The National Research Council (NRC) is the Government of Canada's premier organization for research and development. They have been active since 1916.
NRC is composed of over 20 institutes and national programs, spanning a wide variety of disciplines and offering a broad array of services. They are located in every province in Canada and play a major role in stimulating community-based innovation.
NRC institutes and programs are organized into three (3) key areas:
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Life Sciences and Information Technology
Industry Support
NRC is responsible for:
undertaking, assisting or promoting scientific and industrial research in different fields of importance to Canada;
establishing, operating and maintaining a national science library;
publishing and selling or otherwise distributing such scientific and technical information as the Council deems necessary;
investigating standards and methods of measurement;
working on the standardization and certification of scientific and technical apparatus and instruments and materials used or usable by Canadian industry;
operating and administering any astronomical observatories established or maintained by the Government of Canada;
administering NRC's research and development activities, including grants and contributions used to support a number of international activities; and
providing vital scientific and technological services to the research and industrial communities. This mandate is discharged to a great extent through the operation of the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program, the NRC Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information and the Canadian Technology Network.
The National Research Council employs close to 4,000 people across Canada, providing substantial resources to help Canada become one of the world’s top five R&D performers by 2010.
NRC also benefits from the efforts of guest workers, drawn from Canadian and foreign universities, companies and public and private sector organizations. In 2003-2004, the number of guest workers jumped to 1,446, reflecting new and exciting research collaborations and partnerships.
