2022-2023 Departmental Results Report (DRR)

From the Minister

From the President

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has a long history of conducting and supporting high-impact research for Canadians in an evolving context. This means our teams continuously work to address the changing needs of industry and government.

The past several years demonstrate this: the NRC has played an important role in tackling critical issues and opportunities—from the pandemic and growing our national biomanufacturing ecosystem, to climate change and the low carbon economy, to the digital revolution and its new frontiers in artificial intelligence and quantum technology. We help people with their research challenges, we create new ideas and knowledge for Canada and the world and we work with partners to deliver a national platform for commercialization.

In 2022–23, we made progress on a range of strategic goals in exploratory, applied and collaborative research and technical services to bridge the gap between discovery and successful commercialization, with Canadian firms, government, and higher education partners.

• We generated 1,222 peer-reviewed publications, 62 of which were co-authored with other federal government departments, and maintained a portfolio of 1,951 active patents.
• The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) worked with 9,690 firms, and supported 35% revenue growth and 21% employee growth for their funded clients (from 2019 to 2021).
• NRC laboratories worked with 969 research and development (R&D) clients, of which 89% reported that the NRC helped them achieve positive results, such as increased jobs, sales and R&D capacity.

Notable special initiatives of the past year included:

• Operationalizing the Biologics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) and establishing its not-for-profit governance structure, which helped ensure Canada is now in a better position to protect the health of Canadians. The BMC will produce biologics, such as vaccines, therapeutics and biopharmaceuticals that would not otherwise be available to Canadians, and will be able to pivot in the event of a future public health emergency to produce cell-based vaccines or other drugs to keep Canadians safe. 
• Advancing the revitalization of the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC), which is an important source of high-quality photonics design and fabrication expertise, and a strategic asset for the Canadian photonics supply chain.
• Beginning a $962.2 million revitalization of the NRC collaborative research facilities over 8 years, with $121.1 million in new funding ongoing to renew the NRC’s national network of facilities and real property as part of the NRC’s modernization efforts to better invent, innovate, and prosper. A dedicated Office of Facilities Renewal Management (OFRM) was established to lead achievement of the recapitalization projects, providing an ongoing national network of public sector research facilities for collaborations with our partners.

2022–23 was also a year marked by news of important changes, including: the transition of NRC IRAP to the new Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC); and proposed amendments to the NRC Act to provide increased procurement authorities and other flexibilities to improve the NRC’s ability to work at the speed of its partners.

To begin positioning the NRC for the future and ensure it remains a preferred partner with the capabilities needed to work within the innovation ecosystem of tomorrow, we began an extensive 18-month strategic planning process to refocus the organization on scaled-up, impactful initiatives that will support cross-cutting research. Launched in fall 2022, the strategic planning exercise began with staff engagement to ensure voices from all levels of the organization are reflected in the NRC’s future direction. Research divisions have been working to identify opportunities to come together on shared priorities to ensure critical mass and impact, and to refocus activities in alignment with government priorities and our own research ambitions.

The NRC has been serving Canadians by pursuing next-level research thanks to generations of dedicated scientists, researchers, engineers and industrial technology advisors. This important work would not be possible without the support of our corporate and enabling branches that continue to ensure research and innovation efforts can move forward. From climate action and health, to quantum, artificial intelligence (AI) and the universe, the work we do is important, with positive impacts for a better tomorrow for Canada and beyond.

Results at a glance

The NRC plays an important role in the science, technology and innovation ecosystem by bringing together extensive knowledge, specialized facilities and equipment, and unique opportunities for national and global collaboration, to advance research and support business innovation in areas of importance for Canada and the world. Budget 2022, the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, and Budget 2023 all pointed to the Government of Canada’s confidence in the NRC’s ability to lead R&D related to Canada’s most pressing challenges and opportunities for success.

Scientific and technological knowledge advances

Research, development and innovation are crucial to ensuring Canada is able to access new and emerging technologies to improve its future standard of living. In 2022–23, the NRC advanced work in priority areas such as climate change and sustainability, health and biomanufacturing, and the digital revolution, while also increasing scientific collaboration. This included work in reducing aircraft emissions, advancing sensing capabilities for transportation and agriculture, enabling cell and gene therapy technologies, and developing artificial intelligence (AI) for security and defence, among many other examples.

With research and innovative solutions in passive drone detection, clean energy and fuels, AI modeling and data analytics, measurements standardization, as well as vital contributions to some of the world’s leading telescopes and observatories, the NRC continued to advance innovation across a wide range of disciplines. This included generating 1,222 peer-reviewed publications.

Innovative businesses grow

The NRC’s scientific expertise and facilities supported Canadian businesses to grow, innovate and commercialize technologies. In 2022-23, NRC IRAP supported 9,690 firms, resulting in new domestic and international market opportunities for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), generation of new Canadian IP, and expansion of Canada’s talent pool. The NRC also continued to build partnerships with industry by leveraging its industrial R&D groups for work in areas such as advanced manufacturing.

Unique in Canada, the Biologics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) was established to fulfill a public-good mandate. With its operationalization in 2022–23, along with its not-for-profit incorporation and governance structure, the BMC is now set up to contribute to capacity development and growth of Canada’s biomanufacturing industry and ecosystem. The NRC also completed construction of the clinical trial material facility (CTMF), continued to work with companies to de-risk and accelerate the development of novel technologies for vaccines and therapeutics, and advanced space-related research for human health to help strengthen Canada’s health care sector.

In addition, the NRC continued to revitalize the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre, to ensure industry has access to best-in-class technologies so Canada remains a global leader in the compound semiconductor market.

Evidence-based solutions inform decisions in Government priority areas

The NRC aims to connect expertise across Canada that enables ground-breaking solutions to challenges Canadians are facing today or will face in the years to come. In 2022–23, the NRC continued to prioritize collaborative work under its Challenge programs and Cluster Support programs, and began establishing 2 new Challenge programs aimed at supporting the development of low carbon materials and systems, and the digitization of construction sector practices.

The NRC also continued collaborating with other federal departments to contribute to research toward a more sustainable future in areas such as building and coastal resiliency, carbon-neutral construction, clean energy technologies for transportation, and critical minerals. Key achievements included developing Canada’s first national guidance on nature-based infrastructure for coastal risk management, publishing an important study on bridge resiliency, and creating an open online platform to assess the sustainability of clean energy technologies that was adopted by several federal departments.

Internal services

In 2022–23, the NRC introduced new initiatives to support a diverse, talented, healthy, and engaged workforce, and promote respect, civility, and inclusion in the workplace. Building off the Workforce and Workplace Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2021-2024, the NRC also increased efforts to strengthen representation of equity deserving groups across the organization, and implemented cross-program initiatives to increase participation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. To support the transition to the government’s new hybrid work model, the NRC developed new guidance and directives, strengthened its information technology (IT) infrastructure, and enhanced health, safety, and security procedures.

Following the announcement of an investment of $962.2 million over 8 years and $121.1 million ongoing by the Government of Canada to modernize the NRC’s infrastructure, the NRC created the Office of Facilities Renewal Management (OFRM) to advance the delivery of major capital projects and oversee organizational investment planning.

