Program directory · Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Discovery Research
- Program code
- BNR01 (NSERC)
- Core responsibility
- Funding Natural Sciences and Engineering Research and Training
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
This program provides grants to researchers and universities to maintain a diverse and competitive research base in Canada and support global excellence and leadership in discovery research. The creation and advancement of knowledge generated by these grants are necessary to fuel a strong, globally competitive research and innovation system in Canada. Funding provides researchers with the flexibility to explore and innovate, train students in the art of creative and critical thinking for tomorrow’s challenges, purchase or develop research equipment, and facilitate national and international research collaborations.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Research | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $5.59B |
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 | Employees (FTEs) 116, against 89 in 2018-19 (+30%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2028-29 | Planned employees (FTEs) 119, against 154 in 2027-28 (−23%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 13% | 2019 | 15.8% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 13% | 2020 | 17.4% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 13% | 2021 | 18.7% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 17% | 2022 | 21.6% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 17% | 2023 | 21% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 18% | 2024 | 22.5% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 19% | 2025 | 22.1% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 20% | 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 | $695M | $737M |
| 2019-20 | $765M | $780M |
| 2020-21 | $420M | $848M |
| 2021-22 | $814M | $857M |
| 2022-23 | $800M | $809M |
| 2023-24 | $757M | $772M |
| 2024-25 | $749M | $790M |
| 2025-26 | $797M | — |
| 2026-27 | $876M | — |
| 2027-28 | $912M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $960M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 85 | 89 |
| 2019-20 | 94 | 116 |
| 2020-21 | 94 | 125 |
| 2021-22 | 115 | 136 |
| 2022-23 | 130 | 131 |
| 2023-24 | 132 | 122 |
| 2024-25 | 122 | 128 |
| 2025-26 | 150 | — |
| 2026-27 | 151 | — |
| 2027-28 | 154* | — |
| 2028-29 | 119* | — |
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 | $694,718,502 | $696,312,633 | $699,583,217 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $764,765,145 | $783,058,534 | $802,514,782 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $419,986,700 | $424,365,096 | $407,052,635 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $813,608,621 | $779,349,599 | $664,477,533 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $799,562,455 | $677,823,722 | $677,841,548 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $757,359,225 | $755,282,613 | $747,057,156 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $749,099,507 | $746,230,367 | $742,930,325 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $797,399,491 | $816,676,786 | $849,681,073 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $875,751,177 | $911,863,897 | $959,675,826 | ||||||||
| Actual | $737,034,888 | $779,832,648 | $848,124,084 | $857,128,212 | $808,546,447 | $772,249,883 | $789,892,849 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
