Program directory · National Research Council Canada
Nanotechnology
- Department
- National Research Council Canada
- Program code
- BNQ13 (NRC)
- Core responsibility
- Science and Innovation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2023-24 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
The mission of the Nanotechnology program is to transform nanoscience ideas into novel, sustainable nanotechnology solutions with socioeconomic benefits for Canada and Alberta. NANO aims to accomplish this mission by supporting a unique interdisciplinary environment that merges the discovery-focused, knowledge creation culture of a university laboratory with the innovation and commercialization-focused, problem-solving culture of a national laboratory.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanotechnology | This program | 2018-19 – 2025-26 | $63.3M |
| Quantum and Nanotechnologies | Later program (name match, medium confidence) | 2024-25 – 2028-29 | $58.9M |
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 “National Institute for Nanotechnology” to “Nanotechnology”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2021-22 | Indicators added: Citation score of Nanotechnology generated publications relative to world average; Number of agreements with all external research clients; 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 (e.g., patents, disclosures, publications) 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 | Appears to be replaced by Quantum and Nanotechnologies | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
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 | ≥ 1.45 | 2022 | 1.19 Structural changes have led to a change in the composition and volume of publications affiliated to NRC. Future targets will reflect expected steady state performance. To reflect the continued scientific recognition of NANO’s work, it is important to note that 22% of NANO’s publications were in the top 10% most cited in the world in 2021-22. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 1.3 | 2023 | 0.97 FWCI improvement is largely dependent on global citation trends, however the Nanotechnology (NANO) Research Centre will review its FWCI performance to identify potential causes, which may include the change in the composition of NANO’s research staff and organizational structure. In addition, changes in the scientific publication trends are also impacting the average FWCI of Canadian publications… | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1.26 | 2024 | 0.87 A contributing factor for the decrease is changes in global scientific publication trends which may have impacted the average FWCI of Canadian publications, which includes those of the Nanotechnology Research Centre. The decrease in recent years triggered a review of the publication strategy to ensure better communication of research excellence. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 35 | 2022 | 57 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 28 | 2023 | 51 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 25 | 2024 | 27 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 5 | 2022 | 9 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 3 | 2023 | 4 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 4 | 2024 | 6 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ $750K | 2022 | $660K Given the relative volume of NANO’s expected revenues from clients, one or two project delays can have a significant impact on results. Considering this, the result was 12% below target due to extended negotiations, delayed project kick offs and ongoing pandemic related building constraints affecting users of NANO’s equipment. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ $850K | 2023 | $600K Delays in the development of new partnerships have resulted in lower than targeted revenues for FY 2022-23. While revenues were slightly lower in 2022-23, they are expected to rebound and return to the historical average in 2023-24. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ $900K | 2024 | $800K The merger of the Nanotechnology, AEP, and SDT research units delayed growth; however, positive signs are already seen for the new fiscal year. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 21 | 2019 | 25 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 20 | 2020 | 19 Target substantially met. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 22 | 2021 | 20 Target was almost met. In order to comply with public health measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Nanotechnology’s on-site capacity was reduced and its focus was on pandemic response priority projects, thus postponing or limiting the capacity to make progress on many projects with clients and collaborators. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 52 | 2019 | 94 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 53 | 2020 | 65 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 57 | 2021 | 46 Nanotechnology’s capacity to make progress on research and development was limited to focus on pandemic response priority projects. A COVID-19 related paper attracted a lot of attention during this reporting period and had significant impact in the scientific community. In addition, several peer-reviewed publications were not indexed yet. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ $1M | 2019 | $900K The Nanotechnology program reduced its planned projects to take in account the changing R&D environment including the launch of a new NRC collaboration initiative, lower demand for technical services and challenges in staffing critical positions. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ $1M | 2020 | $800K The focus of Nanotechnology in 2019-20 was to structure and build its research & development (R&D) capabilities, in part, through the establishment of new strategic collaborations. These expanded R&D capabilities and partnerships are expected to translate into improved service offerings and increased revenue in the coming years, post-COVID era. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ $900K | 2021 | $700K A reduced capacity for Nanotechnology’s clients and collaborators due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Nanotechnoloy's reduced on-site capacity due to the public health measures, resulted in project delays and a limited capacity to make progress on revenue generating services. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
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 | $8.4M | $10.4M |
| 2019-20 | $10.1M | $10.8M |
| 2020-21 | $10.4M | $10.2M |
| 2021-22 | $10.7M | $10.7M |
| 2022-23 | $10.5M | $10.3M |
| 2023-24 | $11.3M | $10.8M |
| 2024-25 | $12.1M* | — |
| 2025-26 | $12.5M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 54 | 63 |
| 2019-20 | 65 | 64 |
| 2020-21 | 63 | 69 |
| 2021-22 | 68 | 72 |
| 2022-23 | 70 | 66 |
| 2023-24 | 66 | 65 |
| 2024-25 | 66* | — |
| 2025-26 | 66* | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $8,394,922 | $8,394,922 | $8,394,922 | |||||
| 2019-20 plan | $10,070,261 | $10,070,244 | $10,070,173 | |||||
| 2020-21 plan | $10,418,393 | $10,498,760 | $10,520,524 | |||||
| 2021-22 plan | $10,681,626 | $10,520,524 | $10,520,524 | |||||
| 2022-23 plan | $10,458,018 | $10,458,667 | $10,479,870 | |||||
| 2023-24 plan | $11,302,837 | $12,133,204 | $12,522,024 | |||||
| Actual | $10,411,146 | $10,846,349 | $10,212,380 | $10,711,172 | $10,313,689 | $10,763,064 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
