• Networks Of Centres Of Excellence (NCE)
• Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)
• Business-Led Networks Of Centres Of Excellence (BL-NCE)
• Industrial R&D Internship Program (IRDI)

NCE Secretariat Programs

Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) has been hailed around the world as a precedent-setting model for connecting research and development to the economic and social well-being of our country. Innovation, excellence, impact and results are trademarks of the programs of the NCE Secretariat. The NCE Secretariat model is based on five central features:

• Mobilization of Canadian research excellence
• Training of highly skilled personnel in Canada
• Networking and Partnerships with Industry and other relevant partners
• Transferring knowledge generated to user sectors
• Promoting Effective Management Structure

When the NCE Secretariat launched in 1989, it precipitated a significant shift within Canada’s research community. Barriers between disciplines, institutions, and sectors as well as researchers and their partners were broken. Professionals from a wide variety of sectors and disciplines were called upon to embrace collaboration and to create a multidisciplinary approach to building expertise in areas of strategic importance.

Since then, across-the-board success in knowledge generation, technology transfer and the leveraging of private sector investment has made the NCE Secretariat and its Programs a paradigm of multidisciplinary, cross-sector collaboration practices.

New Models of Collaboration

In support of the Federal Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy. the NCE Secretariat launched three new visionary programs. Along with the original NCE program, these collaborative models will result in highly effective solutions to Canada’s economic and social challenges of the 21st century. To ensure maximum success, the NCE Secretariat model focuses on four strategic concerns:

• Increase industry investment in research and development partnerships
• Engage highly qualified experts within industrial sectors
• Encourage academics and professionals from various disciplines to collaborate on innovations that ensure a bight and stable future for Canada
• Accelerate the commercialization of technologies, products and services

NCE Secretariat Over Time

The NCE Secretariat continues to break new ground through the expansion of its Networks and Centres with the commitment to create research partnerships, cultivate opportunity for talent, transfer knowledge and apply innovative ideas to improve the economic and social well-being of Canada.