IRAP funding cannot pay your Mitacs contribution. Neither publishes an application deadline as of September 2026: IRAP starts with a phone call to NRC, Mitacs with a conversation with a Mitacs advisor.
| Question | NRC IRAP | Mitacs Accelerate |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Advice plus project funding for innovative small and medium-sized businesses, delivered through an industrial technology advisor (ITA). NRC calls the funding a contribution. | A research internship program. A student, postdoc or recent graduate works on your project, supervised by a professor; Mitacs pays a research award through the university or college. |
| How much | No maximum or percentage published. NRC's service standards cover contributions from $50,000 or less up to $10 million. | $15,000 per four- or six-month internship ($20,000 for a postdoc). Internships can scale up to 5 years. |
| Who can apply | Incorporated, for-profit businesses operating in Canada with up to 500 full-time-equivalent employees. Not ULCs or LLCs, sole proprietorships, partnerships or cooperatives. | For-profit and not-for-profit corporations, hospitals, municipalities and Indigenous governments in Canada, with an eligible academic supervisor and intern. |
| Cost to you | Cost-shared: you fund the rest of the project. NRC does not fund day-to-day operating costs, purely commercial work, or work done outside Canada. | $7,500 per internship ($10,000 for a postdoc), plus sales tax, invoiced when you submit and refunded if the proposal is not approved. For-profits must pay it from private-sector funds. |
| Who does the work | Your own team. NRC says supported costs can include the staff and materials needed to carry out the project. | The intern, guided by the professor and your organization. The intern receives at least $10,000 of each $15,000 award as a stipend or salary. |
| How long to a decision | Funding usually follows advice and referrals first. Once NRC has a complete proposal, its target is 20 business days for contributions of $50,000 or less, up to 65 business days for $3 million to $10 million. | Peer review takes approximately six to eight weeks, longer if revisions are needed. Work cannot start until an award letter is issued and funds reach the institution. |
| How to apply | A senior executive calls 1-877-994-4727. A client engagement advisor reviews your business and may refer you to an ITA, who can invite a proposal. | Talk to a Mitacs advisor, then write the proposal with your professor and intern. Mitacs is moving applications to its new Mitacs Plus portal. |
| Using both | NRC's IRAP pages publish no stacking percentage. | Your contribution must be private money, not government aid such as grants. |
Sources: NRC, Financial support for technology innovation (modified 2026-01-08) and NRC IRAP service standards; Mitacs, Accelerate program page. Checked September 30, 2026.
Go deeper on either program
- NRC IRAP guideStreams, who gets funded, and how the advisor relationship works.
- Mitacs Accelerate guideThe cost-share, intern rules and how a proposal moves through review.
- IRAP program recordEligibility gates, documents and deadlines in one place.
- Mitacs Accelerate program recordEligibility gates, documents and deadlines in one place.
- See every program open right nowGrants and other funding taking applications today, with deadlines, so you can line up what to pair with IRAP or Mitacs.
What is the difference between IRAP and Mitacs?
IRAP pays toward your company's own R&D project; Mitacs pays an academic intern to do research with you.
With IRAP, the work stays inside your business. NRC's industrial technology advisors assess your technical, financial and management strengths, and NRC says the relationship typically starts with advice and referrals before any funding is provided. When it does fund a project, NRC assesses the technology, your capacity, the likelihood of results, your commercialization plan and the benefits to Canada.
With Mitacs, the work is a research collaboration. The intern is a registered student or postdoctoral fellow at a Canadian college or university (recent graduates and non-degree students at the institution's discretion), a professor supervises, and Mitacs sends the award to the institution, which administers it.
When should you choose IRAP?
Choose IRAP when you have an innovative, technology-driven product or service and your own team can do the development.
- Your business is incorporated, for-profit, operating in Canada and has 500 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees. A sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperative, ULC or LLC is not eligible.
- You can show a business plan, recent financial statements, your ownership structure and the profiles of your management and technical team. NRC lists these as what you will need to provide.
- You want an advisor relationship as well as money. The ITA can connect you with partners, specialized resources and other NRC IRAP supports.