For more information on the NRC's plans, priorities and results achieved, see the "Results: what we achieved" section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core responsibility: Science and Innovation

Description: Grow and enhance the prosperity of Canada through: undertaking, assisting and promoting innovation-driven research and development (R&D); advancing fundamental science and Canada's global research excellence; providing government, business and research communities with access to scientific and technological infrastructure, services and information; and supporting Canada's skilled workforce and capabilities in science and innovation.

The NRC has 3 departmental results for tracking and reporting against its core responsibility:

• Scientific and technological knowledge advances;
• Innovative businesses grow; and
• Evidence-based solutions inform decisions in government priority areas.

Results

Clean and sustainable transportation solutions

In 2022–23, the NRC continued to develop foundational technologies that will ultimately lead to reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation and aviation sectors.

As part of a multi-year project under the Greening Government Fund to help advance electrification of the Government of Canada’s aircraft fleet, the NRC began prototyping a high-voltage battery propulsion system. The NRC also became a formal member of an international consortium working to increase scientific knowledge of hydrogen combustion in aircraft engines. Membership will help the NRC support Canadian aviation industry partners developing low-emission products.

The NRC continued to advance state-of-the-art research in measuring emissions of black carbon nanoparticles from aircraft and marine engines. In collaboration with international partners, the NRC compared emissions produced by large aircraft engines powered by standard aviation fuel to engines using a more sustainable aviation fuel. This will help reduce the impacts associated with black carbon, improve air quality around airports, and support the aviation industry in meeting its carbon reduction targets.

The NRC completed the first phase of a project with Transport Canada, the University of British Columbia and Southern Railway of British Columbia under the Clean and Energy-efficient Transportation (CEET) program to assess information gaps associated with deploying locomotives that contain hydrogen fuel cells, known as hydrail. The first phase identified risks and hazards, and the second phase will develop a framework for regulators to oversee hydrail operations proposed by Canadian rail operators. The NRC also undertook a collaborative project with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the CEET program to develop a tool to provide Canadians with information on the carbon footprint of light-duty vehicles over the entire life cycle. This project contributes to the Government of Canada’s climate plans and will ultimately help consumers make climate-conscious decisions when purchasing vehicles.

Environmental sensing to promote a healthier and more sustainable future

As climate change continues to disrupt everyday life, research in 2022–23 on environmental sensing technologies remained vital to ensuring the safety and security of Canadian transportation systems and agriculture.

To improve the safety and performance of marine operations in ice and reduce the carbon footprint of Canada’s marine fleet, the Canadian Coast Guard sought the NRC’s expertise to assess the performance of the CCGS Henry Larsen icebreaker. The NRC’s study demonstrated that an air bubbler system^Footnote1 installed during field trials will contribute to the development of the next generation of Canadian Coast Guard ships and future, more efficient maritime autonomous surface ships in Canada.

A new patented technology from the NRC, developed with expertise from its High-efficiency Mining program, enabled the world’s first real-time quantitative mineral analysis in a stream using new online mineralogy. A new sensor system based on this breakthrough technology will play a key role in optimizing mining extraction by reducing the environmental footprint and fostering Canadian ingenuity in the global mining sector. This work also led to the construction of the NRC Mining Sensor Test Facility, a unique, state of-the-art asset for the Canadian mining industry, and the creation of the NRC mining sensors hub where experts can develop new sensing technologies.

The NRC developed a novel data collection and communication hardware system to monitor train ride quality and passenger comfort, and created a unique algorithm to identify track locations with the highest impact on passenger comfort. Ride quality results were shared with VIA Rail through a secure cloud-based portal to assist the company in prioritizing track maintenance activities and proactively addressing track maintenance issues.

Collaboration with international partners led to the discovery of the algal source and primary toxin responsible for ciguatera poisoning. Thirty years in the making, the NRC’s major breakthrough in the identification of this toxin is critical for establishing testing methods, and will advance seafood safety monitoring methods. With a greater potential for these toxins to spread further north due to climate change, this discovery will reduce future health and safety risks to Canadians.

In collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the NRC is developing point-source detection of pathogens and generated proposals to provide remote diagnostic tools to detect plant pathogen infections. This work will lead to better food security and safety, and has the potential to reduce the cost of agricultural products. Other work in food security included creating a new R&D platform that can be used to develop prototypes that evaluate crops for indoor agriculture applications.

Taking new and emerging technologies into the digital era

NRC-developed machine learning, data analytics and detection technologies help Canada remain at the forefront of the digital transformation and help industry, the federal government, and other research organizations adopt new technologies as part of their digital journeys.

A major achievement for the NRC in AI based technologies and imaging for security applications was the development of a new technology for passive drone detection. In collaboration with Defence Research and Development Canada, an innovative proof-of-concept technology was developed, patented and advanced to field testing. This extremely accurate, low-cost and undetectable technology will be highly valuable for testing disruptive drone detection technology in realistic settings for Canadian defence applications.

In 2022–23, 3 Detect-and-Avoid systems were installed on an NRC research aircraft for assessment during a flight campaign. Performance findings were provided to Transport Canada to support them in developing safety regulations and granting Special Flight Operations permits for Canadian drone operators that intend to fly their devices beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight. This work will provide Canadians with better informed regulations for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, enabling the growth of this high-tech sector in Canada.

Under the Indigenous Languages Technology Project, researchers collaborated with Indigenous partners to add voice generation capabilities (text-to-speech) to existing technologies. This will help Indigenous communities teach, preserve and revitalize their languages, and resulted in a best paper award at the 2022 Association for Computational Linguistics conference in Ireland.

The NRC uses long-term AI models to forecast sea ice freeze-up, break-up and iceberg drift to support safe navigation of Northern routes in a context of increasing Arctic ice hazards and extreme weather events. To support the achievement of this objective, the NRC and the Canadian Hydrographic Service worked together to improve the NRC’s Arctic Shipping Risk Assessment System by incorporating non-navigational Arctic data and an NRC-developed ice dynamics forecasting model. In addition, a new online platform was developed to further safeguard Canada’s Northern waters.

Enabling a strong and secure Canadian measurement system

To ensure Canadian industries, governments and other organizations trust the mechanisms of measurement and standards that underpin the economy, in 2022–23 the NRC:

• contributed to an international comparison for realizations of the SI^{Footnote 2} (International System of Units), including the kilogram, and achieved the highest accuracy of all participants
• contributed to the framework for the digital transformation of the SI, and influenced resolutions related to the redefinition of the SI second
• provided clients with a secure authenticated source of time directly traceable to the official time for Canada by installing NRC TimeLink service units at Shared Services Canada’s Enterprise Data Centre and at Inuvik, Northwest Territories
• provided measurement evidence for regulation development in areas such as transportation emissions, cannabis testing and microplastics

The NRC carried out the first calorimeter measurements of a proton beam in Canada at the TRIUMF facility, which identified a method for accurate beam calibration that will benefit future clinical sites in Canada. The project with TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator centre, tested specialized calorimeter devices to address new radiation treatments such as proton therapy, which has proven effective in treating paediatric cancers. This work contributes to the development of infrastructure needed for the first Canadian proton treatment therapy facility, expected in the next few years.

