Up to $15,000, reimbursed.
NGen — the industry-led organization behind Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing — has partnered with NRC-IRAP to cover the professional fees a manufacturer pays for an Industrial AI readiness evaluation and implementation plan. Here is exactly how it works, and what it asks of you.
The maximum reimbursed, per manufacturer, for eligible professional fees.
Your net cost when the assessment is priced at the cap, as ours is.
The employee ceiling. Above it, the program does not apply.
Whether you qualify comes down to four facts.
There is no scoring, no competitive merit review, and no narrative to write. You either meet these or you do not.
| Test | Requirement | How it's usually decided |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Fewer than 500 employees | Headcount across Canadian operations. Most SME manufacturers clear this comfortably. |
| Incorporation | Incorporated and operating in Canada | Federal or provincial incorporation, with real operations here — not a holding entity. |
| IRAP eligibility | Eligible under NRC-IRAP | An incorporated, for-profit Canadian SME with the intent and capacity to innovate. |
| ITA reference | A reference from your local Industrial Technology Advisor | The gate most companies have not cleared. See below. |
What an ITA is, and why it decides everything.
ITA stands for Industrial Technology Advisor. They are field officers employed by the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program — usually engineers or operators who have spent a career in industry, each covering a region and a set of sectors.
An ITA meets with companies, learns the business, judges technical and innovation capacity, and is the person who confirms a company is IRAP-eligible. For this program specifically, your application needs a reference from yours. Without it there is no application.
If you already work with an ITA, you are effectively at the front of the queue. If you do not, getting one is free and straightforward — it just takes a little time, which matters when the funds are first-come, first-served.
If you don't have an ITA yet: call NRC-IRAP at 1-877-994-4727 and ask to be connected with an Industrial Technology Advisor for your region. There is no cost and no commitment. Say you are a Canadian manufacturer exploring AI adoption — that is exactly the conversation they exist to have.
We will walk you through this on the eligibility call. It is the single most common reason a manufacturer misses the window.
From first call to reimbursement.
The order matters — each step depends on the one before it. Steps 1 through 4 are administrative and typically take a few weeks; step 5 is the work.
You apply to NGen
You submit your company information and your ITA's reference email through NGen's application form. This is your application, not ours — the manufacturer is the applicant and the recipient of the funds.
Providers submit expressions of interest
Your application solicits expressions of interest from AI service providers in NGen's ecosystem. You receive their proposals rather than having to go find anyone.
You choose your partner
You compare the expressions of interest and select the provider you want to work with. This is entirely your call — NGen does not assign anyone to you.
Both parties sign
You and your chosen provider co-sign the application, and it goes to NGen for funding consideration. Successful applicants then conclude a project agreement with NGen.
The readiness work happens
The evaluation across managerial, technological, data, and skills readiness, followed by the Industrial AI implementation plan. With us that is four weeks, including an on-site visit and an executive readout. Your sensitive information is covered by an NDA throughout.
Reports filed, costs reimbursed
The completed evaluation and plan are reported to NGen and eligible professional fees are reimbursed, up to $15,000. Final reports are due by December 31, 2026.
Professional fees for the readiness work
- The standardized Industrial AI readiness evaluation
- Development of the Industrial AI implementation plan
That is the scope of the eligible cost. Our $15,000 fee is exactly this work and nothing else, which keeps the claim clean.
Anything that comes after the plan
- Software licences, hardware, or sensors
- Building or deploying the solutions themselves
- Ongoing support, hosting, or managed services
- Internal staff time
Implementation is a separate decision with separate economics. We would rather you hear that now than in week four.
Straight answers.
Is this a loan, or does it have to be repaid?
Neither. It is a reimbursement of eligible costs, not a repayable contribution.
What if we conclude we're not ready for AI?
That is a legitimate and common outcome, and it does not affect the funding. The deliverable is an honest evaluation and a plan — the plan can begin with data and process work rather than a model. Knowing the sequence is the value.
Do we have to commit to building anything?
No. The program funds the evaluation and the plan. What you do next is entirely yours, including doing it with someone else or doing it in-house.
How exposed is our data?
An NDA is in place before any plant visit or data access. We work from read-only extracts and interviews wherever possible, and nothing identifying you appears in any public material without written permission.
How long do we have?
Applications are accepted first-come, first-served until the funds are exhausted, and all final reports are due by December 31, 2026. Working backwards from that date with a four-week engagement and a few weeks of administration, the practical window is shorter than the calendar suggests.
Where can we read the program terms ourselves?
On NGen's own site. We would encourage it — everything above is drawn from there.
NGen program page
Find out in thirty minutes.
We confirm the four eligibility facts, explain the ITA step if you need it, and tell you honestly whether to pursue this.