- You want to hire a young graduate onto your own payroll. NRC IRAP also runs a Youth Employment Program that cost-shares part of the salary of a post-secondary graduate aged 15 to 30, for a placement of 6 to 12 months at 30 or more hours a week.
When should you choose Mitacs Accelerate?
Choose Mitacs when your problem is a research question an academic team can work on, and $7,500 per internship is a price you can pay from your own money.
- You can find, or Mitacs can help you find, a professor eligible to supervise. At universities that means faculty eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds; at colleges, institutes, polytechnics and cegeps, faculty or designated staff.
- Your organization is not a fit for IRAP's rules: a not-for-profit corporation, hospital, municipality or Indigenous government can partner with Mitacs.
- You want to test a research direction in four or six months before committing your own staff, with room to scale to more internships, up to 5 years.
- You can wait for peer review, about six to eight weeks, and start only after the award letter is issued.
IRAP and Mitacs are two of many federal and provincial programs that fund innovation. Answer a few questions and see the rest you may qualify for.
Check what else you qualify for in 60 secondsWho on your project team can each program pay toward?
NRC IRAP and Mitacs Accelerate can share one R&D project but pay toward different people. As of October 25, 2026, IRAP cost-shares your own payroll staff; Mitacs pays a student or postdoc a professor supervises, and your $7,500 per internship ($10,000 for a postdoc) becomes a $15,000 award ($20,000).
Example: one engineer on payroll and one master's student, paid from revenue. Make it yours.
OrganizationIncorporated for-profit
Add a person (up to 5)
NRC side 1
What incorporating changes for IRAP and Mitacs
- Someone on your payrollIRAP project costsCost-shared; your ITA sets the share.
Nobody here yet.
Mitacs side 1
Your Mitacs cash comes from
- Master's or PhD student with a professorMitacs AccelerateYou put in $7,500 plus tax; it becomes a $15,000 award.Earliest start: about 8 to 10 weeks after a complete proposal goes in to Mitacs.
Nobody here yet.
Neither 0
Nobody here yet.
1 person on the NRC side, 1 Mitacs internship. You send Mitacs $7,500 plus tax from your own revenue or investors. Tell your ITA about the internship before you put the same work in both.
Every kind of person in one table
| Kind of person | Which program can pay toward them | Your cash or the rule |
|---|---|---|
| Someone already on your payroll | NRC IRAP project costs | Cost-shared; your ITA sets the share |
| A new hire, graduate aged 30 or under | IRAP Youth Employment Program | Cost-shares part of the salary |
| A master's or PhD student with their professor | Mitacs Accelerate | $7,500 plus tax becomes a $15,000 award |
| A postdoc | Mitacs Accelerate, postdoc model | $10,000 plus tax becomes a $20,000 award |
| A business or strategy student | Mitacs Business Strategy Internship | A separate Mitacs program for business projects |
| A co-op or work-term student | Student Work Placement Program | Not IRAP or Mitacs: a federal wage subsidy |
| A recent graduate, through the university | Mitacs Accelerate | Up to three four-month internships within two years of graduating |
| The professor who supervises | Not paid by either; Mitacs sends the award to the institution | For a professor-led project, see NSERC Alliance Advantage |
| A founder or shareholder | Neither, as a Mitacs intern | An intern cannot own or work for the partner |
Sole proprietors, partnerships and co-ops get no IRAP; for Mitacs, incorporate first or confirm with a Mitacs advisor. Our sole proprietorship vs corporation guide covers what incorporating changes. Non-profits, hospitals, municipalities and Indigenous governments get no IRAP but can partner with Mitacs, which encourages them to use private money too.
Whoever the person, a for-profit pays its Mitacs share from private-sector funds, never from an IRAP contribution or another grant. Revenue from selling to a government as a customer still counts as private. Before the same person or cost goes into both programs, tell your ITA and your Mitacs advisor about the other application.
Can you use IRAP and Mitacs at the same time?
Yes, you can hold both, but IRAP money cannot pay your Mitacs contribution.
Mitacs requires for-profit partners to provide private-sector funds. It defines those as funds not sourced from government aid, and says government aid means grants and operating funds received from government (revenue from selling to government as a customer does not count as aid). An IRAP contribution is government funding, so the $7,500 you pay Mitacs has to come from your own revenue or other private money.
