Services Innovation in Ireland - Options for ... - Europe INNOVA

However, it is important to recognise that technological innovation, particularly in the use and
development of ICT, may also be highly relevant to the types of services innovation identified in
earlier Chapters, particularly to the development of new customer interfaces. Furthermore, analysis
of the support mechanisms and priorities put into place reveals that the NDP support for enterprises,
marketing and FDI implicitly supports services innovation such as the development of new business
models and concepts and service delivery and customer interfaces. Similarly, ‘Ahead of the Curve’
makes an important contribution in its recognition of the multifaceted nature of services innovation.
5.3 National Agency Innovation Strategy and Support
The importance of innovation in the knowledge economy has been similarly recognised in the
strategies of Irish national agencies notably, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. For example, IDA
Ireland’s strategy for attracting foreign direct investment has, in recent years, increasingly focused
on its role in developing Ireland as a knowledge economy, in particular the IT and Biopharmaceutical
sectors. As part of this strategy IDA Ireland provides a number of services to client companies that
support their investment in R&D and innovation in Ireland. This includes introducing potential
investors to local enterprises, government, service providers and research institutions, as well as the
provision of specific innovation supports such as Research and Capability grants (similar to Enterprise
Ireland), the Innovation Partnership initiative and the RTI initiative. These may be used to help
services companies develop new services or new business models particularly where this involves
collaboration with Irish universities or Institutes of Technology. In addition, IDA Ireland also works
with niche companies and innovators with a unique product or service offering.
In all these areas, according to IDA personnel, both manufacturing and internationally traded service
companies are well represented. IDA Ireland managers indicate that, in their view, its flexible, client
centred approach is able to cater for innovation needs of all types, within both manufacturing
companies and internationally traded services sectors. IDA Ireland is continuing to develop its
thinking in this area as highlighted by its response to a recent OECD survey:
"IDA is aware that the process of technology development and innovation within services
companies is generally less compartmentalised than in manufacturing where dedicated R&D units
often play a leading role. In services, technology development is more heavily focused on the
customer interface and shaped by quite rapid product/service life cycles and a strong emphasis on
design. The appropriate way in which to encourage innovation in the internationally-traded services
sector is the subject of on-going work within IDA." 87
This recognition of the differences between innovation processes in manufacturing and services
helps to elucidate the value of this Forfás study to future policy development in the area of
services innovation.
Enterprise Ireland is charged with a mission to ‘accelerate the development of world-class companies
to achieve strong positions in global markets resulting in increased and regional prosperity. This is
based around three broad strands of activity (Figure 4).
87 OECD ‘Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2004 country response to policy questionnaire: Ireland’, p. 7.
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