Program directory · National Research Council Canada
Metrology
- Department
- National Research Council Canada
- Program code
- BNQ11 (NRC)
- Core responsibility
- Science and Innovation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Metrology program investigates and determines standards and methods of measurement for Canada's national measurement system, as mandated through the National Research Council Act and the Weights and Measures Act. This national metrological system is critical for underpinning trade and commerce in the global economy. The program supports international metrological treaties and arrangements to establish and maintain foreign recognition and acceptance of Canada's standards and measures that are critical for participation in multi-lateral and free-trade agreements. The program provides a wide variety of calibration and measurement services that underpin the accuracy of millions of measurements conducted annually in public and private sector testing and calibration laboratories. In addition, the program provides expert assessments and formal recognition of the measurement capabilities of industrial calibration laboratories. This is important for providing Canada's trading partners confidence in the reliability of Canadian industries' measurements and test certifications of compliance to regulatory and product standards that govern trade. The program also develops measurement standards for emerging technologies that open new global market opportunities for Canadian industries.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metrology | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $194M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Renamed from “Measurement Science and Standards” to “Metrology”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2021-22 | Indicators added: Citation score of Metrology generated publications relative to world average; Number of patent applications filed; Revenue earned from all external research clients | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Indicators dropped: Number of clients and collaborators working with the Research Centre annually; Number of unique intellectual assets generated by Research Centre employees; Value of external contributions to Research Centre research and development services and scientific and technological infrastructure | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $34.5M, against $26.5M in 2023-24 (+30%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $36.9M, against $27.6M in 2025-26 (+34%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 1.18 | 2022 | 1.1 The citation score results reflect an increase in the number of peer reviewed publications by METRO researchers in the fiscal year 2021-22, with a smaller percentage of high impact publications in the overall score. To reflect the continued scientific recognition of METRO’s work, it is important to note that, 16% of METRO publications were in the top 10% most cited in the world in 2021-22. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 1.2 | 2023 | 1.04 FWCI improvement is largely dependent on global citation trends, however the Metrology (METRO) Research Centre will review its FWCI performance to identify potential causes, which may include changes in the scientific publication trends impacting the average FWCI of Canadian publications, which includes those of the NRC. This analysis will help METRO identify strategies to make improvements. It i… | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1.16 | 2024 | 0.92 Metrology research publications are a niche community and its research does not tend to have as broad of a reach as some traditional fields. FWCI improvement is largely dependent on global citation trends. Metrology will identify potential strategies to make improvements to its citation score, which may include collaborating more extensively with external partners and increasing Open Access publi… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1 | 2025 | 0.86 Prior results were positively affected by a notable publication in 2020 (which currently has a FWCI of 47.07) that no longer contributes to the Program’s 3-year average. The Program is currently analyzing disaggregated and comparative data from other metrology institutes to better understand the factors contributing to recent lower-than-expected FWCI performance results. The results of this analy… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 2 | 2022 | 1 To ensure good financial stewardship and manage escalating patent costs, METRO has targeted jurisdictions for IP protection of new technologies more selectively. It is notable that this is a first filing patent application which reflects METRO’s continued work in developing new inventions with commercial potential. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 2 | 2023 | 5 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1 | 2024 | 2 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1 | 2025 | 1 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ $7.3M | 2022 | $8M | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ $8M | 2023 | $8.2M | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ $8M | 2024 | $8.7M | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ $8.2M | 2025 | $8.3M | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 238 | 2019 | 198 Metrology had fewer individual number of clients, partly due to consolidation of the industry. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 221 | 2020 | 211 Metrology’s revenue base is international, and although the effects of COVID-19 only began to reach Canada in March 2020, the closure of Asian and European markets in February resulted in a drop in the number of clients that Metrology was able to work with during the last two months of 2019-20. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 190 | 2021 | 193 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 117 | 2019 | 153 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 117 | 2020 | 130 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 125 | 2021 | 149 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ $7M | 2019 | $8.2M | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ $7.5M | 2020 | $7.2M Metrology’s revenue base is international, and although the effects of COVID-19 only began to reach Canada in March 2020, the closure of Asian and European markets in February resulted in a 70-80% drop in the sales of standard calibrations for the last two months of 2019-20. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ $8M | 2021 | $7.9M Target was essentially met. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 1 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 1 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ $8.2M | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $24.4M | $26.9M |
| 2019-20 | $24.5M | $26.1M |
| 2020-21 | $25.4M | $27.1M |
| 2021-22 | $25.7M | $26.4M |
| 2022-23 | $25.4M | $26.9M |
| 2023-24 | $28.9M | $26.5M |
| 2024-25 | $31.9M | $34.5M |
| 2025-26 | $27.6M | — |
| 2026-27 | $36.9M | — |
| 2027-28 | $34.9M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $27.8M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 162 | 159 |
| 2019-20 | 157 | 163 |
| 2020-21 | 170 | 168 |
| 2021-22 | 165 | 163 |
| 2022-23 | 162 | 168 |
| 2023-24 | 167 | 169 |
| 2024-25 | 170 | 170 |
| 2025-26 | 165 | — |
| 2026-27 | 163 | — |
| 2027-28 | 160* | — |
| 2028-29 | 150* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $24,416,472 | $24,418,862 | $24,419,565 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $24,514,002 | $24,514,660 | $24,514,461 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $25,444,424 | $25,661,577 | $25,720,058 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $25,746,843 | $25,621,758 | $25,620,058 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $25,433,440 | $25,433,575 | $25,493,512 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $28,852,083 | $31,119,140 | $32,355,642 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $31,877,292 | $33,309,644 | $33,832,179 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $27,579,716 | $28,102,173 | $27,637,894 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $36,866,930 | $34,856,905 | $27,816,580 | ||||||||
| Actual | $26,856,965 | $26,082,670 | $27,071,010 | $26,449,238 | $26,908,036 | $26,481,361 | $34,512,363 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
