Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today on behalf of the National Research Council of Canada as part of this committee's study of the new capstone research funding organization announced in budget 2024.
I'd like to begin by acknowledging that NRC's Canada-wide activities take place on unceded, shared, current and traditional territories of first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
We recognize the privilege we have been given to undertake research and fuel innovation on these lands, and we honour the peoples who came before us.
As Canada's largest federal research organization, the NRC advances scientific knowledge, supports business innovation and provides science-based policy solutions. With facilities and collaborations nationwide, the NRC unites scientists, industry, academia and global partners around Canada's challenges and opportunities.
The NRC's current strategic priorities, reflected in our recently released strategic plan, are to advance research and innovation with the greatest impact to Canada and Canadians, focused on climate change and sustainability, health and biomanufacturing, digital and quantum technologies and supporting foundational research.
In addition to conducting research, for more than 75 years the NRC has provided key support to innovative Canadians' small and medium-sized businesses through the NRC industrial research assistance program, or IRAP, to develop innovations that drive the growth of these businesses and Canada's economy.
As announced in budget 2024, a new capstone research funding organization will bring greater coordination and stronger connections among the tri-councils and the researchers they support. While it is not planned for the NRC to be formally part of this new organization, we have long-standing collaborations with the tri-councils through institutions like the Canada research coordinating committee, and we will work with the new organization to maximize the impact of research funding.
As Minister Champagne and Minister Holland indicated in their letter to my tri-agency colleagues on June 17, 2024, the new capstone organization will include key objectives such as supporting internally collaborative, interdisciplinary and mission-driven research.
At the NRC, our mission-driven Défi programs will dovetail with that objective. The programs bring NRC research centres together with industry, universities and international partners to focus efforts in key priority areas.
We are committed, along with our partners and contributors, to advancing high-risk, high-reward research on Canadian priorities.
We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with our tri-council partners, NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR, through the new capstone agency, to advance scientific knowledge, innovation and research excellence across disciplines in Canada.
Madam Chair, thank you once again for the invitation to appear today. I look forward to answering your questions.