Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program – Call for proposals

This call for proposals is closed. The deadline to submit your expression of interest was September 4, 2025. Contact us at ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca if you have any questions.

1. Overview
2. Objectives
3. Eligibility
4. Project costing overview
5. Funding and support
6. Application timelines and process
7. Projects and funding agreements
8. Contact information
Annex A. Selection criteria for expressions of interest (EOI)

1. Overview

The National Research Council of Canada's (NRC) Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program is launching a call for proposals to support the housing sector through projects to pilot and demonstrate accelerated retrofits at scale using industrialized and digital construction practices. The call aims to enable collaboration between the NRC and eligible applicants to demonstrate and de-risk such technologies and processes to help increase productivity in retrofit construction projects and reduce overall emissions.

The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program focuses on new solutions to increase innovation potential and productivity in the construction sector through the use of digital technologies and advanced construction practices. The Challenge program's goal is to support the Canadian construction industry to enhance productivity, reduce emissions and improve innovation potential through the adoption of advanced construction practices, digital technologies and performance-based solutions.

The NRC is Canada's federal research and innovation organization. Our mission is to have an impact by advancing knowledge and applying leading-edge technologies. We work with other innovators to find creative, relevant and sustainable solutions to Canada's current and future economic, social and environmental challenges.

The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program is enabled by the Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation program (CSTIP) with the goal of delivering breakthroughs across the innovation continuum that matter to Canadians. The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program leverages the expertise of NRC science professionals. As a result, this call is based on collaboration between NRC researchers and external applicants.

2. Objectives

This call is seeking expressions of interest targeting real world demonstration/validation of advanced construction practices and technologies for accelerating retrofits. The NRC is focused on advanced construction practices and technologies that have a potential to improve productivity in construction projects. Projects must demonstrate that the research outcomes align with the mandate of the Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program, which includes creating at-scale impacts across the construction industry by 2030 through collaboration with key industry receptors. Desired outcomes include having residential building construction projects employ the outputs that exhibit increased productivity. For the purpose of this call, all residential building archetypes intended for occupancy are within scope such as detached single-family homes, townhouses and multi-unit buildings.

Ideal projects should address clear needs and gaps in order to accelerate construction, improve efficiencies, reduce construction-related disruptions, and enhance labour productivity. To achieve this, collaborative project teams are required to include industry collaborators and technology receptors. In addition, the NRC will also establish an external steering committee to help guide project outcomes for easy industry/partner adoption.

The project must have the potential for at-scale application. In addition, projects must demonstrate they are adaptable and would be scalable to residential projects in other communities or regions in Canada.

2.1 Priority areas

The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program is seeking collaborative projects in the following technology area:

Accelerated residential retrofits through industrialized construction

This call is soliciting: (i) demonstration projects to increase the pace and quality of residential building retrofits for decarbonization through advanced construction techniques and (ii) opportunities for increased productivity through the following 3 stages of a residential building retrofit:

Conditions assessment, such as pre-retrofit assessment, remaining service life estimation, and site surveys.
Design and planning using Advanced Construction Practices such as Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) and scan to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other industrialized construction practices, and retrofit decision making process, including cost-benefit, disruption due to construction, etc.
Interventions or construction retrofit using advanced construction practices, such as prefabricated and precast construction, as well as physical interactions with and changes to the building fabric or components and monitoring of activities, including construction monitoring, measurement and validation.

Advanced methods could include, but are not limited to, digital tools and techniques for on-site building assessments, retrofit decision making and off-site construction methods. Projects should have an identified, quantifiable and measured metric of improvements in productivity in the construction process (e.g. greater output from labour used and reductions in construction time, rework activities, disturbances due to construction and time and cost of condition assessments and planning and design time). Pilots and demonstration projects must consider all relevant project steps, from assessment, design and execution to measurement and verification of productivity gains.

Expressions of interest for this technology area must identify how the project meets the following project requirements:

The categories or stages of the processes for which the proposed advanced construction methods will deliver improvements in productivity.
Description of the residential buildings intended for occupancy to undergo retrofit.
Description of proposed retrofit measures, which must include a least 1 building envelope retrofit.
Validation of the proposed advanced construction method by providing a comparison of the proposed method to existing practices, including identifying the comparable existing method or baseline process to which the advanced technique will be compared.
A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) tailored for specific residential building archetypes to increase scalability to similar buildings (the CBA should clearly determine the categories or stages).
Proposed clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success and accurately compare traditional methods to advanced methods (e.g. productivity, defect rate, rework rate, material waste, cost certainty, quality, safety).
A clear deployment pathway to scalable commercialization.

