Program directory · National Research Council Canada
Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering
- Department
- National Research Council Canada
- Program code
- BNQ15 (NRC)
- Core responsibility
- Science and Innovation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The OCRE program aims to develop novel and adaptive engineering solutions that enable safe and resilient ocean and freshwater infrastructure in Canada. Operating world-class modelling and testing facilities, OCRE strives to be a leader in the Canadian ocean and freshwater sector and works with clients and collaborators in industry, academia, and government to help ensure that Canadian ocean and freshwater industries and communities are safe and thrive in a changing marine environment.
OCRE serves its clients and collaborators through three main mechanisms: it enters collaborative research agreements to co-develop engineering solutions, it provides testing and advisory services that validates and advances client technologies, and finally the program participates in ecosystem development activities such as working groups, conferences, and advisory committees to disseminate knowledge and steer the ocean and freshwater sector in the right direction. Through these activities, OCRE helps clients and collaborators to improve their R&D capabilities through knowledge and technology transfer and OCRE’s research and expertise also informs the development of codes and standards. All of this is expected to improve the operational safety and performance of marine-related industries as well as increase the resiliency and sustainability of Canadian communities and infrastructure in light of a changing climate.
Ultimately, OCRE strives to be Canada’s research leader for infrastructure resilience in harsh oceans and freshwater environments. Through its research and technical expertise, the program advances the work of other government departments such as Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada and helps to protect infrastructure, property and people from severe weather events and other environmental risk.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $120M |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Indicators added: Citation score of Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering 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) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Number of client/collaborative research and development projects | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $25.5M, against $19.7M in 2023-24 (+29%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $33.2M, against $23.2M in 2025-26 (+43%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2028-29 | Planned spending $23.9M, against $32.9M in 2027-28 (−27%). | 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 | ≥ 0.75 | 2022 | 0.72 Target was essentially met. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 0.75 | 2023 | 0.76 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1 | 2024 | 0.64 OCRE publications are largely in the form of client-specific technical reports and conference presentations, whose impact is not fully captured through the traditional FWCI score. In 2023-24, OCRE initiated a publications strategy, which includes creating a Community of Practice on Research Writing to increase internal capacity and focus on publications. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1 | 2025 | 0.86 OCRE's three-year average Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) score is improving and approaching the target of 1.00. This progress is mainly due to its publication strategy and boosting staff involvement in the Community of Practice on Research Writing. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 73 | 2024 | 81 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 73 | 2025 | 83 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 0 | 2022 | 0 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 0 | 2023 | 0 | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1 | 2024 | 0 A patent application was initiated in FY24 and will be filed early in FY25. OCRE research is focused on engineering know how and knowledge exchange, and does not lend itself to a high volume of patent activity. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1 | 2025 | 1 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ $7M | 2022 | $8.3M | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ $7M | 2023 | $9.2M | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ $7M | 2024 | $8.1M | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ $7.2M | 2025 | $12M | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 45 | 2019 | 45 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 47 | 2020 | 28 Although Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering worked with a significant number of clients and collaborators in 2019-20, including private sector, universities and provincial and federal government departments, it experienced a decline in its usual volume of invoiced clients due to an increased emphasis on strategic research partnerships and conducting internal research with the aim of achieving r… | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 47 | 2021 | 29 In line with the NRC’s strategic direction, in 2020-21, Ocean Coastal and River Engineering (OCRE) focused on fostering long-term relationships with a smaller number of strategic research partners. Furthermore, in order to comply with public health measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, OCRE has had to restrict on-site/field activities, as well as divert resources to priority pandemic re… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 28 | 2019 | 21 The type of research and projects done by the Engineering division was not geared towards patents registration. In addition to the peer-reviewed publications captured, the Ocean, Coastal & River Engineering (OCRE) Program also produced some conference papers that were not captured as peer-reviewed publications in the data source, as well as technical reports. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 28 | 2020 | 19 Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering made significant knowledge contributions to the scientific community through various types of publications and conference proceedings, not all of which were indexed in Scopus. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 36 | 2021 | 14 Ocean Coastal and River Engineering made significant knowledge contributions to the scientific community through various types of publications and conference proceedings (including both indexed and non-indexed peer-reviewed publications). | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ $9.5M | 2019 | $9.2M The difference is due to the lack of capacity available to execute signed contracts resulting in approximately $300k of deferred revenue for the fiscal year. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ $9.5M | 2020 | $5M The earned revenue variance can be attributed to a number of factors, including: project deferrals to 2020-21, the re-allocation of resources to developing the Ocean Program and Arctic and Northern Challenge Program, a shift in focus from revenue generation to strategic research and supporting business innovation, and unanticipated challenges in the oil & gas and shipbuilding sectors. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ $9.5M | 2021 | $6.1M In order to comply with public health measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ocean Coastal and River Engineering has had to restrict on-site activities to focus on pandemic response priority projects, thus cancelling or postponing many revenue generating services usually provided. In addition, target was set during a commercially strong period and does not reflect the continued downturn… | 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 | ≥ 65 | 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 | ≥ $6.6M | 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 | $14.1M | $15.2M |
| 2019-20 | $14M | $12.7M |
| 2020-21 | $14.8M | $14.2M |
| 2021-22 | $14.6M | $15.8M |
| 2022-23 | $14.3M | $16.9M |
| 2023-24 | $17.6M | $19.7M |
| 2024-25 | $22.2M | $25.5M |
| 2025-26 | $23.2M | — |
| 2026-27 | $33.2M | — |
| 2027-28 | $32.9M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $23.9M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 89 | 91 |
| 2019-20 | 89 | 97 |
| 2020-21 | 97 | 99 |
| 2021-22 | 94 | 102 |
| 2022-23 | 97 | 100 |
| 2023-24 | 99 | 103 |
| 2024-25 | 114 | 108 |
| 2025-26 | 103 | — |
| 2026-27 | 108 | — |
| 2027-28 | 110* | — |
| 2028-29 | 102* | — |
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 | $14,149,405 | $14,150,584 | $14,199,317 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $14,032,161 | $14,080,869 | $14,080,755 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $14,766,357 | $14,887,063 | $14,919,169 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $14,631,674 | $14,431,569 | $14,419,169 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $14,341,554 | $14,330,221 | $14,185,080 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $17,595,117 | $19,618,249 | $20,393,303 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $22,155,663 | $22,956,371 | $23,686,731 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $23,197,229 | $23,934,997 | $23,289,987 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $33,209,821 | $32,901,661 | $23,922,448 | ||||||||
| Actual | $15,211,430 | $12,664,572 | $14,165,711 | $15,818,310 | $16,902,352 | $19,735,232 | $25,516,264 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
