Enterprises, Public Sector Bodies, and Not-for-profit organisations invited to attend Data2Sustain Industry Access Day

The European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), Data2Sustain is hosting an Industry Access on Thursday the 10th October at the AIM Centre, Sligo. This dynamic event will feature industry leaders and innovation experts, showcasing the capabilities and pre-funded services available through the Data2Sustain EDIH.

The event is in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland and Enterprise Europe Network – Ireland.

Who Should Attend:

Early-stage companies, SMEs, large enterprises, public sector agencies, and not-for-profit organisations.

Agenda & Registration:

Follow the link to view the agenda and complete a short profile and questionnaire about your organisation’s needs: https://data2sustain-industry-day-2024.b2match.io/

Event Overview:

• Morning (09:30 – 12:30):
  Industry talks, case studies from senior leaders, and panel discussions with industry experts.
• Optional Afternoon (13:30 – 17:00):
  1-to-1 meetings and showcase opportunities. These can be pre-scheduled during registration or on the day.

Throughout the day, a one-stop showcase will highlight the innovation and research activities from Data2Sustain consortium partners.
For more details, visit www.data2sustain.ie.

Data2Sustain Partners & Innovation Centres:

– Atlantic Technological University and Innovation Centres
– University of Galway and Digital Innovation Centres
– ERNACT
– Local Enterprise Offices
– Údarás na Gaeltachta
– WestBIC
– Western Development Commission
– Northern and Western Regional Assembly

Sector Specific Collaborators:

Advancing Innovation in Manufacturing (AIM) Centre, Future Cast, Irish Manufacturing Research, ALPHA Innovation, European Digital Innovation Hubs Network, CeADAR Ireland, itag & itag Skillnet, and more.

• Galway to host international project partners as part of an EU Project 
• The Interreg Europe funded LOTTI Project supports innovative industrial regeneration rooted in local identity
• Irish partners WestBIC and NWRA will showcase Good Practice examples around Galway City and County

Northern and Western Regional Assembly and WestBIC are excited to welcome a group of LOTTI Project Partners and Stakeholders for an upcoming Interregional Learning  event held in Galway, Ireland, on 25-26 September 2024 (LOTTI stands for LOcal identity driving Traditional Industry Transition).

Over the course of two days, the project partners from Finland, Spain, Poland, Ireland, France, Italy will be visiting key locations including Platform94, Údarás na Gaeltachta, PorterShed and the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry. Discussions will focus on exchanging good practices, building capacity, and exploring policy insights to drive the transition from traditional to innovative industrial and promote economic regeneration.

Attendees will participate in study visits to innovation hubs that foster industrial innovations and entrepreneurship like Platform94 and the BIA Innovator Campus, with additional presentations from Bord na Móna on sustainability and innovation. This event offers a fantastic opportunity for collaboration and learning between EU regions which is a central element of all Interreg Europe funded projects.

The LOTTI initiative in particular, brings together 10 partners (five regional managing authorities, three regional agencies, and two discovery partners) that share a common objective of supporting regional policy design and implementation that promotes successful transitions away from declining industries towards newer, more innovative directions in keeping with local identity.

Each region represented by the partners in the project is navigating a significant transition. They are moving from traditional manufacturing and economic structures, which have historically been central to their cultural identities, to new models that integrate modern industrial, digital, and environmental advancements. This transformation is crucial for adapting to the evolving economic landscape while preserving the local identities that resonate deeply with the population, emphasizing a place-based approach to regional development.

For more information on the Interreg Europe project LOTTI, visit: www.interregeurope.eu/lotti

• All three of Ireland’s NUTS2 regions – Eastern and Midland, Southern and Northern and Western – were designated as Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs) by the European Commission on 19 June 2024, joining a network of 149 similarly designated regions across Europe.
• The RIV initiative, part of the New European Innovation Agenda, aims to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, bridge the innovation gap in Europe and improve Europe’s overall innovation performance.
• Being part of the RIV initiative unlocks new funding and international collaboration opportunities for Ireland’s regions, to enhance competitiveness and innovation.
• Companies, research performing organisations (RPOs) and innovation hubs are encouraged to signal their interest in engagement to the relevant Regional Assembly.

All three of Ireland’s regions – the Eastern and Midland Region, Southern Region and the Northern and Western Region – have received the designation of ‘Regional Innovation Valleys’ by the European Commission. This label recognises the regions’ potential as hubs of innovation and economic growth within a network of 149 similarly designated regions across Europe.

A Regional Innovation Valley label connects regions with other designated ‘valleys’ across Europe to enhance their innovation ecosystems, fostering collaboration among European regions and cities based on their smart specialisation strategies (S3) and competitive advantage to address the innovation gap.

Being part of this network, designated regions are committed to collaborating on innovation projects with other European regions, reducing innovation gaps between leading and lower innovation performing regions, as well as creating new EU value chains in line with key EU priorities, such as food security, renewable energy, circular economy, digital transition and healthcare.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, TD said:

“I welcome today’s announcement that the Southern Region, the Eastern and Midland Region and the Northern and Western Region are to join 149 regions across Europe as part of the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Valleys initiative. Being part of this initiative will unlock new European funding and international collaboration opportunities for our regions, while fostering an environment where innovation can thrive.”

The Minister also emphasised the long-term benefits for the regions:

“The inclusion of all of Ireland’s regions as part of this initiative is reflective of my Department’s commitment to ensure that Ireland’s innovation ecosystem at national and regional level is supportive of regional enterprise strengths and potential, driving our strategic priorities around the twin digital and green transition, and leveraging knowledge and insights from European partners through international collaborative initiatives. With our ongoing implementation of Ireland’s Smart Specialisation Strategy, my Department will continue to work with stakeholders in our three Regions to pursue further EU funding streams and opportunities for international collaboration with the European Commission that will emerge as part of this designation.”

