1. Who is eligible to apply to the Industrial R&D Internship (IRDI) program?
Incorporated not-for profit organizations are eligible to receive funds to administer an IRDI initiative. These include:

existing Networks of Centres of Excellence;
NGOs (non-governmental organizations) with experience in delivering research or knowledge and technology transfer programs in collaborative university-industry environments;
universities and consortia of firms and universities.

2. Why are colleges not eligible participating institutions?
Eligible interns must be graduate students or post-doctoral fellows enrolled in an eligible Canadian Participating Institution. Most colleges do not administer graduate programs, and would not be in a position to create research opportunities between graduate students and private sector host organizations. However, colleges which have graduate programs and are eligible to receive and manage funds from any of the three federal funding agencies (CIHR-NSERC-SSHRC) can be eligible to receive IRDI funds for internships placements in private sector host organizations.

3. Does the applicant organization have to be incorporated at the time of application?
Yes. Incorporation will be required by February 2011.

4. When do costs become eligible under the IRDI grant? Am I allowed to submit costs that predate the funding decision?
Costs are eligible once the announcement of the successful grantee is made. Any costs which predate the announcement will not be accepted.

5. What should the letters of support from partners or stakeholders contain?
Letters of support should come from a senior executive, indicating specifically how they will contribute (detailed in-kind and cash contributions) to the proposed IRDI initiative. Indications of current and past associations with the proponents and key partners, and information on how the IRDI initiative will help the organization are also valuable. Please note that support letters should not be template formatted and must be dated and signed no earlier than six months prior to the submission deadline.

6. Who makes the final funding decision?
Proposals will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary Selection Committee, established by the NCE Secretariat, comprised of Canadian and international experts. They will evaluate the project proposals against the program selection criteria, recommend priority proposals to the NCE Steering Committee for approval, and produce written assessments of the proposals.

7. What is the funding period?
The grant is awarded for a duration of five years, with an annual performance review and a formal evaluation planned after two years.

8. Will there be an opportunity to meet with the review committee? Will there be a site visit?
Eligible applicants will be invited for a 1-2 hour meeting in person in Ottawa in November 2010. No site visit will be held.

9. What is the minimum number of internships that an applicant organization should deliver?
The minimum annual number of interns per applicant is 100. It is expected that the IRDI program will annually support a total of 1,000 internships hosted in a minimum of 250 new firms and reaching at least 300 new interns every year. Multiple organizations may deliver different numbers of internships for a total of a 1,000 internships per year.

10. Are there any specific targeted or priority sectors?
The IRDI program is open to all research areas.

11. What is the required amount of matching funds?
The total value of the internship stipend must be a minimum of $10,000 for a period of four to six months. The federal contribution can not exceed 50 percent of the total eligible cost of this cost. Eligible administrative costs may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount of the IRDI grant held by the recipient organization. The federal contribution may be up to 100 percent of the total eligible administrative costs.

12. Can you give a definition of private sector organizations as partners for the individual internships?
Private sector partners include industrial partners, i.e., small and medium-sized companies, providing products and services, with revenues deriving from the sale of these and not from government aid, and multinationals, if the proposed internship would be taking place at a facility in Canada. In general, Canadian for-profit firms with research needs are eligible to host an IRDI internship.

13. Can multiple organizations be awarded grant funds to deliver their IRDI initiatives?
Following the Selection Committee review and decision by the NCE Steering Committee, multiple delivery organizations could be successfully awarded IRDI grant funds. The successful recipient organizations will be expected to work in collaboration to jointly deliver the IRDI program. These organizations will need to adapt their business models to maximize efficiency based on the strengths and track record of their organizations. This could result in a discipline or regional focus.