Projects that include the following elements will be given preference when evaluated:

A similar building(s) that can directly demonstrate real life comparison of the advanced practices and techniques to the corresponding real world traditional retrofit process.
Evaluation of pre-construction productivity and efficiency impacts of advanced construction practices and techniques.
Evaluation of the ease of use and effectiveness of advanced construction practices and technologies.
Post-retrofit data collection (e.g. repair and maintenance costs, frequency and duration of interventions, energy performance, stakeholder survey results) and post-retrofit evaluation.
Development of an industry benchmark database, including for example, productivity analysis, material performance, cost analysis, technology utilization, project case studies, and compliance standards to support decision making, knowledge sharing, and sustainability tracking in advanced retrofit projects.
An assessment of the life-cycle carbon footprint and life-cycle cost reduction of the retrofit project.
Gap analysis as well as an analysis of barriers or areas for improvement, and suggestions for addressing them, including:
- Identification of gaps, barriers or areas that could be improved to drive increased productivity and increase scalability (elements identified could include, but are not limited to, revisions to standards and development of guidelines for retrofit projects using industrialized construction).
- Recommendations for developing new technologies or processes or enhancing existing ones.
- Recommendations for new finance or business models or for tools to support scaling of the advanced construction practices and techniques.

3. Eligibility

3.1 Eligible applicants

Applicants collaborating with the NRC who are eligible for funding under this call include:

Academic institutions
Research institutions
Not-for-profit organizations
Local and provincial governments
Indigenous groups, governments and representative organizations
Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (those with fewer than 500 employees)

Note: International collaborators are eligible if their participation in the project would result in a benefit for Canada and Canadians. Eligible applicants can also propose to engage third-party collaborators from across the technology ecosystem, which will be subject to approval.

3.2 Requirements

Applicants must review the NRC Statement on Research Security and the information regarding Safeguarding Your Research and understand the need to take extra precautions to protect the security of their research, intellectual property and knowledge development from potential interference, misappropriation or misalignment with the interests of Canada.
Project team must complete an expression of interest (EOI) form.
Project teams must include at least one NRC researcher delivering on the collaborative initiative. The NRC research collaborator can be identified in the expression of interest (EOI) form, if already known by the project team, or will be assigned for selected projects at the full project proposal (FPP) stage.
Project teams must include at least 2 industrial collaborators and 1 receptor or end-user of the technology or solution being developed (one of these collaborators should have economic or business expertise in order to evaluate return on investment and the productivity impact of the project).
Projects must be clearly aligned with the call objectives, the program mandate and the priority areas of the Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program.
Projects must be at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 or higher, and the project outcomes must demonstrate a business case for scalable commercialization.
Project proposals should be structured for projects to be completed no later than March 31, 2029.

3.3 Commitment to EDI and GBA+

Project teams must clearly demonstrate their commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) within their full proposals, including composition of their project teams, research methods, analysis and knowledge mobilization plans. Undertaking GBA+ and critically considering factors related to EDI adds valuable dimensions in research and improves the quality, social relevance and impact of the research.

EDI and GBA+ considerations should influence all stages of research or development processes, from establishing priorities and building theory to formulating questions, designing methodologies and interpreting data. Applicants are invited to consult the Government of Canada's guide on best practices in equity, diversity and inclusion in research practice and design.

4. Project costing overview

4.1 Eligible costs

Salaries for highly qualified personnel (HQP) working on the project activities
Research support costs: direct costs incurred in the project implementation phase for example:
- Consumable materials
- Supplies
- Equipment up to $10,000
Costs for travel and accommodation required specifically for execution of the project
Amounts invoiced to the recipient by a contractor for services rendered relating directly to the project (e.g., professional services fees)
Indirect costs not directly applicable to carrying out the project but necessary for conducting the applicant's general business, up to a maximum of 10% of total eligible project costs
Reasonable and necessary costs for research equipment of $10,000 or more, including testing tools, instruments, computer equipment, secure equipment and information technology costs such as high-performance computers and secure servers

Applicants must show that the project objectives may not be achieved without this equipment and that equipment can be procured in a reasonable time frame that will ensure the project can be executed. All equipment costs will be reviewed for eligibility at the full proposal stage. The NRC team may contact the applicant if more details are required.

4.2 Ineligible costs

Purchase of land
Leasehold interest
Property taxes
Any portion of costs subject to refunds, rebates or credits, including HST, GST and PST
Costs incurred or paid by the NRC

5. Funding and support

The Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program is planning to make up to $2.5 million available to support this call, with anticipated funding of a maximum of $850,000 in the form of non-repayable grants or contributions per project over 3 years.

