Enterprise Ireland R

1
Enterprise IrelandRD Strategy Update

• ICT Ireland
• 1st May 2007

2
RD Strategy

• Innovation in products and services is central to
  Irelands economic growth and sustained business
  development
• This involves long term commitment to
  industry-led research and development (RD)
  leading to the creation of world-class products
  targeting international markets
• Enterprise Ireland aim to continually develop our
  strategy and suite of supports in order to best
  meet the changing needs of Industry

3
National RD Policy System
Strategic and focused approach to market-led
applied research and technological development
Cabinet Sub-Committee
IDC
4
RD Policy driven by Government Strategy

• Focus of Strategy For Science Technology and
  Innovation
• World Class Research
• Capturing, Protecting and Commercialising Ideas
  and Knowhow
• Research and Development for Enterprise,
  Innovation and
  Growth
• Science Education and Society
• Research in the Public Sector
• All-Island and International STI
• Implementation

5
The EI Science, Technology and Innovation
Strategy
Enterprise Ireland Response
6
Work in Progress

• Competence Centres
• Innovation Vouchers
• Industry-Led Research Projects
• Technology Transfer Offices
• Applied Research Enhancement

7
Competence Centres

• Competence Centres are collaborative entities
  established
• and led by industry and resourced by highly
  capable researchers
• associated with research institutions who are
  empowered to undertake
• market focussed strategic research for the
  benefit of industry.
• Objective "To achieve competitive advantage for
  industry in Ireland by accessing the innovative
  capacity of the research community.
• Target Groups
• Irish companies with technology focus and RD
  strategy or vision
• MNCs in Ireland with technology focus and RD
  strategy or vision
• Non-profit research organisations, including
  third level institutions.

8
Competence Centres

• Major initiative undertaken with IDA
• Strong industry-driven nature of centres
  differentiate them from the more relatively
  academic focused CSETs the two initiatives
  complement each other
• Provides industry with opportunity to engage in
  higher risk, longer term research into market
  problems that, once solved can offer them a
  competitive edge
• Industry makes direct input into the centre
  research
• Industry has access to IP
• Industry can partner with senior and influential
  researchers
• Provides increased access to national and EU
  funding mechanisms

9
Competence Centres

• Expected Impacts
• Break-though products processes for companies
• Higher export levels, spin-offs, patents
  licences
• Increased company expenditure typically
  leveraging other funding streams on more relevant
  RD
• Plus, less tangible impacts like two-way transfer
  of knowledge between markets and research
  community, training of researchers, transferring
  to industry with improved skills and networks.

10
Competence Centres
11
Innovation Vouchers

• Objective of the Innovation Voucher initiative
  is to build links between Ireland's
  public knowledge providers small businesses and
  create a cultural shift in the small
  business community's approach to innovation.
• Vouchers give small companies access to the vast
  knowledge available in Irish Institutes of
  Technology, Universities and other public
  research bodies.
• Vouchers open doors to knowledge providers and
  give small companies the financial support to
  start them on the innovation ladder.
• All small enterprises are eligible to apply for
  an Innovation
• Voucher
• Worth 5,000
• 200 Vouchers in pilot phase

(lt50 employees lt or 10m annual turnover)
12
Innovation Vouchers

• Innovation Vouchers can be used for any kind of
  innovation such as
• new business model development
• new service delivery and customer interface 
• new service development
• tailored training in innovation management 
• innovation / technology audit 
• They can also assist in the knowledge of
• efficiency audits, process change,
• supply chain management and logistics
• Product and service testing and economic impact as
  sessmentVouchers can be exchanged for knowledge
  transfer projects from the knowledge provider.

13
EI Industry-Led Research Projects in ICT(3
projects)

• IMS ARCS (2.4 million) research themes in new
  mobile services over an IMS infrastructure.
• Accuris, Aceno, Adaptive Mobile, Alcatel
  Lucent, Arantech, Business Runways, Cibenix,
  Cellusys, Eircom, Lake Communications,
  MobileAware, Openmind Networks, Openet, O2,
  3PlayPlus, Rococo, Shenick, Trust5, Vodafone,
  Voxpilot
• PEIG ( 2 million) research themes in the power
  electronics area in partmership with the Power
  Electronics in Ireland group
• Commergy, Artesyn, Analog Devices, Excelsys,
  INTEL, Haswell, EMC, Pulse, M/A COM EUROTEC, AMS,
  Powervation, MOOG, Convertec, EI Engineering,
  Power One, Lucent , PPI Adhesives, SHIP
• eLITe(2 million) research themes in eLearning in
  partnership with the eLearning CEO Forum
• Agtel, Pulse Learning, Prime Learning,
  Thirdforce, Transware Plc, WBT, Innerworkings,
  Intuition Publishing, Interactive Services and
  Servecast.

14
Strengthening Technology Transfer Offices

• Recommended by joint DETE and DES working group
• Objective to increase the level and quality of
  Intellectual Property (IP) transferred from
  research in HEIs and to facilitiate the
  development of high quality and effective systems
  and policies to ensure IP is identified,
  protected and transferred where possible into
  companies in Ireland

15
Strengthening Technology Transfer Offices

• Programme focus and expected impacts
• Tech transfer to be recognised as 3rd stream of
  activity, as important as teaching and research,
• Targets and metrics set for each institution to
  be reviewed and reported regularly- Licences and
  Spin-outs are main targets
• TTOs to deliver a professional service to both
  internal (researchers) and external (companies)
  clients
• Existing EI resources to complement the
  strengthened TTOs, - Commercialisation,
  Patenting, Incubators, linkages to companies,
• Central EI Unit will bring national dimension-
  networking, training, awareness, best practices,
  sharing of knowledge

16
Strengthening Technology Transfer Offices

• Approved awards to date for 5 year programme
• 25-30 new posts - professional case managers and
  support staff in TTOs
• UCD -5 posts, 2.7m
• NUIG -3 posts 1.8m
• UCC 5 posts 2.6m
• NUIM 2 posts 0.8m
• RCSI 2 posts 0.6m
• Pending awards- DIT, DCU, TCD
• UL and WIT pre-approved, awaiting submissions
• Development Programme in preparation for
  Institutes of Technology

17
Applied Research Enhancement (ARE)

• ARE Programme aims to enhance the research
  capability of the Institutes of Technology
• To generate regional economic activity
• Provide a centre of excellence in applied
  research
• Potential benefits are
• The development of existing companies in the
  region
• The creation of new companies within the region.
• Programmes help enable colleges to compete
  successfully for national international
  research funding
• Programme Re-Launched in August 2006

18
Applied Research Enhancement (ARE)

• To date eight Centres have received funding
  attracting a total budget of 10m (approximately
  1.25m per Centre)
• Funded IT related centres
• Centre for Converged IP Communications Services
  at Waterford IT
• Technologies for Embedded Computing Centre at
  Cork IT
• New Centre Seamless Use Through Network
  Abstraction Technologies in Athlone IT currently
  undergoing approval process.

19
Work in Progress Single RD Offer

• Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation
  (SSTI) recommended that Enterprise Ireland
  develop a single funding initiative for
  in-company RD for its clients.
• The proposed initiative brings together, under a
  single initiative, financial supports for
  company-led research projects for clients
  providing an integrated and unified approach
  capable of meeting their needs flexibly and
  efficiently
• Objective of the new RD initiatives will be to
  help companies develop innovative products,
  processes and services which will lead to an
  enhancement of their ability to perform in
  increasingly competitive markets
• Single RD offer currently being finalised and
  expected to launch in the third quarter 2007

20
Questions
Thank you