In addition, the NRC supported the University of Victoria on a student-developed satellite, known as ORCASat (Optical Reference Calibration Satellite), by providing critical light intensity measurements for its 2 laser light sources. This will allow researchers to calibrate their instruments by comparing light emitted from the satellite of a ground-based telescope or observatory to the NRC's measurements.

Helping Canada be a leader in astronomy

In January 2023, the government announced Canada’s intent to become a full member of the SKAO (Square Kilometre Array Observatory), further strengthening Canadian astronomers’ international reputation in astronomical discovery and providing opportunities for Canadian industry to work on the observatory components. Full membership will provide Canadian astronomers with access to a next-generation radio-astronomy facility and expand Canada’s impact in research and innovation, digital technologies and next-generation communications systems.

The NRC will play a key role on the SKA radio astronomy project by representing Canada in the governance of the SKAO and will work with domestic and international partners to deliver key observatory systems. Significant progress was made in 2022–23 on building the hardware for the correlator, ‘the brain’, for the SKA-Mid-Array in South Africa. This work helped build Canadian industry capability in high-speed digital signal processing.

Building on its SKA correlator development, the NRC was awarded the contract to use its TALON signal processing technology to build and install the correlator for ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), the largest telescope of its kind in the world. The TALON correlator is the baseline design for all 3 of the largest existing or planned radio telescopes in the world.

The NRC also contributed to the James Webb Space Telescope by filling one of the lead roles on the Canadian team and providing scientific oversight for the design, fabrication and testing of 2 major instruments, including 1 with unique capabilities related to studying exoplanets and distant galaxies. NRC researchers were awarded 200 hours of observation on the telescope to study some of the first galaxies ever formed.

Collaborative R&D with partners in academia and industry

The NRC is always looking for new ways to expand its partnerships with like-mind institutions on a broad spectrum of solutions for today’s most pressing challenges.

• The NRC’s Ideation Fund encourages, tests and validates transformative research ideas generated by NRC scientists working individually and with small teams with complementary capabilities. Launched in May 2022, the fourth round of the New Beginnings and Small Teams initiatives of the Ideation Fund resulted in granting $1.3 million for 52 New Beginnings projects and $4 million for 2 Small Teams projects. One of the Small Teams projects focuses on developing a new speech synthesis capability for Indigenous educators to help preserve and promote the learning of Indigenous languages.
• The NRC fosters close collaboration with partners with shared research interests through its Collaboration centres. In 2022–23, infrastructure and commissioning of the device bio-foundry, a purpose-built facility for microfluidic device prototyping and small-scale fabrication, was completed at the NRC-University of Toronto Collaborative Centre for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies (CRAFT). CRAFT researchers collaborated with the Unity Health hospital network in 2022–23 to demonstrate the potential for rapid triage of patients admitted into emergency rooms. This was done by testing point-of-care diagnostic innovations using NRC microfluidics technology at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto to classify patients admitted with severe symptoms. This technology has the potential to improve emergency room waiting times.
• The NRC partnered with the British Columbia Cancer Agency on a targeted CAR T^{Footnote 3} clinical trial, and with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) on accelerated development of AAV-based^{Footnote 4} rare disease therapies, which will lead to the development of new models and further innovation in the delivery of more affordable and accessible health care.
• The NRC also contributed resources and expertise to improve print fidelity for an experiment conducted by the University of California, Berkeley on volumetric (3D) printing in micro-gravity. The NASA-funded experiment could lead to improvements in the quality of 3D printed biological samples such as tissue and organs for transplants.
• The NRC and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology launched a joint funding program designed to foster interdisciplinary research for “high risk-high reward” blue-sky discoveries^{Footnote 5} in nanomaterials and nano-enabled sensors.  Following a virtual workshop, 9 research projects were selected in areas such as 3D imaging and machine learning for nanoplastics, multiplex point-of-care testing, and low-power field-effect transistor-based sensors.

Celebrating diverse STEM talent in Canada

In 2022–23, the NRC redesigned the National Killam Program to further anchor the funding program in Dorothy Killam’s vision for inclusive excellence. To help attract and award a diverse cohort of candidates, key elements of the redesign included:

• new governance that will focus on implementing new advisory and decision-making bodies
• outreach to diverse research communities and scholarly networks
• new measures to combat unconscious bias
• monitoring of self-identification data

The NRC is proud to administer the National Killam Program. The 2023 5 Killam Prize and 8 fellowship winners selected by the program’s Selection Committee have achieved excellence in their fields and are committed to mobilizing their research for the benefit of future generations.

Supporting the growth and success of Canadian SMEs

In February 2023, NRC IRAP will be integrated into the new Canada Innovation Corporation and the program will undergo significant changes in the years to come. With the transition expected to take up to 24 months, NRC IRAP continued to deliver its support services to clients in 2022–23 and will continue to do so over the transition period. Playing a crucial role in SME growth in 2022–23, NRC IRAP provided $489.4 million in funding to 3,486 Canadian SMEs, and advisory services to 6,204 additional firms, helping clients support 13,973 new jobs.

One of the ways NRC IRAP is able to play such a significant role in SME success is through its Large Value Contribution program, which provides strategic business and technical advice to support Canadian SMEs in scaling up, reaching new markets, and generating new Canadian intellectual property (IP). The program committed approximately $66 million to 22 new projects in 2022–23, and increased delivery capacity by launching a new Strategic Investment intake stream that works with companies at earlier stages of development.

NRC IRAP also provided key support to firms by placing 725 post-secondary graduates within some of Canada’s most innovative SMEs under the Youth Employment Program. Results show that 86% of graduates that completed their internship were employed or self-employed after their placement, with 94% of them staying with their original placement employer. In addition, 49% of participants identified as women, demonstrating NRC IRAP’s strong advocacy for the participation of women in STEM.

NRC IRAP’s IP Assist Program continued to help firms increase intellectual property (IP) competencies, build the IP strategies and execute the IP actions needed to support their commercial growth. In 2022–23, the program significantly increased the number of firms assisted across all levels, including providing advisory services to 2,024 unique firms, supporting 298 firms in developing IP strategies, and assisting 93 firms in actioning their IP strategies. In 2022-23, NRC IRAP established new partnerships with key organizations to deliver IP awareness services and support IP strategy projects to firms through industry IP service providers.

The NRC manages and mobilizes a protected and valuable IP portfolio to attract collaborators, promote IP to broader audiences, and increase the commercialization of Canadian research. Strategic IP protection enables efficient mobilization of NRC research activities to Canadian industry. For example, the NRC’s bio-electrochemical anaerobic sewage treatment technology was licensed by a new Canadian start-up company due to its potential for treating sewage in remote and Arctic communities, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. To further enable these types of opportunities, the NRC implemented an IP Strategy Framework in 2022–23.

Helping Canadian SMEs go global

By expanding internationally, SMEs can access a larger customer base, diversify their revenue streams, and achieve higher sales and profit, contributing to the overall health of the Canadian economy.

In 2022–23, NRC IRAP continued to co-deliver the CanExport SMEs Program with Global Affairs Canada, helping Canadian SMEs to develop new export opportunities and to establish themselves in international markets. The program supported over 1,391 projects with more than $27.5 million in funding. Furthermore, the CanExport Innovation Program supported an additional 95 Canadian SMEs, academia and research organizations in developing collaborative R&D agreements with international partners.

