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| Newsletter 8 November 2003 Download Archive |
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| NEWS & EVENTS | |
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| Introduction to North West Ireland The North West Ireland region comprises of three counties - Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. The population is approx.56,000, 25,000 and 130,000 respectively (1996 Census). This represents 9.7% of the National population. These three counties are rural by definition and have been greatly affected both by the decline in the agricultural industry and the threat to traditional industry as witnessed over the past 10 years. According to the National Household Survey, in November 2001, the available labour force in the wider Border Region is 180,800 or 10.3% of the national labour force. Roughly half of that labour force lives in the North West Region. Unemployment has reduced significantly in Ireland following the rise of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy however the Border region is still one of the highest areas of unemployment at around 6.5% compared to a national average of 4%.  The region has a land area of 8,265 sq kms and over 1,000 kms of rugged coastline, with a large Gaeltacht area (Irish speaking) and is rich in culture, heritage and archaeology. This remoteness and tradition creates the basis for significant economic wealth within the tourism sector. The Region is one of the most remote regions in the European Union and is bordered along the East by Northern Ireland. There are 2 regional airports: Sligo and Carrickfinn Donegal. In addition, many people use City of Derry airport and Knock International airport for direct access to London Stansted, Glasgow and Dublin. There is a rail link to Sligo from Dublin and the regional roads network is greatly improved in recent years. The North West Ireland Region’s main industry was traditionally agriculture, clothing & textiles, fishing and engineering (tool-making); however this is changing with a decline in agriculture and textiles in recent years. Many traditional companies are now looking toward a business model whereby some high volume, low margin product is sourced in other lower cost countries whilst the added value and high margin products are manufactured in Ireland. The North West Ireland region has a growing Technology base and several companies based on the East Coast of Ireland have opened offices in the NW Region. Almost 40% of the national fishing quota is landed in Killybegs, Co. Donegal. Tourism is a significant industry in NW Ireland Region with over 546,000 overseas visitors in 2000 generating revenue of over €128 million for the region. There is also an unprecedented growth in the services sector: hotel and catering for both local and tourism sector, retail, distribution and professional services in the region. There are three county councils in the Region: Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo, with the Border Regional Public Authority representing the six Border counties of Ireland. The Border, Midland and West (BMW) Regional Assembly was set up in 1999 is the managing body for the new regional Operational Programmes in the BMW region of Ireland. Innovation within the Region The North West Ireland region has been involved in various Innovation programmes and activities over the past number of years to some degree of success: NORWESCO, Technology Transfer Programme; Product Transfer Programme; Techstart; GEPNWR, Cross Border Technology Enterprise Start-Up Programme; County Enterprise Funds set up to provide low interest loans for small business; Innovation Partnership Programme, Research Technology Innovation (RTI), Regional Venture Capital Funds to increase the investment opportunities in the BMW region, Excellerator Programme etc. Due to the geographic location of the region, some of these projects have been on a cross border basis which adds critical mass to the programmes and adds diversity to the region. Some of these are detailed overleaf: · The BMW Regional Assembly has recently been approved by the EU to develop a Regional Innovation Strategy for the Border, Midlands and West Region of Ireland. North West Ireland region is part of this area and will be involved in the development and implementation of the RIS. In order to develop a comprehensive plan, these 4 pilot actions will be undertaken as part of the plan development: o 3rd level Outreach Centres specifically in E-Commerce projects. o To look at the development of a Social Accounting Matrices which will evaluate the impact of investment and the allocation of resources to all areas of the region. o SME Technology Advance Programme. o The Information Society project will look at creating awareness and promoting wider participation in Information Technology. · The Cross Border Technology Enterprise Start-Up Programme was launched in 2001. This is a joint initiative between Enterprise Ireland, LEDU (Northern Ireland Economic Development Agency) with support from International Fund for Ireland. The programme is practical, providing entrepreneurs with financial support, office space, back-up facilities and formal training