NRC's IRAP pages do not publish a stacking percentage. Before you assign the same people or costs to both programs, tell your ITA and your Mitacs advisor about the other application and ask them to confirm the split in writing.
How much money do IRAP and Mitacs give?
Mitacs publishes a fixed amount; IRAP does not publish one.
Mitacs Accelerate's standard model turns a partner contribution starting at $7,500 into a $15,000 research award per four- or six-month internship, of which the intern must receive at least $10,000. The postdoctoral model turns $10,000 into $20,000. Project extensions can add up to one internship unit per intern, to a maximum of 10 units per project.
IRAP sizes each contribution to the project. The only public scale is NRC's service standards, which set decision targets for contributions from $50,000 or less up to $10 million, and a payment standard of 35 business days after a complete and correct claim. NRC reports meeting its funding-decision standard in 84% of cases.
Finding the professor: the step only Mitacs asks for
Mitacs Accelerate needs a professor as well as your organization: they supervise the four- or six-month internship, and their institution receives the award. As of October 25, 2026, NRC IRAP asks for no academic partner at all. No professor yet? A Mitacs advisor connects researchers with industry and community organizations.
We already work with a professor
Call the Mitacs advisor for that professor's campus. Mitacs lists its advisors by province and institution, and your advisor reviews the proposal before it goes in. Check they can supervise (see when to choose Mitacs).
We know a lab, not a person
Start with the university's industry partnerships or research office. It can name the faculty member who leads the lab and tell you its standard terms for Mitacs projects. Then bring that professor and the campus Mitacs advisor into one conversation. Staff in that office know which labs take industry projects and how their research agreements are usually signed, so one call there can save weeks of cold emails.
- Which faculty member leads the lab, and whether they take on industry projects
- The institution's own IP terms for Mitacs projects, if it has them
- Who signs the research agreement on its side
- Whether a student in the lab could start in the months you need
No academic contact yet
Look for a professor already publishing on your problem. Search recent papers or a university expert directory for your technical keywords, then email two or three of them. A Mitacs advisor can also suggest names, since building partnerships is part of the advisor's job.
- The problem, in one paragraph a non-specialist can follow
- What you already tried, and the data you can share
- The months you hope the work runs
- That you can fund a Mitacs share from your own money
When replies come back, favour the professor whose students already work on the method you need: the intern usually comes from that professor's own group. If nobody replies within a couple of weeks, the Mitacs advisor for the nearest campus is your next call.
Who owns what the intern creates?
Mitacs claims no intellectual property from projects it funds and does not advise on IP negotiations. Each university or college has its own IP policy, and some, such as McGill and the University of Calgary, have their own terms for Mitacs projects. Agree ownership and publication with the institution before you apply.
- One student, four or six monthsMitacs Accelerate: every gate and document
- The professor wants a bigger projectNSERC Alliance AdvantageThe professor applies and you commit cash: $20,000 to $1 million a year, one to five years.
What rules out most applicants?
For IRAP it is the legal structure and the type of work; for Mitacs it is the academic partner and where your money comes from.
- IRAP: not incorporated, or structured as a partnership, cooperative, ULC or LLC; work that is day-to-day operations, purely commercial, done outside Canada, or research with limited potential for commercialization. NRC also states that meeting the minimum requirements, or being invited to submit a proposal, does not guarantee funding.
- Mitacs: no eligible professor or intern; a for-profit contribution paid from government aid; or a conflict of interest, such as a supervisor or intern who owns, works for or has influence over your organization, which every party must declare.
After the internship: one common order of moves
IRAP and Mitacs can also run one after the other: test an idea with Mitacs, hire, then scale with IRAP. In this common order (as of October 25, 2026), each program decides on its own: a Mitacs award does not promise IRAP funding, and no step promises the next.
- Test the idea with one Mitacs Accelerate internship of four or six months, before committing staff.
- Hire onto payroll. A graduate aged 30 or under may fit NRC's IRAP Youth Employment Program; ask your ITA before the offer.
- Scale with an IRAP project run by your own team.