Determination of financial awards will be made on the basis of final evaluation (including risk assessment) of proposed projects.

Funding provided by the NRC's National Program Office follows the CSTIP terms and conditions. CSTIP is intended to position the NRC as a collaborative platform that uses science excellence to respond to Canada's most pressing challenges.

As such, projects supported under this initiative benefit from NRC assets (special-purpose research facilities, scientific expertise and networks) and financial assistance in the form of non-repayable grants or contributions. For more information on CSTIP funding, consult the grant and contribution funding for collaborators page.

5.1 Government stacking provisions

The stacking provisions for projects are as follows:

The maximum limit of the total Canadian government assistance (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal assistance for the same eligible costs) cannot exceed 100% of the total eligible project costs

6. Application process and timelines

The NRC is committed to a consistent, fair and transparent selection process to identify, select and approve the allocation of funding to projects that best fit the objectives of the collaborative call.

Expressions of interest (EOIs) will be used to determine applicant and project eligibility and assess alignment with the goals of the call on the basis of the criteria provided in Annex A (below).

Eligible applicant projects deemed to have high impact potential on the basis of the EOI will be invited to complete a full project proposal (FPP). Applicants may be asked to provide supplementary information at various points in the review process.

Applicants chosen to submit an FPP will be notified and invited to submit a FPP. They will be provided with the required templates and the FPP assessment criteria.

Applicants must provide all mandatory information in order to be considered for funding. Note that an invitation to submit a FPP is not a funding commitment from the NRC. All FPPs will undergo due diligence and verification, including a peer review process, to determine which projects will be recommended for funding.

6.1 Key dates and deadlines

July 17, 2025: call opens
September 4, 2025: expression of interest submission deadline
Mid-October 2025: invitations sent out for a full project proposal
End of November 2025: submission deadline for full project proposal
Mid-January 2026: notification of final results
Spring 2026: earliest expected start for funding and project

6.2 General call process steps

Step 1: Assemble the project team, which will include at least one eligible applicant and an NRC collaborator. If you have a project idea but no NRC contact, indicate envisioned NRC activities in the EOI. A potential NRC research collaborator will be identified for selected projects before the full proposal stage.
Step 2: Request the EOI form by sending an email to ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca and return completed form to same email address.
Step 3: The NRC's National Program Office (NPO) coordinates a review of EOIs received and assesses their eligibility and fit for the call.
Step 4: The NPO sends a notice of outcome to eligible applicants. An NRC research collaborator will be identified for the selected projects, if none had been identified in the EOI.
Step 5: The NPO sends full project proposal (FPP) templates to selected eligible applicants to learn more about their project idea.
Step 6: Eligible applicants develop the FPP together with their NRC partner.
Note: The NRC's Construction Research Centre will be leading a workshop of all applicants to facilitate aligning projects with Challenge program priorities.
Step 7: Eligible applicant principal investigators (PIs) submit the FPP on behalf of the project team by email to ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Step 8: NRC collaborator PIs submit internal NRC project documents such as the NRC workplan and NRC project workbook.
Step 9: The NPO coordinates a peer review process.
Step 10: The NPO sends a notice of outcome to the eligible applicants.
Step 11: The NPO completes due diligence review of the FPPs.
Step 12: The NPO develops collaborative research and funding agreements for successful projects with support from the research centres.
Step 13: Projects begin.

6.3 Expression of interest (EOI)

Request the EOI form by sending an email to ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. Return your completed form to same email address no later than 11:59 pm ET on September 4, 2025. Use the subject line "2025 CSDP Open Call Submission – Applicant Name, Applicant Organization" in your email.

If you wish to withdraw your EOI at any stage of the evaluation, you must do so by sending an email to ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. If you wish to be considered for funding for the same project in the future, you will be required to resubmit an EOI.

7. Project and funding agreements

After receiving notice of project approval from the NPO, eligible applicants must enter into a collaborative research and funding agreement with the NRC. If this agreement is not finalized within a reasonable timeframe, funding will be reallocated to other projects.

8. Contact information

For more information on this specific collaboration opportunity with the Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program please send an email to ConstructionDigitalization-TransformationNumeriqueConstruction@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

Annex A. Selection criteria for EOI

The 6 criteria below will be used to evaluate EOI applications. While each criterion will be equally weighted in the evaluation process, consideration will also be given to regional diversity and distribution across streams and strategic areas.

1. Methodology

Describe how the project will be carried out, including a high-level description of the tasks and methodology.