Program directory · Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Research Training and Talent Development
- Program code
- BNR02 (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, scholarships and fellowships to attract, retain and develop the next generation of scientists and engineers, as well as to promote science to Canadian youth to encourage an early interest in science and engineering. The training support provided at all postsecondary levels helps Canada develop a talented, skilled and inclusive workforce.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Training and Talent Development | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $1.19B |
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.
No significant changes detected.
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 | ≥ 1,040,000 | 2019 | 1,400,000 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 1,040,000 | 2020 | 1,436,803 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 1,040,000 | 2021 | — Due to COVID-19, reporting extensions were provided to PromoScience grantees. The result for this indicator is extracted from those reports. With the delay, NSERC is unable to report on this indicator for 2020-21. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 1,400,000 | 2022 | 3,200,000 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 1,400,000 | 2023 | 448,530 A potential reason for the low number is the size of the organizations completing their grant in 2022-2023. It is possible that the cohort of grantees reaching the end of their grant are smaller outreach organizations. It is also possible that due to COVID-19 some of the outreach activities reported in this cohort of grantees were cancelled or modified to an online format, therefore reaching a sm… | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1,400,000 | 2024 | 1,500,000 | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1,000,000 | 2025 | 583,654 The lower number of youth participants reached in 2024–2025 can be attributed to several factors: 1) there were fewer active PromoScience initiatives compared to previous years, ultimately resulting in fewer participants and 2) a proportionally higher number of initiatives focused on under-represented groups; while these initiatives may have lower participation volume, they were selected due to t… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 79% The population responding to the survey varies greatly year over year and we are looking to update the target accordingly. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 80% | 2020 | — Result available every two years. Not available this year. | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 67% | 2021 | 78% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 67% | 2022 | — Data is only available every other year | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 67% | 2023 | 69% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 70% | 2024 | — Results are available every two years. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 69% | 2025 | 79% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 500,000 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 69% | 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 | $165M | $160M |
| 2019-20 | $163M | $160M |
| 2020-21 | $238M | $171M |
| 2021-22 | $163M | $165M |
| 2022-23 | $163M | $163M |
| 2023-24 | $162M | $167M |
| 2024-25 | $172M | $201M |
| 2025-26 | $219M | — |
| 2026-27 | $246M | — |
| 2027-28 | $252M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $240M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 47 | 50 |
| 2019-20 | 53 | 52 |
| 2020-21 | 53 | 55 |
| 2021-22 | 50 | 65 |
| 2022-23 | 57 | 60 |
| 2023-24 | 61 | 64 |
| 2024-25 | 57 | 59 |
| 2025-26 | 65 | — |
| 2026-27 | 65 | — |
| 2027-28 | 64* | — |
| 2028-29 | 54* | — |
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 | $165,108,935 | $161,737,373 | $160,477,384 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $162,698,586 | $157,576,466 | $154,817,232 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $237,500,466 | $239,976,428 | $230,186,315 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $163,060,894 | $158,564,758 | $158,781,217 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $162,677,221 | $161,970,376 | $161,974,635 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $162,449,732 | $163,090,481 | $163,078,048 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $171,530,649 | $171,485,732 | $171,391,192 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $219,215,661 | $226,802,274 | $231,996,712 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $246,376,606 | $252,314,136 | $240,366,050 | ||||||||
| Actual | $160,154,656 | $160,303,574 | $170,934,613 | $165,182,184 | $162,737,657 | $166,651,104 | $200,794,703 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