Over the past decade of the NRC’s association with Eureka, an intergovernmental network and established platform for international cooperation in market-oriented R&D projects, more than 300 Canadian companies have benefitted from co-innovation partnerships with 34 international economies. With the NRC acting as Canada’s National Office for Eureka, Canada attained full membership in June 2022, setting a precedent of allowing full membership to economies outside Europe. Canada can now take on a stronger role in influencing future directions and programming within this network, and further assist innovative Canadian businesses in accessing international markets through collaboration with partners in over 45 economies.

NRC collaborations have led to international recognition. For example, the NRC, with the Taiwan Textile Research Institute, was awarded an Edison Gold Award and an R&D 100 Award (considered the Oscars of invention in the process/prototyping category) for work on stretchable silver conductive ink. The NRC is building on this technology to develop wearable sensors that can be used in mobile health or security applications. In addition, the NRC worked with Canadian SMEs to advance novel laser technologies for international clients, which will help the Canadian industry gain a competitive edge in the high-performance photonic sensing market.

The NRC also leverages industrial R&D groups for advanced manufacturing solutions to boost productivity and technological edge for Canadian manufacturers to remain competitive in a global ecosystem. In its fourth year, the NRC’s Advanced Manufacturing program launched more than 100 projects within 6 industrial R&D groups and achieved the following results:

• significantly reduced the weight and the processing time for a replacement metallic part for a key client by leveraging the rapid and low-cost manufacturing processes developed with 10 industrial companies in the ground transportation supply chain as well as research and funding partners. The improved process is also being considered for use in a new line of long-range electric vehicles.
• developed a new capability to simulate the fabrication of hydrogen tanks for vehicles using the blow molding method. This represents a valuable capability for major gasoline tank manufacturers working towards faster development and adoption of hydrogen engine and cell technologies.
• contributed to a more efficient automotive manufacturing process through 3 major projects with industry partners in the mold and die sector. This includes the optimization of the manufacturing chain for complex structural automotive components, the digitalization and optimization of the structural die casting process used to manufacture automotive parts. It also led to the production of a proof-of-concept prototype for a first-of-its-kind numerical model to optimize the design of cooling channels used in the manufacturing process.

Improving industry access to specialized facilities

The NRC manages and operates a range of large-scale research infrastructure across Canada, providing clients and collaborators with access to its facilities and in-house expertise. Its facilities are unique-in-Canada and are a cornerstone of its high impact R&D. As a key example for 2022–23, an Edmonton-based company was provided a dedicated space within the NRC’s nanotechnology cleanroom to use their equipment, which also allowed them to access NRC expertise and equipment for industrial innovations in nano-enabled technologies. This addresses an action included in the most recent Nanotechnology Program evaluation, for the program to work with industry to define models for access and use of their facilities, such as the cleanroom and make space available for companies to bring in equipment dedicated to them.

The NRC’s photonics fabrication facilities are a critical element in the Government of Canada’s vision to be a global leader in the semiconductor and telecommunications industries. These facilities include the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre, the only pure-play compound semiconductor foundry of its kind in North America. In order to meet market demand and remain globally competitive, the NRC’s fabrication facilities are undergoing a revitalisation and expansion. Significant milestones were achieved in the second year of this 5-year $90M revitalization project announced in Budget 2021, including the purchase and installation of major equipment.

The NRC commissioned the new Frazil Ice^{Footnote 6} Facility in 2022 and successfully completed its first client project with Électricité de France. This project helped build the knowledge and expertise needed for large-scale frazil ice studies to address industry needs at the new facility. A new Frazil Ice Facility Consortium was also established with industry, academia and NRCan to increase access to the facility’s capabilities, and ultimately improve safety within and around riverine systems, including for nuclear power generation.

The NRC’s Atypical Fermentation Facility (AFF) in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was commissioned to enhance capabilities in marine and agricultural biotechnologies by establishing specialized resources in fermentation process development and scale-up. The AFF assists Canadian companies seeking to innovate and commercialize bio-based products for the growing blue and agricultural biotechnology economies.

Strengthening Canada’s biomanufacturing and health care industries

The pandemic shed light on Canada’s need for increased technological innovation in vaccines and therapeutics, virtual care and distributed diagnostics, and microfluidics and biomedical devices. The NRC is responding to this demand, which is expected to continue increasing in the years to come.

In June 2022, the NRC successfully completed the commissioning, qualification and validation process for the Biologics Manufacturing Centre (BMC). Shortly thereafter, Health Canada certified the BMC’s compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP) and authorized the facility to produce drugs for human use. Finally, in October 2022, the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine was selected as the co-founder and joined the NRC in establishing Biologics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) Inc., which officially assumed responsibility for facility operations as of April 1, 2023. The NRC also completed the construction of the CTMF and developed plans to operationalize the facility, a huge step in supporting Canada’s domestic biomanufacturing capacity. This new facility is designed to produce the material required to conduct early clinical trials on vaccines and other biologic medicines. These major milestones position Canada to better prepare for and respond to ongoing and future health emergencies.

NRC IRAP continued to support Canadia SMEs to develop novel technologies through its Vaccine and Therapeutics program. This program assisted a total of 18 firms since 2020 with projects related to vaccines to reduce COVID-19 infection rates, and therapies to reduce the severity of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Fourteen of those projects were active in 2022-23. Total external investments and licensing deals for these firms have the potential to exceed $1 billion. Through the Testing and Diagnostics program, NRC IRAP facilitated an SME pilot to test airport wastewater, which can profile viral or bacterial pathogens on incoming aircraft to detect them prior to broad community infection. This project showcased a number of Canadian technologies and provided 3 SMEs with a means to pilot products in real-world settings.

The NRC continued to work with Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) and supported 43 ISC projects with an investment of $13.7 million, of which $8.8 million went towards 25 COVID-19 related projects. Close collaboration with other federal departments in completing 10 projects under the Phase 2 ISC challenge helped accelerate the development and delivery of R&D prototypes.

Other work to strengthen the health care industry included the development of 26 prototypes deployed under the simulation and digital health research platform and the bioanalytical micro/nano devices research platform. Significant progress was also made on a large-scale project to deploy the PowerBlade technology, a portable instrument for running tests on microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, to the International Space Station. This will help Canada fulfill its international obligations in space-related human health research and direct research towards distributed healthcare. In addition, the NRC delivered a prototype of the VitalSeer technology for remote digital monitoring of vital signs, which has the potential to optimize emergency room triage and remote clinical trials for therapeutics, and increase accessibility for remote locations.

The NRC completed a pilot for rapid protein production for COVID-19 antigens and improved the scalability of the NRC’s CHO^{Footnote 7} manufacturing cell line platform. This work also supported the development of NRC COVID-19 antigen reference standards for R&D use and resulted in licensing of a multifunctional mucosal vaccine candidate to an industrial partner following pre-clinical studies. The NRC’s rapid manufacturing platform could potentially help Canadian and global scientists achieve the 100 days mission from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop safe and effective vaccines for future pandemics.

Creating conditions for breakthrough technologies that benefit all Canadians

Using its mission-oriented Challenge programs, the NRC partners with private industry, academia and other research organizations to advance transformative research and technological breakthroughs that address top Canadian priorities such as climate change, the aging population and increasing capacity in emerging technologies.

