Operating context

With funding from the Government of Canada, NSERC supports the world-class research of over 41,000 talented students and professors at universities and colleges across the country with an annual budget of $1.1 billion. NSERC funding supports research excellence in an evolving Canadian post-secondary education sector, which is experiencing changing student demographics and an aging workforce, and is working towards greater equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the ecosystem. The postsecondary education sector is also striving to better equip graduates with market-ready skills which are highly sought after in a context of labor shortage.

In today's highly competitive global economy that values sound knowledge, the private, public and not-for-profit sectors are increasingly seeking to anchor their strategic priorities and decisions in scientific evidence. NSERC supports 70% of Canada's top researchers in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE). By playing a convener role, NSERC contributes to the connections between researchers in the NSE with key partners from those sectors. NSERC also fosters international partnerships to help scientists and engineers harness global expertise that can address the most important challenges of our times.

NSERC works closely with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to advance priorities of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC), to ensure that the granting agencies and the CFI are aligned with evolving priorities, objectives and programs for stronger research in Canada.

People are at the heart of NSERC's success as an organization. NSERC nurtures a workforce that is dedicated, talented, agile, and diverse, and strives to embody a modern, healthy, inclusive, and accessible work culture. NSERC is working toward achieving the vision laid out in its long-term strategic plan, NSERC 2030: Discovery, Innovation, Inclusion.