Reading in the Times, John McManus article about the smart economy, this is not news, just that the Government Task Force which was dominated by Academics and State Agency players, see Frank Devitt assessment.
Nobody wants to admit we have got it wrong and that complex interaction of re igniting the economy, cask flow and confidence has failed and / or there might be another way as we all thankfully come from different view points. So we all have our opinions on how the right outcomes can be achieved, but all diagnosing a different treatment based on our own expertise and diagnosis’s.

But the government our leaders which we all contributed to put in power and remember we deserve the Government we have empowered!

But from the International opinion which states clearly, we have management the situation and made our decision good or bad too slowly and while Brian Lenehan claims we are been penalised for been too open / transparent, its more that we have been too slow in managing and dealing with these aspects which has dragged out our recovery in terms of creating new employment and new revenue to run the country every month. The ECB (European Central Bank) are effectively running Ireland Inc as of the last couple of weeks.
So expect change on a greater scale and I am sure will be spun well by our Ministers as Fianna Fail policy but in reality totally direct by the ECB for the foreseeable future.

So this situation is of our own making and we all have to accept this until we have a chance to select a new Government and personally not too excited by alternatives. So maybe a major opportunity for new entity as suggested by infamous Ed Walsh, University of Limerick ex “CEO” who revolutionised the business model behind that educational body and its operation.

As to employment yes we can do significantly more to speed up the process within current resources and budgets, may mean some relocation and re focus of resources.
How this will work is around driving growth in greater numbers of our business leaders across a broader range of enterprises, with ultimate goals of exports. So this is in addition to Enterprise Ireland but needs to link up three core elements:-

1. seed capital risk investment bank
2. linked with existing eco innovation activities, regionally and nationally, educational bodies, state agencies, networks and representative bodies
3. funding payments staged and linked to program involvement with support mentored of business activities, specially around the application of Market (user) Led Innovation tools and techniques. As this has a proven and short business impact in delivering business growth.

Need a high level Attach team formed Authorised at the highest level to drive an intense set of co ordinate activities to deliver a program to create conditions for revenue growth and employment growth in parallel with our Smart Economy Plan. So Plan B embedded Plan A.

The Government Task Force Report mentioned the potential growth that can be generated from High Potential Technical Start Ups, using examples from America around high tech clusters. While I see the theory and the high level policy aspect of doing this, I also know the mindset of business leaders, what motivates them and how they view opportunities and many times fail to realise their own return on their own investments of time and energy.

I see a great swell of mindset change on the ground in business leaders – they have stopped waiting for things to happen and we are starting to create our own change within aspects of our business and our customers. This needs to be captured and turned to positive energy in creating new business opportunities for export, specifically for Ireland Inc in creating revenue and employment.

Currently there is very little support for them and business leaders will not pay for new programs – unless they get value and impact for their business, so training or listening to consultants is not on their agenda.

So programs that deliver hands on interventions on how to apply practical (and as I term) NON TECHNICAL INNOVATION tools and techniques to help them get from A to B with their vision / plans / opportunities.

But don’t expect them to pay, cash flow is serious issues for every indigenous business, so payment when you deliver tangible inputs and results.

Other barriers or hurdles, as I like to call them, as I show my clients how to go under as well as over – I have had one business colleague who recently turned down by one of our major banks for extra overdraft for 65k to complete client work, ended up going to a minister who intervened and got approval. Naturally hefty personal guarantees from third parties were required for same.

Some thing seriously wrong if we have to go to minister to get loan approval and then they get granted at different level – what criteria had changed?

Others I am directly dealing with now involve getting funding from outside of Ireland and this is great but carries risks for Ireland Inc in lost revenue and employment with two high tech businesses relocated to London and another keeping a token presence here for patent revenue requirements.

So what to do, Task Force and reports are all very good, but need a core team to drive this activity at the highest level across all agencies and align policy with programs and make collaborations a reality with great urgency.

This team must command respect and have excellent Project Mangers, sure they must be some in Different Departments who could drivers of this type of activity.

We have all the resources we need in Ireland already and all the finance we need either buried in personal accounts which need tax breaks, EU funds and then the right type of risk and SME focused business bank mindset which links funding with assigned staged interventions and joined up thinking between a team and program of coordinated activities.