In response to priorities in the construction sector, the NRC created 2 new Challenge programs: the Construction Sector Digitization and Productivity Challenge program will support the development of new solutions, through the use of digital technology, to increase innovation potential and productivity in the construction sector; and the Low Carbon Built Environment Challenge program will provide support for the development of low carbon construction materials, systems, tools and guidelines, to help de-risk and validate technologies that can reduce GHG emissions in new and existing Canadian homes, buildings and infrastructure.

Key Challenge program results for 2022-23:

• Materials for Clean Fuels: To support Canada’s goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, over 40 projects focused on developing technology, materials and capabilities in areas such as self-driving laboratories, biological and electrochemical processes and systems, catalyst materials for carbon dioxide conversion and life cycle analysis models. Through international engagement, the NRC was able to launch 4 new applied research projects with Canadian SMEs and partners in Germany to focus on the development of hydrogen production technologies.
• High-Throughput and Secure Networks: The program approved 15 new projects with external collaborators in the areas of photonics, optical satellite communications and quantum communications, for a total of 59 collaborative agreements with 30 external collaborators since its launch in 2019. Most notably, 1 collaborative project led to the creation of a start-up company with funding from McGill University to accelerate the technology’s development and commercialization.
• Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy: All pre-clinical studies of a CAR T therapy (based on 2 NRC-developed assets) were completed in 2022-23. This will be the first ever CAR T therapy to be fully developed in Canada from discovery to clinical trials. These new modality of therapies will provide Canadians an affordable and accessible therapy for untreatable cancers. In addition, several cell and gene therapy enabling tools have been developed and distributed to academic and industry partners to advance cell therapy development.
• Artificial Intelligence for Design: The third wave of projects totaling $1.9 million was launched to support research in the utilization of AI in materials discovery. This will have applications in: human health and batteries for electric vehicles, AI for carbon capture, AI for applications in enzyme and vaccine design.
• Aging in Place: During its second year, the program launched 37 new collaborative projects for a total of 48 projects with 35 external collaborators, including 3 projects jointly-funded with the Canadian Institute of Health Research. The program also established its second Aging in Place prototype Living Lab in partnership with NRC IRAP and supported the ethical participation of more than 250 "Experts by Experience" (older adults and their caregivers) at the program, project and community levels to support a more sustainable model for long-term care.
• Arctic and Northern: The program worked on several projects to address various areas of importance to Indigenous communities in Canada's North, including safer shipping operations in ice-covered waters, reinforced ice roads for a longer operational lifespan, detection and cleaning of oil spills in the Arctic, reduced permafrost degradation, and development of new techniques for sewage treatment in Arctic conditions. The program is committed to prioritizing Northern-led research projects that have a strong focus on Northern capacity building.
• Internet of Things: Quantum Sensors: 35 collaborative projects were launched in 2022-23, with over 50 collaborative research agreements and $7 million in funding to external collaborators, to help strengthen Canada’s position as a global competitor in the development of next generation disruptive sensing technologies based on quantum science. Quantum sensors can harness the extreme sensitivity of quantum systems to provide enhanced precision and help make improvements in navigation, medical imaging, geological surveying, defence, safety and security, amongst other areas. For example, through a collaboration with McGill University and Université de Sherbrooke, the NRC worked with a Canadian SME to improve the sensitivity of the company’s prototype magnetic sensor by a factor of nearly 10.
• Applied Quantum Computing: The program was successfully launched and the first 4 projects were initiated with 4 distinct partners, totaling $529,000 in annual funding for 2 years. Using quantum annealing, devices and simulators, these projects will allow the generation of particle data for the Large Hadron Collider^{Footnote 8}, and support the design of future quantum bits^{Footnote 9} and circuits. The program is a key element of the National Quantum Strategy, and will provide Canadian research organizations and SMEs with opportunities to advance quantum computing technologies.

In addition to NRC Challenge programs, the NRC manages Cluster Support programs that bring together the NRC’s national network of researchers and facilities with collaborators from industry, academia and governments to work on funded collaborative R&D projects. In 2022–23, achievements enabled by Cluster Support programs included:

• Under the Advanced Manufacturing program, technologies were developed for human-robot collaborative applications, tracking and safety of humans in industrial environments, and predictive modeling for digital certification of aircrafts.
• A technology that predicts the location, type and severity of toxic bio-plumes close to shellfish harvest areas was developed using meteorological data, predictions, and environmental sampling data under the Digital Health and Geospatial Analytics program.
• Work with academia under the AI for Logistics program focused on improvements to freight routing efficiency and digital twinning for rail, which will contribute to Canada’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Ocean program developed several technologies with commercial applications in addition to supporting ocean health. This includes supporting industry to improve emergency flood barrier designs, working with academia to increase ship autonomy and performance, and helping the seafood industry to extract value from fishing waste streams.

Further to the Government of Canada’s release of the National Quantum Strategy (NQS) in January 2023 to support Canada’s quantum sector and solidify the country’s position among international leaders in this field, the NRC launched in 2023 the Quantum Research and Development Initiative (QRDI). This program supports collaborative, federal quantum R&D to grow Government of Canada quantum capabilities and expertise. It will help advance and de-risk quantum technologies in national priorities such as mining, defence and security, communications, natural resources, environmental management, and climate change monitoring; by bringing together government, academic and industrial partners.

Collaborative solutions enable climate resiliency research

National and international collaborative research on climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy and transportation, and materials discovery enables the sharing of world-leading knowledge related to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

• The NRC and partners from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia published the Global Building Resilience Guidelines in November 2022, which will support jurisdictions around the world in effectively integrating future-focused climate science into building codes and standards.
• A study on the effectiveness of passive radon stacks with radon barriers in reducing radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is known to build up in homes, was completed in 11 newly constructed homes in the National Capital Region and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation community. The results demonstrated significant reductions in indoor radon concentration. Data from this and previous studies contributed to revisions of 4 national standards related to ventilation and radon control, the development of a guide for radon professionals, and a proposed change to a National Building Code.
• With support from the Canadian Safety and Security Program, the NRC led the Nature-Based Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience and Risk Reduction project in collaboration with private and public sector researchers and academia. This project addressed data gaps that limit the use of nature-based infrastructure to reduce the risk of coastal flood and erosion in Canada. The project informed the development of Canada’s first national guidance on “Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal and Riverine Flood and Erosion Risk Management” to enable assessment, planning and design for coastal communities.
• The NRC built a new facility to better understand the performance and operations of freight train air brake systems. Using this new facility, the NRC collaborated with Canadian railway companies, air brake manufacturers, and Transport Canada to explore measures aimed at improving air brake performance and enhancing railway safety in cold weather conditions.
• The NRC created an open online platform for organizations looking to assess the sustainability of their clean energy technologies. The platform allows users to benchmark against established and mature technologies, develop high-quality datasets, and identify technology and policy gaps. It has already been validated through numerous case studies in carbon dioxide conversion, electric vehicles, and bioenergy, and was adopted by Environment and Climate Change Canada, NRCan, Transport Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to support the development of clean energy standards, policies and strategies.
• The NRC also developed the Critical Battery Materials Initiative as part of Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy. With $40 million in federal funding over 4 years, the initiative aims to accelerate new mineral processing and battery materials discovery with the goal of developing a clean, efficient and competitive battery supply chain in Canada for increased electrification.