- Claim eligible R&D for SR&ED; Mitacs says its projects may qualify. See IRAP vs SR&ED and the SR&ED calculator.
Hired your intern? They are staff now: move them to the NRC side of the team board.
Source: Mitacs, Accelerate program page. Read October 25, 2026.Frequently asked questions
Is IRAP better than Mitacs?
Neither is better in general. IRAP fits an incorporated for-profit company with up to 500 employees that will do R&D with its own team and wants an NRC advisor. Mitacs Accelerate fits any eligible organization that wants an academic intern and professor on a research problem, at $7,500 per $15,000 internship.
Can I use IRAP funding to pay my Mitacs contribution?
No. Mitacs requires for-profit partners to contribute private-sector funds and counts government grants as government aid, so IRAP money cannot pay your Mitacs share.
How much does Mitacs Accelerate cost a company?
The standard model asks for a partner contribution starting at $7,500 per four- or six-month internship, which becomes a $15,000 research award. The postdoctoral model asks for $10,000 and becomes $20,000. Sales tax applies to the contribution.
How much funding does IRAP give?
NRC does not publish a maximum or a cost-share percentage. Its service standards set decision times for contributions from $50,000 or less up to $10 million.
Can a sole proprietor get IRAP or Mitacs?
Not IRAP: NRC does not support sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives, ULCs or LLCs. Mitacs lists corporations, hospitals, municipalities and Indigenous governments as partner organizations, so incorporate first or confirm with a Mitacs advisor.
How long does Mitacs take compared with IRAP?
Mitacs peer review takes approximately six to eight weeks. IRAP usually starts with advice and referrals; once NRC has a complete proposal, its target decision time is 20 business days for contributions of $50,000 or less and up to 65 business days for the largest projects.
What is IRAP?
NRC IRAP, the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program, gives incorporated, for-profit Canadian businesses with 500 or fewer employees advice from an industrial technology advisor and cost-shared funding toward their own R&D projects. Our IRAP guide covers its streams and the advisor relationship.
Can a Mitacs intern own shares in, or already work for, our company?
No. Mitacs treats an intern who owns, works for or has influence over the partner organization as a conflict of interest, and every party must declare conflicts when the proposal goes in. The same applies to the professor. If any link exists, talk to your Mitacs advisor before applying.
Who owns what a Mitacs intern creates?
Mitacs makes no claim to intellectual property from projects it funds and does not advise on IP negotiations. Ownership is agreed between your organization and the university or college under its own IP policy, and some institutions have their own terms for Mitacs projects. Agree it in writing before you apply.
Can we hire our Mitacs intern afterwards?
Mitacs's conflict-of-interest rule is declared at application: an intern who already works for your organization is a conflict. Hiring a graduate after the internship ends is a separate step. For wage support, ask your ITA about NRC IRAP's youth program for graduates aged 30 or under before you make the offer.
Does IRAP need a professor or university partner?
No. NRC IRAP funds R&D carried out by your own team, guided by an industrial technology advisor. A professor is the step only Mitacs asks for: every Mitacs Accelerate internship needs an academic supervisor at a Canadian college or university.
Can a Mitacs project also qualify for SR&ED?
Mitacs says its projects may be eligible for the SR&ED tax incentive program. To qualify, the work must be done in Canada and meet the Canada Revenue Agency's requirements. Our IRAP vs SR&ED guide covers how the credit sits beside other funding.
Where to go next
- NRC IRAP guideStreams, who gets funded, and how the advisor relationship works.
- Mitacs Accelerate guideThe cost-share, intern rules and how a proposal moves through review.
- IRAP program recordEligibility gates, documents and deadlines in one place.
- Mitacs Accelerate program recordEligibility gates, documents and deadlines in one place.
- See every program open right nowGrants and other funding taking applications today, with deadlines, so you can line up what to pair with IRAP or Mitacs.
Most innovation projects end up using more than one program. See which others fit your business.
Check what else you qualify for in 60 secondsGrantCompass is an independent funding database, not a government office or the program's administrator. Some features are paid. Facts on this page come from the funders' own pages, checked October 25, 2026; terms can change, so confirm with the program before you apply.