Forfas 2009 - The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use

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achieved together with other measures which increase Ireland's overall economic
performance.
Enhanced Agency Collaboration
<strong>The</strong> enterprise development agencies play a key role in stimulating entrepreneurship and the
development of new businesses, facilitating the expansion of existing companies, and
targeting FDI through a broad range of initiatives. Acknowledging that there are already
many instances of collaborative cross agency working, the Department of Enterprise, Trade
and Employment (DETE) wanted to identify ways in which this could be enhanced further to
optimise the collective resources, capabilities and knowledge of the agencies in a more
strategic way to the benefit of client companies. Forfás provided support to the DETE review
and highlighted areas for action.
Actions to Enhance Agency Collaboration
Many of the actions identified involve formalising a number of initiatives already in place, and
embedding a pervasive culture of collaborative action across the agencies. <strong>The</strong> agencies
work together to ensure that the client perspective and business needs are not compromised
by agency structures and operating procedures. Acts include:
A more structured cross agency ‘on-the-ground’ approach to the development of
sectors is being piloted. It aims to:
increase awareness of the full complement of companies, capabilities and capacities
in support of international marketing programmes;
stimulate effective networking and linkages between foreign and indigenous firms;
and
facilitate the inclusion of indigenous firms on itineraries for foreign firms, and
therefore potential IDA clients.
Procedures to manage transfer of client companies from the portfolio of one agency to
another have been revised resulting in a more proactive approach and a significantly
reduced timeframe.
Newly acquired foreign companies, which were previously indigenous, transfer to IDA’s
portfolio. Mechanisms are being developed to facilitate access to some Enterprise
Ireland supports, such as involvement in trade missions, marketing and leadership skills
programmes, where it is deemed to be of benefit to the firms’ strategic development.
A cross agency information sharing team has been established to drive a systematic
approach to collating, updating, sharing and disseminating information that is relevant
to all agencies. A ‘do once, disseminate widely’ across all agencies approach is being
taken.
A more structured and proactive approach has been recommended in the recently
completed Regional Competitiveness Agendas (page 57) to bring together the relevant
stakeholders, expertise and competences to stimulate balanced regional development
based on realising the potential of the regions.