Gender-based analysis plus

Building a diverse and representative workforce, removing barriers and fostering an inclusive culture are key priorities for the NRC. By actively engaging with its employees, clients and collaborators, and integrating GBA Plus into its operations, programs and policies, the NRC is able to use a GBA Plus lens to make its research more inclusive of equity deserving groups and accessible to all Canadians.

The NRC's workforce representation has increased steadily over the past several years. In 2022-23, the representation of racialized persons reached labour market availability and has continued to exceed it for women. The NRC also continued to integrate GBA Plus into program design and delivery and advance capacity and awareness across the organization through several key efforts:

• Indigenous engagement: In 2022–23, the NRC increased its Indigenous engagement capacity and skills to help raise awareness and coordination by appointing an Indigenous Engagement Advisor, growing its internal Indigenous Engagement Network, and formalizing a hub that provides guidance for building intentional Indigenous relationships. This guidance seeks to advance equity for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, and create greater Indigenous inclusion in research and innovation. In addition to its efforts to increase internal engagement, in its third year as a member of the Interdepartmental Indigenous I-STEM Cluster^{Footnote 10}, the NRC collaborated with the First Nations Information Governance Centre to co-develop STEM-specific considerations for First Nations data to increase federal knowledge, skills, and use.
• Collaborative research and development: The NRC’s challenge programs are co-developed through stakeholder engagement, with GBA Plus considerations factored into program design. All proposal templates request information on GBA Plus considerations and funding recipients report back on progress, including disaggregated results where possible. An anonymized proposal review process is conducted under the NRC’s New Beginnings Initiative and results are disaggregated on the success rate of women and racialized persons.
• Advancing capacity and awareness: In 2022-23, the NRC continued its intra-departmental network dedicated to EDI, the group adapted in 2023-24 to become the Inclusive Innovation Community of Practice. The Community of Practice connects NRC employees across the organization so that they can exchange ideas and share best practices on Inclusive innovation. Its objective is to develop an equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce and workplace that understands the organization’s impacts on diverse groups so that the NRC can design and deliver inclusive programs that benefit all Canadians.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

In the final year of the NRC's 2020-2023 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS), the NRC made significant contributions to 6 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

Goal target: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

• In collaboration with Polar Knowledge Canada, the NRC continued efforts to offset diesel consumption with biogas produced from locally-generated food waste in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
• The NRC’s Vancouver microgrid facility was used as a testbed to validate the performance of a hybrid power system that integrates renewable energy and energy storage.
• An NRC demonstration plant in Northern Alberta became the first of its kind to successfully implement energy-positive wastewater treatment technology in its operations.

SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Goal target: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• Under the NRC’s Climate Resilient Built Environment initiative, a ground-breaking report was published on metal corrosion of bridges in water, which will support informed decision-making on metal material selection and design practices.
• The cloud-based operational tool BRIGITAL, a decision-support tool for bridge monitoring and early detection of bridge displacement based on satellite imaging technology, was upgraded to support its application to larger transportation infrastructure, including airports, marine ports, railways and bridges.
• NRC IRAP contributed approximately $83 million to support 571 projects from Canadian SMEs developing and implementing clean technology projects focused on emissions control, clean energy and smart grids.

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

Goal target: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• The “Resilient Responses to Protect Lung Health in Nunavik” project was launched in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Quebec, resulting in the development of a test protocol to assess indoor air quality and ventilation in Arctic and Northern housing.
• An analysis of the NRC’s Ketch Harbour site was completed to assess its suitability as an Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measure^{Footnote 11}. This analysis was presented at the UN Convention for Biodiversity, helping to achieve a Government of Canada mandate.
• Sequencing of the Arctic raspberry genome was completed, which establishes resources to assist in the rapid cultivation of the Arctic raspberry and other Northern species to better support food security and sovereignty in Northern communities.
• The NRC collaborated on research projects to support firefighter training, understand health risks to firefighters, and evaluate new technologies for use in firefighting.

SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal target: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• The NRC released the National guidelines for whole-building life cycle assessment, which provides comprehensive instructions for carbon accounting to enable the selection of the lowest carbon designs. This is an important step to quantify carbon in federally funded construction projects.
• The NRC adapted its existing Life Cycle Analysis model to include more detailed data for vehicle carbon footprint assessments to meet PSPC needs in measuring the carbon footprint of light-duty vehicles being considered for procurement by the Government of Canada.
• Non-hazardous operational and construction, renovation, and demolition waste management programs were implemented at the NRC, and waste audits were conducted for 3 NRC sites in Quebec and Saskatoon.

SDG 13 – Climate Action

Goal target: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• A study was completed for the NRC’s Montreal Road south campus on potential strategies for moving the facility to carbon neutrality.
• To support the transition to a low-carbon economy, the NRC identified a framework and guidance for the procurement of energy efficiency fume hoods and research support equipment such as stand-alone chillers.

Innovation

The Government of Canada is strengthening a culture of innovation through the testing of new forms or methods of policy making, program design and implementation, and service delivery. In this context, high-impact innovation can be described as testing and trying something significantly new or different from the status quo, or making incremental improvements to address persistent problems faced by a large number of Canadians or public servants. In 2022–23, the NRC implemented innovative solutions in several areas:

• Testing of radiation safety equipment under the ISC Testing Stream involved researchers designing and installing engineering safety equipment to improve safety standards for workers and operators. Based on the testing, 1 company has invested in the technology for its new pulse and oat processing facility and another company is evaluating the technology for use in its pulse processing facility.
• Also under the ISC Testing Stream, the NRC operated and tested a bioreactor for Industrial Plankton Inc., a state-of-the-art system designed to make the production of kelp seedlings easy and reliable for the aquaculture industry. Results from the testing were incorporated into the company’s design and marketing materials related to operation and ease of use, which will help increase use of the commercially available bioreactor system.
• The NRC tested various Cloud-based online platforms for virtual hiring exams. User testing of the selected tool showed that the approach provides greater flexibility for candidates in the hiring process.

The NRC will continue to foster innovation through testing new approaches and methods to addressing emerging problems.

Key risks

In 2022–23, risks to the NRC’s achievement of results continued to be driven by economic uncertainty, geopolitical instability including the war in Ukraine, threats to cybersecurity, workforce challenges and infrastructure needs. The risk of a large-scale cyber-attack remained top of mind due to the increasing frequency of state-sponsored attacks and global tensions. The escalation of international conflicts such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and tensions between China and the United States also exposed several research projects and collaborative relationships to risk. The NRC continued to face the threat of talent shortages for highly skilled professionals due to competition from universities and the private sector. Rising operating costs and reduced R&D spending across the Canadian economy increased downward pressure on NRC revenues and activities with clients, while supply chain disruptions made the timely delivery of goods and materials for critical projects less predictable. Finally, the NRC faced risks to the ongoing operations of its facilities and equipment due to aging research infrastructure. In 2022–23, the NRC put several measures in place to address these risks and uncertainties:

• Revenue pressures were effectively managed through a variety of existing controls, including continuous financial forecasting and planning, and the development of 2-year financial plans for business units. To mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions for critical projects, joint monitoring of procurement requirements with Public Services and Procurement Canada increased and emergency procurement contracts were put in place where needed.
• The NRC executed an action plan to mitigate the risks posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and continues to monitor the evolving situation of geopolitical risks.
• To mitigate the risk of a cyber-attack, the NRC implemented a program to strengthen its network and reduce vulnerabilities, including the upgrading of NRC devices.
• The risk of a talent shortage was mitigated through the development of a new Talent Attraction Strategy, the hiring of a new Talent Engagement and Outreach Officer, and the implementation of a hybrid work model to provide employees with flexibility.
• The risk of facility and equipment failure was mitigated by securing funding for the NRC’s Facilities Renewal Plan, a critical step towards revitalizing research infrastructure.

