About NSERC

Our Vision

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians.

For your information, we have included articles and editorials regarding NSERC's vision and its new initiatives.

Contact Article – March 2004, Vol. 29, No. 2

Contact Article – January 2004, Vol. 29, No. 1

Our Role

NSERC’s role is to make investments in people, discovery and innovation for the benefit of all Canadians. We invest in people by supporting some 22,000 university students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. We promote discovery by funding more than 10,000 university professors every year. And we help make innovation happen by encouraging more than 800 Canadian companies to invest in university research. Over the last ten years, NSERC has invested $6 billion in basic research, university-industry projects, and the training of Canada’s next generation of scientists and engineers.

NSERC in Brief

NSERC is the national instrument for making strategic investments in Canada's capability in science and technology. NSERC supports both basic university research through discovery grants and project research through partnerships among universities, governments and the private sector, as well as the advanced training of highly qualified people.

NSERC is a separate employer of the Government of Canada, reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Industry. It is governed by a President and a Council of 21 distinguished members selected from the private and public sectors, and universities. The Council is advised by various standing committees that are guided by a Peer Review Process.