Cathaoirleach of the Northern & Western Regional Assembly, Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said:

“This designation recognises the special characteristics of Ireland’s regions and our Northern and Western Region’s potential as a hub of innovation and economic growth. The Northern & Western Regional Assembly is looking forward to engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and to connecting with other regions across Europe to learn from each other and collectively enhance our competitiveness and capacity for region.”

Innovation Regions selected to receive a RIV label are committed to:

• Strengthening their Research & Innovation (R&I) ecosystem
• Enhancing the co-ordination and directionality of their R&I policy and investment towards key EU priorities
• Engaging in R&I collaboration between more and less advanced regions with complementary smart specialisation strategies.

A key component of the Regional Innovation Valley initiative is its matchmaking process to facilitate connections between enterprise, research and public institutions, create partnerships, provide access to a pool of experts and mentors, and match innovation projects with potential investors and funding sources.

The European Commission will support these cross-regional and cross-sectoral partnerships by connecting various stakeholders within each region’s innovation ecosystem through matchmaking events and targeted communication actions.

While funding is not awarded to Ireland with this designation, it does enable regions to unlock new European funding sources and international collaboration opportunities. It also offers new opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to access collaboration domestically and internationally to drive innovation.

Innovation agencies, companies, RPOs and innovation hubs are encouraged to signal their interest in engagement to the relevant Regional Assembly.

• The Northern and Western Region’s transport infrastructure is similar to that of ‘Less Developed’ regions in the EU27

• The Northern and Western Region of Ireland received just 5.7% of investment in infrastructure projects worth more than €20m since 2016

• Investment in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland disproportionate to size of population

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The Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) is urging the government to fast-track the delivery of 13 major infrastructure projects in the Northern and Western Region of Ireland after a new study from the Assembly found that the region is now on par with the least well-off areas of Europe in terms of infrastructure.

The “Regional Infrastructure Tracker” found that investment in areas such as transport, education, housing and energy infrastructure in the Northern and Western Region is below that of its counterparts in Ireland, with the region’s transport infrastructure ranked the 218th out of 234 NUTS 2 Regions examined in the European Commission’s Regional Competitiveness Index.

The NWRA’s ‘Regional Infrastructure Tracker’ has harnessed data from public and private sources to reveal that, since 2016, the Northern and Western Region of Ireland has received less than 10% of the nationwide investment in infrastructure projects worth more than €1m, and just 5.7% of investment from infrastructure projects worth more than €20m, despite accounting for 17.6% of Ireland’s population.

In contrast, the Eastern and Midlands Region of Ireland received 66.5% of investment from projects worth more than €1m, and 75% of those worth more than €20m, despite the region accounting for less than 50% of the population of Ireland.

To bridge the growing infrastructure deficit, the NWRA is recommending that the government ringfence more than half of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the Northern and Western Region of Ireland and prioritise 13 infrastructure projects for the region. These include the delivery of the Donegal T-Ten road project and N17 Knock to Collooney Road Scheme, and the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Collooney.

The report estimates that the total capital cost of delivering these 13 priority projects would range from €4.8 billion to €6.8 billion, which would deliver transformative benefits in areas of climate action, regional development and the all-island economy, while costing considerably less than the overall cost of the Dublin Metro.

The report also calls for a Citizens Assembly to examine how more autonomy can be given to local authorities and regional assemblies to address their own infrastructure deficits. As this work is undertaken, the report recommends that a “Minister for Regional Development” should be designated with a significant budget for delivering key infrastructure priorities.

Denis Kelly, Director with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, said:

“We need to grow the economy in a manner that benefits all regions – not just the few.

Adopting a regional approach for the revised National Planning Framework will be crucial to overcoming these sizeable infrastructure deficits in the Northern and Western Region.

“Delivering on these 13 priority infrastructure projects will go a long way in achieving this. These essential – and urgent – projects include the Donegal Ten-T Projects, the N2 Clontibret to the Border and the A5 road scheme – and the expansion of higher and research education infrastructure assets in the region.

Councillor Jarlath Munnelly, Cathaoirleach with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, said:

“Without this type of regional approach in Ireland, we will inevitably see greater pressures being placed on the Greater Dublin Area

– undermining the quality of life of its residents through excessive demand on public services, higher housing costs and urban sprawl – while also further blunting the economic potential of regions such as the Northern and Western region of Ireland.”

John Daly, Economist with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, said:

“Given the exceptional growth of the Irish economy – and the abundance of exchequer returns in recent years – it is remarkable that the Northern and Western Region of Ireland is in the bottom 20 EU Regions in terms of transport infrastructure.

With notable underinvestment also evident across the region’s higher education, research, water, road and rail network, it is no surprise to see that regional inequalities in Ireland have continued to rise as population, employment and income growth remains overly concentrated around the Greater Dublin Area.

“In addition to this, the level of underinvestment in the region also has the potential to contribute to greater political discontent, with ample research from the OECD noting that rising regional inequalities tend to undermine the trust of regional voters in national governments and lead voters to more extreme political parties or choices. All this considered, the delivery of our 13 priority infrastructure projects – at a cost of between €4.8 to €6.8 billion – represents significant value for money for the State in the long-term, with the delivery of these projects having the potential to rejuvenate our region, while simultaneously supporting our climate targets and growing the all-island economy; all at a cost considerably lower compared to, for example, the latest cost estimates for Dublin Metro.”

The “Regional Infrastructure Tracker” can be downloaded here