Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)’s top priorities for 2025–26 are as follows:

• Support research excellence that strengthens Canada.
• Expand, diversify and nurture Canada’s talent pool.
• Translate discovery into impact.
• Mobilize knowledge on a global scale through research partnerships.
• Empower our organization and our people.

In 2025–26, total planned spending (including internal services) for NSERC is $1.506 billion and total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 558. For complete information on NSERC’s total planned spending and human resources, read the Planned spending and human resources section of the full plan.

The following provides a summary of the department’s planned achievements for 2025–26 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Planned spending: $1,481,919,695

Planned human resources: 392

• Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive.
• Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering.
• Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used.

NSERC supports the work of the most promising researchers, students and postdoctoral fellows at universities, colleges, CÉGEPS and polytechnics across the country. In 2025–26, NSERC will support thousands of researchers, students and trainees, and continue to promote diversity within the research community. NSERC is committed to fostering interdisciplinary research, support Indigenous research leadership, and advance open science initiatives. Through funding opportunities like Alliance and Discovery, NSERC will help Canadian researchers build international collaborations. NSERC will also prioritize research through partnerships with businesses, public and not-for-profit organizations, to increase the societal, economic, and environmental impact of Canadian research. Additionally, NSERC will continue to support and work with the research community, and across the federal funding agencies, to safeguard the integrity of Canada’s research, with a particular emphasis on protecting against threats to national and economic security.

NSERC will continue to support the development of a diverse and highly skilled workforce in natural sciences and engineering. Initiatives like the Black Scholars program and the Indigenous Scholars Awards aim to enhance the research capacity of underrepresented groups.

Looking ahead, NSERC will continue to modernize its operations and build a diverse workforce for the future, focusing on cost-effective measures, grant management improvements, and harmonizing research efforts across federal agencies to maximize the impact of research funding.

More information about Funding natural sciences and engineering research and training can be found in the full plan.