Results achieved

The following table shows, for the NRC’s core responsibility of Science and Innovation, the results achieved, the performance indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the 3 most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the NRC’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for Science and Innovation, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as actual spending for that year.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the NRC’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the NRC’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Internal services

Description: Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refer to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• acquisition management services
• communication services
• financial management services
• human resources management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• legal services
• material management services
• management and oversight services
• real property management services

Enabling R&D through NRC corporate service resources

The NRC provides the necessary tools and services to support its research staff and its entire workforce in the achievement of the organization’s priorities and goals. In 2022–23, the NRC’s corporate services were adapted to not only comply with evolving federal measures and directives, but also to ensure a safe, healthy, productive and harmonious work environment.

The NRC’s Human Resources (HR) Branch underwent an extensive review and renewal of its structure and service delivery model to better support NRC strategic and operational priorities. The renewal plan strengthens existing strategies and initiatives in EDI , wellness and mental health, and talent attraction, development and retention.

• EDI: To support implementation of the EDI strategy, new hiring tools and practices were adopted, including an inclusive hiring checklist, prioritization of designated groups in job posters, and partnerships to improve outreach and recruitment opportunities for diverse job seekers. The NRC also continued to update and promote EDI and anti-racism resources, training, learning events and networks, and consulted with stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, on the development of the NRC’s Accessibility Plan 2023-2025. In addition, the NRC implemented a monitoring framework for representation and hiring goals, including progress reports to senior management. Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and racialized persons accounted for 38% of external hiring in 2022–23.
• Wellness and mental health: Training has been a key action of the wellness strategy, and mandatory training was provided for supervisors on managing mental health crisis in the workplace, as well as workplace harassment and violence training for all employees. Other training, webinars, and information sessions were promoted in the areas of resiliency, work-life balance, hybrid work, managing change, and digital well-being.
• Talent attraction, development and retention: In 2022–23, the NRC Student Employment program continued to prioritize students who self-declare as members of equity deserving groups, and a new approach was piloted to recruit Indigenous students. The NRC participated in several job fairs focused on the recruitment of diverse and underrepresented talent, and a new Talent Engagement and Outreach officer was recruited to support NRC efforts in reaching more robust and diverse talent pools. In addition, the Mentoring@theNRC program grew by 12%, and employees from equity deserving groups were prioritized in nomination and selection for leadership development programs.

The NRC continued to strengthen its Values and Ethics policy framework by launching a new Conflict of Interest (COI) declaration system and a mandatory online course to support employees in better understanding and managing COI. A set of directives and a manager’s toolkit for the NRC Policy on Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention and Resolution were developed, and the NRC Research Ethics Board initiated training and awareness on Indigenous research ethics to support the review of protocols for research involving human participants. The NRC’s values and ethics program was also strengthened through conflict of interest management, and tools for harassment and violence prevention, conflict resolution, and research ethics.

A flexible and fit-for-purpose approach to providing research IT ensures that partners get the highest possible value from their investment in scalable, sustainable and inclusive IP generation. In 2022–23, the NRC made improvements to its IT infrastructure, tools and systems to better support the work of its employees and partners, and to help create government-wide science capabilities. The NRC continues to leverage data analytics and visualization to streamline its audit and evaluation processes to allow for more timely advisory services to management for decision-making.

• The NRC secured increased contracting delegations for goods from PSPC in March 2023, which is expected to allow more timely procurement below $750,000. This greater flexibility will enable alignment with the unique needs of researchers, which require highly responsive and agile service delivery, as well as the delivery of major projects in support of our new capital funding.
• The NRC developed a cyber security framework, strategy and roadmap to enable faster responses to reduce the overall impact of cyber events. This rigorous, agile and pro-active approach to cybersecurity lowers the likelihood that cyber incidents will disrupt NRC research and services, which strengthens collaborator trust that IP related research generated with the NRC remains secure and protected.
• As part of an action plan for the management of NRC research and licensing agreements, the NRC leveraged updated IT tools for the implementation of a new governance model, a Client Agreements Policy and Directive, and a risk-based framework to better support research and licensing activities.

The NRC continued its efforts to ensure the health, safety and security of its employees and partners in 2022–23, by streamlining security screening processes, and enhancing responses to incidents and major weather events. In addition, guidance and advisory services were provided on workplace modifications related to the COVID-19 restrictions and effectively manage the return to work on-site under a new hybrid work model in clean and safe buildings.

• To strengthen the security of NRC infrastructure, information and assets, the NRC modernized its security processes by integrating a simplified, customizable, digital screening system, upgrading security camera capabilities and implementing an egress^{Footnote 15} system for better access control to key buildings. The NRC also advanced its travel security program towards becoming a gold standard for security in a science-based organization.
• The NRC’s Incident Command Team ensured a timely response to 2 serious safety incidents in 2022–23. In light of those incidents, the NRC also reviewed its health and safety protocols to ensure that they continue to provide NRC staff with the resources needed to conduct their work in a safe manner.
• The NRC also successfully responded to several weather events, including major ones—Hurricane Fiona, which affected Atlantic Canada and Eastern Quebec in September 2022, and a May 2023 derecho storm that struck Southeastern Ontario and Southwestern Quebec—by assessing damage, completing necessary repairs, and ensuring ongoing communications to researchers for a safe return to NRC scientific facilities and buildings.

The NRC increased social media posts (Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) by over 38% from the previous year, to raise the NRC’s profile and role in key government priorities such as climate action, life sciences, and digital/quantum, and launched a LinkedIn blog series that appeared in 225,818 newsfeeds and was read 7,243 times. Respecting differences and removing barriers so that everyone can participate with full access and use of information were key factors in the NRC’s commitment to champion accessibility for its communications products and in the development of long-term plans to promote accessibility in all NRC digital and print communications products.

In 2022–23, the NRC leveraged its Facilities Review and secured new funding to revitalize its capital assets portfolio of buildings and facilities. Announced in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada is investing $962.2 million over 8 years and $121.1 million ongoing to renew the NRC’s facilities and real property as part of the modernization of the NRC to better invent, innovate, and prosper. Leveraging the new funding, the NRC created an Office of Facilities Renewal Management (OFRM) to advance the delivery of major capital projects and oversee organizational investment planning. The OFRM team was rapidly formed to support the selection of the first wave of major capital investment at the NRC, and is leading efforts to establish a process to identify projects in future waves. Revitalizing NRC facilities, real property and assets will strengthen Canada’s science, technology and innovation ecosystem and benefit Canadian SMEs by giving them access to R&D services and specialized facilities they otherwise could not afford.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

The NRC is on track to achieve the minimum 5% target by the end of March 31, 2025^{Footnote 16}.