on all aspects of running a business. · In a drive to increase the level of Regional Innovation activity in the cross border region, Enterprise Ireland joined with LEDU, Intertrade Ireland and IFI to initiate an Ireland North West (Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Derry, Tyrone and Fermanagh) Innovation Strategy. A Strategic Innovation Plan for the Region is due to be completed by October 2002. · Due to the high level of graduates leaving the region, promotional campaigns were run over the Christmas period, 1999 and 2001, to encourage people who had returned to the region over the Christmas period to consider setting up a business in the region. · Research Technology Innovation (RTI) is an Enterprise Ireland initiative that aims to harness foresight and innovation, and work with companies to bridge the gap between a good idea and a profitable place in the market. · GEPNWR: The Graduate Enterprise Programme for the North West Region was an initiative designed to assist both graduates and non-graduates to establish high growth potential businesses in the North West Region. GEPNWR was supported by Enterprise Ireland, IFI, INTERREG and the programme for Peace and Reconciliation. The programme partners were IT, Sligo, LKIT and St Angelas. It was managed from IT Sligo and the participants were based in the BIC on the Sligo campus for the duration of the initiative. · Enterprise Ireland and Ernst & Young announced the formation of a public private partnership to create an Excellerator Initiative that will facilitate growth and expansion among potential start-up companies. One of these technology hubs will include companies from the North West region. The on-line Excellerator initiative will give entrepreneurs access to Business Tools, a resource library, though leadership with leading analysis and reports on industry issues and trends, on-lines discussion and internative webcasts sourcing advice from fellow community members. · The development of Business Innovation Centres in both IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT has assisted in the creation of new companies and the development and expansion of existing industry. There are 18 Entrepreneurs / start-up businesses on campus in Sligo and 10 in Letterkenny. · Norwesco is a cross border programme, involving, LYIT Enterprise Ireland, University of Ulster and LEDU, that aimed to unblock and developed the innovation capability of SME’s in the region. A significant outcome of the programme was the development of a joint MSc in Innovation Management between the University of Ulster and LYIT. · ENABLE is a two-year Donegal County Enterprise Board programme of organisation development and improvement aimed at micro and small organisations in County Donegal. The objective of this programme is to increase the competiveness of small enterprises in County Donegal through the application of the Business Excellence Model and through facilitating Business. · Technology Partnership Programme is an Enterprise Ireland supported programme, which involved the LYIT proving technical mentoring and support to Graduates placed with a number of SME’s in the county. · The Small Business Growth and Networking Programme. The LYIT has completed a management-training programme for fourteen small businesses in the Donegal Gaeltacht. The programme is being funded by Údarás na Gaeltachta, through the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. The programme included the following elements: o 14 Workshops o One on one Mentoring o 4 Assignments o Business Planning o Networking The major outcome from the programme was the development of a Growth Plan for all the companies participating in the programme. · CORAS GNO SKILLSNET: Resulting from the success of the above growth programme Udaras na Gaeltachta in association with LYIT and Teleteach, a teleworking initiative in Donegal, made a successful application to SKILLSNET to build on the success of the above programme and to develop a training network for the Gaeltacht. There are now approximately 35 Gaeltacht based businesses participating in the CORAS GNO SKILLSNET. As well as providing representation on the Board of Coras Gno, LYIT is the primary training provider for the programme. · SMEnet Ireland is a network of organizations linked by the Internet to assist small and medium sized companies (SME’s) finds the expertise they need to identify and implement innovation-based solutions. SMEnet is part of a wider European Network, which is operating in 5 member states with more than 120 organisations currently involved. Richard Thorn, Director of Sligo IT is the current Chairman. · A €9m regional venture capital fund was established by Enterprise Ireland and Enterprise Equity in February 2002 to invest in high growth companies in the BMW area. There is a North West Innovation group in place since 2000 that includes participation from all relevant organisations within the region. This group was involved in preparing a submission to EU with the BMW Regional Assembly and also on the cross border Regional Innovation Plan. The SAIL project information will be disseminated further through the Innovation Group. |
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