Industry committee  I think that's always potentially a good way to approach things. We shouldn't disrupt what works, if we can help it. On the other hand, I also believe that one thing the NRC has done well over the years is to evolve with change, and so we need to take those things into considerat

Industry committee  I think it's important to note just a clarification. On April 1 we did not stop an NRC transformation. For all intents and purposes, the NRC transformation is completed. We needed to achieve a balance and bring all of the potential from the NRC together to maximize it and to bri

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, our organization welcomes the opportunity to contribute with all the great knowledge we have at NRC.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, I will allow Mr. Ciobanu to add to this, but before we do that, just from my personal experience working with SMEs, I know the tremendous importance of balancing the needs of managing public funds and doing it right. Handing out money is a difficult thing to do right.

Industry committee  At NRC, when we look at where the investment and money should go, it's directly tied to the needs of Canada and what's been identified. It's about working closely with industry, other federal governments, and academia, and understanding and validating the direction that is requir

Industry committee  The mandate of the NRC has served Canada well for 100 years, and we are unique in the sense that we bridge the gap from all of the different aspects that come together in regard to funding. IRAP provides grants, and there are other organizations that do that, but NRC is unique is

Industry committee  I will ask Mr. Ciobanu to talk about it. He is very close to IRAP.

Industry committee  Again, I will turn it over to...

Industry committee  We have a number of initiatives that we reach out to SMEs with, and with IRAP we have the concierge services that allow small companies to understand all the different capabilities of different initiatives and so on. We facilitate that. But as part of our client outreach program,

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, this is very special for us because it's one of the areas that the NRC has put a lot of emphasis on, and we have a large number of locations, but I'll let Mr. Ciobanu talk to this, because it's obviously closest to his heart.

Industry committee  There hasn't been a change in the funding applied. The process by which NRC makes its investments is a logical stage-gated process. It starts with the identification of the need by industry engagement stakeholders and the expected outcomes. Depending on the stage of the innovatio

Industry committee  I have no indication that we would do any reduction of either. We have programs that were identified for meeting the objectives for Canada. Our focus is on delivering those outcomes. When you're dealing with innovation, of course, the de-risking is one of the three components, an

Industry committee  Yes, and similarly for basic research as well—depending on where the program is.

Industry committee  I'm sorry, can I ask for clarification; do you mean how it compares in respect to IRAP?

Industry committee  If it's okay, Mr. Chair, I can direct that question to Mr. Ciobanu to talk about how the IRAP portion has evolved.