The eMPOWR Canada proposal is being received with a certain degree of ambivalence by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The granting agency has historically been the sole funder of university-based research of disciplines underpinning the ICT sector, and it is concerned that a new organization will create new financial pressures for the organization and may place undue burden on researchers already scrambling to keep up with increasing amounts of paperwork.