Computer equipment acquisitions accounted for the majority of spending directed to Indigenous businesses for 2022–23, however there was a decrease from the previous year. Indigenous Participation Plans were integrated into requests for proposals for construction services at the end of 2022–23, and the NRC anticipates a positive impact and increased spending toward Indigenous businesses for 2023–24.

The NRC continued to identify opportunities and challenges related to the Indigenous Procurement Strategy and identified construction, computer equipment, and office furniture and furnishings as specific commodities for future Indigenous procurement.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2022-23, as well as spending for that year.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to carry out its internal services for 2022-23.

Spending and human resources

Spending

Spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.

The NRC’s actual spending of $1,470.8M in 2022–23 represents an increase of $34.5M from the $1,436.3M spent in 2021–22. This variance is primarily due to increases in grants and contributions and operating costs, partially offset by a decrease in capital spending.

Actual spending of $1,470.8M in 2022–23 in comparison to planned spending of $1,437.4M represents an overall increase of $33.4M (2.3%). The variance is due to additional grants and contributions funding received for NRC IRAP, and incremental funding provided during the year to deliver the NRC’s research mandate.

The following table summarizes 2022–23 spending and year-over-year variances.

Budgetary performance summary for core responsibility and internal services (dollars)

The “Budgetary performance summary for core responsibility and internal services” table presents the budgetary financial resources allocated for the NRC’s core responsibility and for internal services.

Human resources

The "Human resources summary for core responsibility and internal services" table presents the full-time equivalents (FTEs) allocated to the NRC's core responsibility and to internal services.

Human resources summary for core responsibility and internal services

The NRC’s actual 2022–23 FTEs (4,263.3) has decreased by 22.6 FTEs (0.5%) when compared to the 2021–22 FTE level (4,285.9). The decrease is mostly attributable to fewer FTEs within Internal Services and Enabling Services.

Expenditures by vote

For information on the NRC’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the NRC’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The NRC’s financial statements (audited) for the year ended March 31, 2023, are available on the department’s website.

Financial statement highlights

The NRC’s consolidated financial statements include both the NRC and its portion of the accounts of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation (CFHT) and TMT International Observatory LLC (TIO). The NRC relationship with CFHT and TIO meets the definition of a government partnership under Canadian public sector accounting standards, which requires that its results be proportionally consolidated within those of the NRC. All inter-organizational balances and transactions are eliminated as part of the consolidation process. CFHT and TIO statements as at December 31, 2022 have been proportionally consolidated with the NRC's March 31 accounts.

The NRC’s consolidated total expenses of $1,480M in 2022–23 represent an increase from $1,403M in 2021–22. The NRC’s major expense components are salaries and employee benefits ($585M) and grants and contributions ($595M), representing 80% of total expenses. The $77M increase is primarily due to an increase in grants and contributions of $19M, an increase in salary and employee and benefits of $18M, and an increase of $40M in other operating expenses.

The variance in grants and contributions is mainly due to a $59M increase in the NRC IRAP contribution to firms, a $44M decrease in NRC IRAP Youth Employment and Skills Strategy contributions and a $6.7M increase in NRC IRAP contributions to organizations.

The salary increase is mainly due to increased rates of pay linked to collective bargaining. Other expense increases are mainly due to a $12.5M increase in professional services, $9.1M increase in amortization, $7.6M increase in transportation and communication and a $5.2M increase in utilities, materials and supplies.

The planned expenses, as reported in the NRC’s Consolidated Future Oriented Financial Statements in the 2022–23 Departmental Plan were $1,450M. The variance between planned and actual results of $30M is primarily due to increases of $13M in grants and contributions, $12M in other expenses and $5M in salaries.

The NRC generates revenue which can be reinvested in operations. The NRC’s consolidated total revenues of $189M in 2022–23 represent an increase from $168M in 2021–22. The NRC’s major revenue components were research services ($73M) and technical services ($83M), representing 83% of revenues. The planned revenue, as reported in the NRC’s Consolidated Future Oriented Financial Statements in the 2022–23 Departmental Plan was $187M.

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in the NRC’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2023 (dollars)

The NRC’s consolidated net financial assets totaled $391M as at March 31, 2023, an increase of $65M from the March 31, 2022 balance of $326M. The balance is made up of the Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), accounts receivable, inventory for resale and cash and investments. The increase is primarily due to a $43M increase of the Due from the CRF, a $13M increase in accounts receivable and an $8M increase in cash and investments.

The NRC’s consolidated liabilities consist of accounts payable and accrued liabilities, vacation and compensatory leave, lease inducements, deferred revenues, employee future benefits and asset retirement obligations. The balance as at March 31, 2023 of $334M represents a $27M increase from the March 31, 2022 balance of $307M. The increase is primarily due to a $17M increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities and $9M increase in deferred revenues.

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in the NRC’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P., Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Institutional head: Iain Stewart, President

Ministerial portfolio: Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Enabling instrument[s]: National Research Council Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. N-15

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1916

Other: The NRC is a departmental corporation of the Government of Canada, reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The NRC works in partnership with members of the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Portfolio to leverage complementary resources to promote science and research and integrated innovation, to exploit synergies in key areas of science and technology, to promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and to contribute to Canadian economic growth. The NRC's Council provides independent strategic advice to the NRC President and it reviews organizational performance. The President provides leadership and strategic management and is responsible for the achievement of the NRC's long-range goals and plans in alignment with government priorities. Each of the NRC's Vice-Presidents is responsible for a number of areas composed of programs and research initiatives, centres, the Industrial Research Assistance Program, and/or a corporate branch. Vice-Presidents and NRC managers are responsible for executing plans and priorities to ensure successful achievement of objectives.

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the NRC’s website corporate page.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the NRC’s website.

Reporting framework

The NRC’s departmental results framework and program inventory of record for 2022–23 are shown below.

Core Responsibility: Science and Innovation

Departmental Results Framework

Program Inventory

• Advanced Electronics and Photonics
• Aerospace
• Aquatic and Crop Resource Development
• Automotive and Surface Transportation
• Business Management Support (Enabling)
• Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program
• Construction
• Design and Fabrication Services (Enabling)
• Digital Technologies
• Energy, Mining and Environment
• Genomics Research and Development Initiative Shared Priority Projects
• Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Human Health Therapeutics
• Industrial Research Assistance Program
• International Affiliations
• Medical Devices
• Metrology
• Nanotechnology
• National Science Library
• Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering
• Research Information Technology Platforms (Enabling)
• Security and Disruptive Technologies
• Special Purpose Real Property (Enabling)
• TRIUMF

Internal services

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for the NRC’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the NRC’s 2022–23 Departmental Results Index page:

• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus
• Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address: National Research Council Canada 
1200 Montreal Road, Bldg. M-58 
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6

Telephone: 613-993-9101 or toll-free 1-877-NRC-CNRC (1-877-672-2672) 
TTY: 613-949-3042 
Fax: 613-991-9096 
Email: info@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca 
Website(s): https://nrc.canada.ca/en/

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in 1 or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2022–23 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where 2 or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization's influence.

Indigenous business (entreprises autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, an organization that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.