Traditional government programs have been standalone entities with occasional coordination, particularly for space technologies, with the onus on the individual companies to seek out relevant programs. A rarer model is the industry consortium, which often involves significant preparation time and effort, dedicated funding sources, and often dedicated overhead management for service delivery.
NRC-IRAP is experimenting with a hybrid model in the form of cluster funding. This model consists of a loosely tied group of companies with low overhead and nimble arrangement, focused on an aligned common goal that enables or opens new markets. The group seeks coordinated funding via a cluster strategy that may include leveraging multiple sources of investment for specific projects. IRAP is particularly well situated to coordinate activities and strategy. The recent IRAP Concierge program provides knowledge and relationships to funding programs at all levels of government. IRAP's Industrial Technology Advisors (ITAs) must know (and protect) the intimate details of each client company as a matter of delivering IRAP services. ITAs are often brought in as reviewers and advisors for other government and consortium-based programs. IRAP and ITA performance goals are also directed at SME client growth so there is a vested interest in the success of the firms. IRAP can also offer potential funding opportunities for projects or clusters as well as financial support the cluster service itself.
Some examples are presented along with challenges and potential application to emerging market needs in space such as SmallSats
