The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) is a Canadian federal research institute that promotes and supports multidisciplinary research in the natural, social, and engineering sciences. The institute has eight research centres located across Canada, in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, and Halifax. INRS also has a training centre in Laval, Quebec.
INRS was established in 1960 under the National Research Council of Canada Act. Its mandate is to “conduct strategic basic research and applied research to meet the needs of Canadian industry.”
INRS conducts its research in four main areas: energy and materials; health; information technologies; and environmental sciences. In addition to supporting fundamental and applied research projects at its eight centres across Canada, INRS provides graduate-level training through its École Polytechnique de Montréal affiliated school. The institute also operates two specialized facilities: the Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications (CEMT), which supports advanced materials and telecommunications research; and the Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre (UCS), which focuses on social Sciences related to urbanization issues.
INRS employs approximately 550 faculty members and staff scientists, as well as about 1 200 students from 35 countries at its different locations across Canada. The institute’s budget for 2018–2019 was $109 million.