Innovation Taskforce

Submissions are invited to the Innovation Taskforce - link here

The Terms of Reference of the Innovation Taskforce are:

In the context of the Government’s Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal, Building Ireland’s Smart Economy and the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, and drawing on lessons from successful international and national models: to examine options to increase levels of innovation and the rates of commercialisation of research and development on a national basis with a view to accelerating the growth and scale-up of indigenous enterprise and to attract new knowledge-intensive direct investment; to bring forward proposals for enhancing the linkages between institutions, agencies and organisations in the public and private sectors to ensure a cohesive innovation and commercialisation ecosystem; to identify any specific policy measures which might be necessary to support the concept of Ireland as an International Innovation Development Hub including in the areas of legislation, educational policy, intellectual property arrangements, venture capital and immigration policy.

Working Groups
Given the potentially large Agenda facing the Group, the relatively limited reporting timeframe of 6 months and the significant expertise and experience of members, it has been decided that the best way to progress the Terms of Reference is through the establishment of a number of focussed Working Groups, which will consider certain aspects of the Work Programme. These Groups are tasked with developing proposals to be considered at plenary meetings and incorporated into a final Report

Group 1: Incentives, intellectual property and venture capital: identifying measures to increase innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship including changes to incentives, venture capital arrangements and IP strategies

Group 2: Commercialisation, technology transfer and converging technologies including examining institutional structures for R&D funding delivery, how to maximise commercialisation of research, increase technology transfer and promote innovation in converging technologies

Group 3: Achieving the Innovation Island - how to position and promote Ireland as the innovation island including attracting entrepreneurs, FDI, international start-ups and private sector R & D investment.

Group 4: International Innovation Development Hub (Dublin): supporting the development of the TCD/UCD Alliance including identifying necessary supporting policy measures.