The BMW Region Innovation Audit study (Note 26) examined the level of innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups and company performance in the region. Key conclusions of concern were that:
volume of new start-up businesses in the BMW region is well below the national average and only half that in the S&E region;
the BMW region is less entrepreneurial than the S&E region;
the BMW region is significantly below the national level based on the number of innovative companies; and
level of R&D is low and tends only to be a part-time activity.
On this basis, it could be considered that the BMW region is less entrepreneurial than the S&E region. This is due to a number of factors:
there are slightly more manufacturing companies, pro rata in the BMW region;
the BMW region has more traditional and fewer high-tech firms than the S&E region;
it also has smaller companies generally; and
it has fewer internationally traded service companies.
The challenge this poses for the region’s economy is highlighted in the recently published report of the Small Business Forum (Note 27). This highlights the key role of small and start-up businesses as engines of economic growth. Key points of interest from this report are that:
over 97% of businesses operating in Ireland today are defined as ‘small’ as they employ fewer than 50 people;
there are approximately 250,000 small businesses in Ireland, of which c. 60,000 (24%) are in the BMW region; and
they account for over 70% of gross value added (GVA) in construction and 34% of GVA in indigenous manufacturing.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report for 2005 (Note 28) indicates an increase in entrepreneurial activity among women. However, the proportion of women who have recently set up new businesses is low compared with the number set up by men and is also low by international standards. The challenge is to ensure that new business ideas emerging from all sources are translated into self-sustaining businesses.
The European Innovation Scoreboard (Note 29) indicates that Ireland is below the EU average in terms of innovation. Selected indicators of R&D performance at regional and national level, compared with EU averages are provided in Table 3.8. This data indicates that the BMW region is below the national average in terms of R&D expenditure from all sources and considerably below the EU average. Ireland performs better than the EU average in terms of the percentage of innovation-active firms, the proportion of science and technology graduates and the proportion of women researchers in the research community, but falls short of the Barcelona targets.
| Table 3.8 Selected Indicators of Regional R&D Performance compared with state and EU in 2003 | ||||
EU25 |
Ireland |
BMW Region |
Barcelona Target |
|
| Total expenditure on R&D as % GDP | 1.9 |
1.16 |
0.92 |
3.0 |
| Business Enterprise Expenditure on R&D as % GDP | 1.22 |
0.77 |
0.65 |
2.0 |
| Government Expenditure on R%D as % GDP | 0.25 |
0.09 |
0.08 |
n.a |
| Higher Education Expenditure on R&D as % GDP | 0.41 |
0.29 |
0.20 |
n.a |
| % of Innovation-active Enterprises | 42% (EU27) |
52% |
50% |
n.a |
| Patents per million of population | 127.9 (EU27) |
77.3 |
n.a |
n.a |
| Science and Technology Graduates per (000s) | 12.4 (EU27) |
23.1 |
n.a |
n.a |
| Share of Women Researchers | 25.8 (EU27) |
27.8 |
n.a |
n.a |
| Source: Eurostat, 2007 | ||||
The key challenges for the BMW region, if it is to compete internationally in knowledge economy activities are to develop its Institutes of Technology as applied research and innovation centres, improve the quality of its graduates and to develop clusters of activity around each of the IoTs which are located in each of the region's Gateways. In addition, research activities should stimulate greater business R&D activity, particularly in indigenous firms. A further challenge is to facilitate the territorialisation of research activity within the region. Experience in Ireland and internationally suggests that high-added value clusters tend to locate around third level institutes that undertake high quality research and produce high calibre graduates. The BMW region is at a clear disadvantage given that its sole University is in Galway. While Galway City and its hinterland have been successful at attracting this type of activity other clusters in the region tend to be relatively weak.
The Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) which is the government and EU co-funded major research funding programme launched in 1998/99 and administered by the Higher Education Authority, provides a good illustration of this. The Programme allocates funding on a competitive basis to third-level institutions. Three cycles of funding have been allocated to-date. Table 3.9 presents a detailed regional breakdown of research funding under the PRTLI Cycles 1-3 in relation to the research centres and institutes funded. NUI Galway performed well in this competition and already hosts several internationally significant research centres and is engaged in a wide range of collaborative basic and applied research projects with industry. Despite the success of NUI Galway, the region as a whole performed badly and the IoTs have failed to attract significant research funding.
| Table 3.9 Breakdown of PRTLI Funding Allocated under Cycles 1-3 by Institutions - €000 | ||||
| Institution and Region | Total Funding Allocated by Cycle | |||
Cycle 1 |
Cycle 2 |
Cycle 3 |
Total |
|
| BMW | ||||
| NUI Galway | 19,562 |
11,405 |
36,568 |
67,535 |
| Institute of Technology, Sligo | 0 |
644 |
2,539 |
3,183 |
| Athlone Institute of Technology | 2,254 |
0 |
0 |
2,254 |
| Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Dundalk Institute of Technology | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Letterkenny Institute of Technology | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| BMW Total | 21,816 |
12,049 |
39,107 |
72,972 |
| S&E | ||||
| University College Cork | 26,809 |
16,904 |
79,486 |
123,199 |
| University College Dublin | 31,153 |
34,202 |
45,583 |
110,938 |
| Trinity College Dublin | 49,414 |
812 |
58,663 |
108,889 |
| Royal College of Surgeons | 10,998 |
9,364 |
44,822 |
65,184 |
| Dublin City University | 28,501 |
0 |
34,283 |
62,784 |
| University of Limerick | 14,483 |
0 |
1,269 |
15,752 |
| NUI Maynooth | 11,263 |
2,712 |
0 |
13,975 |
| Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies | 0 |
0 |
11,808 |
11,808 |
| Dublin Institute of Technology | 10,412 |
0 |
0 |
10,412 |
| Waterford Institute of Technology | 0 |
0 |
4,951 |
4,951 |
| Cork Institute of Technology | 0 |
2,437 |
0 |
2,437 |
| S&E Total | 183,033 |
66,431 |
280,865 |
530,329 |
| % of total PRTLI | 89% |
85% |
88% |
88% |
| TOTAL | 204,849 |
78,480 |
319,972 |
603,301 |
Source: The Higher Education Authority, based on Programme data as at October 2003 |
||||
Note: These are the latest available data as the PRTLI Cycle 4 proposals are scheduled to be approved in 2007 |
||||
Note 26 Audit of Innovation in the BMW Region, BMW Regional Assembly http://www.bmwassembly.ie/innovative_actions/Audit_Reports_2004.htm
Note 27 Small Business Forum (2006) ‘Small Business is Big Business’ http://www.smallbusinessforum.ie
Note 28 GEM Report available at www.gemconsortium.org
Note 29 The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) measures innovation performances across the European Union
