Irish Sea Rim Sustainable Funding Model

For the Irish Sea Rim to be successful, it is essential to develop and implement a sustainable and distributed funding and investment model, which is not wholly dependent of any single government, industry, region, or source. This will provide stability beyond electoral cycles, support cross-border buy-in, and maintain the independence of the Irish Sea Rim. We anticipate that this model could comprise two overlapping phases, with a graduated evolution from third party core investment to a self-sustaining membership and project-based model (Figure 29.1).

Figure 29.1: Irish Sea Rim Sustainable Funding Model

In the immediate term (0-1 year), we will seek to secure core set up funding from governmental and private sources to enable Irish Sea Rim-wide launch and roundtable events in the key cities around the region. This will serve three main objectives – place-based engagement across the whole quadruple helix, identifying synergies and making connections between regions, and identifying and co-producing large scale projects for Local Innovation Partnership Fund and, potentially, UK-SHORE programme applications. We expect the core set up funding to taper over the first 1-2 years as the Irish Sea Rim secures project-based funding in the UK and Ireland.

This will provide a strong foundation on which the Irish Sea Rim can build medium (2-3 years) - to long-term (5+ years) financial sustainability through consultancy and continuing professional development, expansion of place-based innovation projects, EU funding in partnership with Ireland, and the membership model which will form the basis of the Irish Sea Rim’s stable, recurrent funding. Figure 29.2 provides an estimated roadmap for short term-versus long term funding plans.

PHASE 1: THIRD PARTY CORE / MATCH FUNDING

The Irish Sea Rim Ltd. is a wholly independent organisation set up to represent the interests of each of the six Governments, and to drive place-based innovation across the entire Irish Sea Region, with the aim of supporting the creation of 100,000 new jobs and £1 billion in investment. The Irish Sea Rim is an industry- and place-focussed Investment, Innovation and Enterprise Zone and while we will align with all universities in the region, this is not a university-funded initiative. The medium- to long-term aim is for the Irish Sea Rim to create a sustainable recurrent income source through a membership model and digital platform, alongside a public / private blend of consultancy-, project-, and event-based income.

To enable the Irish Sea Rim to recruit and retain core staff, engage stakeholders across the six countries, cover set-up and administrative costs, and undertake the critical mapping and digital platform development which will support the sustainable funding model, we recommend that the Irish Sea Rim is supported through immediate core funding and tapered investment for the first 1-2 years. To ensure that the interests of each country and region can be represented, and that the Irish Sea Rim can maintain its neutral, apolitical identity, we believe that it is critical for each of the six governments of the Irish Sea Rim to contribute to this investment. It may be relevant to allocate funding according to an algorithm, for instance based on population and / or size.

PHASE 2: SELF-SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MODEL

We anticipate that, from year 2, we will start to graduate to a sustainable funding model based on three main categories of funding: recurrent, opportunity based, and event-based income (Figures 29.1-29.3).

• RECURRENT INCOME: This will primarily come from a membership model, delivered in part through the ISR50 Digital Membership Platform outlined in Section 27. Within 3 years we anticipate that this membership model will fund the core staffing contingent and operating costs of the Irish Sea Rim, providing a long-term sustainable funding source. This will be supported through a specific Data Insights and Access Model and underpinned by the Irish Sea Mapping exercise outlined in Section 26. The transition from the initial core investment to independent membership-based funding is outlined in Figure 29.2.
• OPPORTUNITY-BASED INCOME: This will come from two main sources: 1) private industry consulting and executive education, coaching, continuing professional development (CPD) and training and 2) public / private project-based funding. We have initiated conversations with Innovate UK regarding the role which the Irish Sea Rim could play in supporting the development and delivery of Local Innovation Partnership Fund earmarked strand projects in the key regions of Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Glasgow City Region, Cardiff Capital Region and the Belfast/Derry-Londonderry corridor in Northern Ireland, and also in competitive strand projects in other regions around the Irish Sea.

We will work with funders and academic and business partners to develop additional needs-based collaborative projects and have already submitted a bid to the CyberFocus programme in partnership with the University of Cumbria. We will contribute to EU projects through partners in Ireland. Finally, we are keen to work with Catapults and Governments in each region to design and deliver commissioned projects related to place-based regional economic development. Figures 29.4-29.8 illustrate a non-exhaustive range of potential direct and collaborative opportunity-based funding sources.

• EVENT BASED-INCOME: Over time, the Irish Sea Rim plans to establish recurring events, from hybrid Business Breakfasts, networking events, to an annual conference. To ensure accessibility for startups and SMEs, we will establish a graded costing model, supported by core funds (in the first instance) and industry sponsorship. As outlined in Section 27, the Irish Sea Rim Cycle Race will be accompanied by a touring Business Expo, which is expected to generate significant income in sponsorship, and will support the development of new partnerships and collaborative opportunity-based funding, alongside increasing recurrent membership income.

Figure 29.4 Irish Sea Rim Opportunity-Based Funding Sources

We also anticipate that the Irish Sea Rim will act as a funding repository and networking conduit, signposting connections, funding and investment opportunities, and providing introductions. Our goal is to align cross-border policy and investment and support the synchronisation of regional and national innovation programmes, to unlock resources and create a seamless environment for business, research and skills development across the Irish Sea Rim. The independence and agility of the Irish Sea Rim, and our relationships with all levels and regions around the Irish Sea mean that we will be well-placed to respond to new project-based and consultancy opportunities as they arise.

Figure 29.5: Potential Irish Sea Rim Funding Sources – UK-wide

Figure 29.6: Potential Irish Sea Rim Funding Sources – Ireland

Figure 29.7: Potential Irish Sea Rim Funding Sources – Isle of Man

Figure 29.8: Potential Irish Sea Rim Funding Sources – devolved nations / regional

STAFFING MODEL

To ensure that the Irish Sea Rim is adaptable, collaborative, efficient, fit-for-purpose, and cost-effective, we plan to keep the organisation as lean as possible. Beyond a small initial core staff, we will work with partners and recruit Consultancy Associates in each of the countries that make up the Irish Sea Rim as needed to deliver on specific projects. This will allow the Irish Sea Rim to grow organically and evolve as necessary to meet the needs of the region and its stakeholders. Individual budget and staffing plans will be created for each project, as well as for the Irish Sea Rim as a whole.