This can not be done easily or readily by the current incumbents as need a new and higher level Attack Team as I would like to call them – to create new ways of doing things and deliver on faster return to economic growth and turn in our employment back to creating sustainable jobs – in the short term ( next 9 to 18 months) .

Minister Lenihan said that his assessment is for economic growth this year. There are some difficulties, the minister recognises, but the public also need to look at positive aspects of the economic performance. He indicated the increase in unemployment figurers would end.

He is right, the context I am experience is indigenous businesses are exploring seeking new business opportunities and many realising at long last that exporting is the only sustainable option. But this is a complex process and requires the linking up of many different factors to deliver success, and no guidance on the best tools and techniques to use.

Up to now we have quite rightly built up our levels into Research and Development, which I term as technical innovation (38m allocated to HEI this year) – but Booze Allan Hamilton show that outcome from this investment is longterm ( min 5 years, tpically 15 years and ROI of 3%) and with 455,000 unemployed, this is not a good bet on its own.

What we need to balance this with non technical innovation tools around identifying unmet and hidden customer and market needs ( called Demand or Market led Innovation) and also developing innovative business models that can create these significant value offerings, capture this value within the business and deliver it effectively through using new revenue streams and collaborations. Like combining a Michael O ‘Leary with new technology, this is the trick we have ignored.

Some facts to evidence this by:-

“Analysis of data shows however that more than 50% of innovative firms innovate without performing R&D” Source: Innobarometer 2007 Survey

“These companies however are growing at the same rate as their R&D counterparts, through the use of alternative creative & design activities and processes to bring products and services to market”

Source: Commission of The European Communities, Design as a Driver of User Centred Design 2009

However hope is on the horizon as Enterprise Ireland are reviewing these tools and techniques and possible piloting programs around there use, but needs to happen faster, we need to allocate significant more funding.

But all this is happening in a unplanned fashion which is delaying our route to recover, there are some good regional initiatives underway around different themes and also getting educational bodies and enterprises to work together.

But without an intensive set of program run regionally – every thing will happen in slow motion and that means reduced revenue intake for the Government and extending our journey to economic recovery and a turn in employment by a needless 18 – 24 months.

This practical two day workshop using design thinking principles will guide you on looking at your company and markets in new ways and show you exercises on how to transform your business, allowing you to generate new revenue models for existing and new markets.

What you and your colleagues will get from this workshop:
* Bring new innovation practices into your business
* Create sustainable business models for generating new revenue
* Rapidly amend existing offerings to tap into new markets
* Take skills learned to easily prototype and create new products and offerings

Using the massively expanding travel security market as an example (though these principles work for all industries) we’ll see how marketing companies, training companies, web service developers, lighting manufacturers and dozens more company types can all bring their products and services into this market.

InterTradeIreland have commissioned industry experts, INNOVATOR and Centre for Irish & European Security, to design and run this workshop.

The workshop will be most relevant to SMEs from all business sectors whose focus is:
Short to medium new business opportunities
Delivering services, products and processes which meet real customer needs

For this programme, the tarket market was the Civil Security Sector. This sector is valued at €26bn in Europe alone and is growing at 5% per annum. Having only scratched the surface, we have uncovered 15 new business opportunities, all of which have been validated as “unmet needs” by lead customers. These opportunities, along with key insights will be presented by civil security experts.

INNOVATOR and the Centre for Irish & European Security are available to provide expert mentoring & support to interested companies, throughout and on completion of the programme. More info on Innovator website.

“Whether its a start up or an existing business, you will find all the inspiration you need to do better business all under one roof” is the show theme. The show will host seminars from Entrepreneurs and Panel discussions with a cross section of industry experts and Entrepreneurs. There will also be an array of service providers to help businesses start up or enhance the ones they have. The “Invest Test” area will feature businesses looking for investment, judged by a live panel of industry experts including 5 UK and Irish Dragons Den Investors.

Last September, the Innovation Task Force requested submissions of “concrete policy proposals to assist in Ireland?s transformation to an International Innovation Hub” and “any relevant information which would be of assistance”. 108 people agreed to have their submissions published online. I’ve uploaded Innovators submission and am waiting to see the Task Force’s Final report which is due to be pulished early 2010.
INNOVATOR-Innovation Task Force Submission