About Us > NCE-CECR Overview
NCE-CECR Overview
About the Networks of Centres of Excellence
The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) is a federally funded program that links excellent research with industry know-how to build a healthier, more competitive and more prosperous Canada. The NCE is a joint program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Industry Canada. Launched in 1989, the NCE Secretariat currently runs four national initiatives:
- Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)
- Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)
- Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE)
- Industrial Research and Development Internship program (IRDI)
About the CECR program
The goal of the CECR program is to create world-class centres to advance research and facilitate commercialization of technologies, products and services. These centres operate in the priority areas of the federal Science and Technology Strategy: health, information and communications technology, environment, and energy and natural resources. The program funds the operating and commercialization costs of the centres. Research and infrastructure costs must be covered by other federal programs, or through initiatives such as those run by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the granting agencies.
Centres are funded based on:
- potential benefits to Canada;
- strength of the business plan;
- team track record;
- ability to create, grow and retain Canadian companies that can capture new markets with breakthrough innovations; and
- potential to accelerate the commercialization of leading edge technologies, goods, and services in priority areas.