Launchpad Cluster Management - Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland (NI) Health and Life Sciences (HLS) sector presents an emerging cluster combining expertise, infrastructure, academia and industry across a DBT designated area of High Potential Opportunity: in Precision Medicine, Biomarkers and Diagnostics. Historically, there has been a disjointed local approach with a lack of industrial capacity in specific areas due to a decade of under-investment.

To address this the NI region has been awarded a HLS launchpad in recognition of the emerging cluster of \>250 R&D intensive, high-growth potential life sciences SMEs (Life Sciences superclusters for global Britain 2021). Levelling up NI HLS GVA with the rest of the UK represents a percentage uplift of 93% and a ~200-fold return on investment against the total Innovate UK Launchpad fund.

The Health Innovation Research Alliance (HIRANI) is a pan-Northern Ireland not-for profit alliance of industry, Health (H&SC), NI's 2 universities (Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University), and government stakeholders working to unlock growth for health and prosperity. HIRANI is already deeply embedded across the NI cluster and acts as a single voice, promoting capabilities and priorities. Recognition of this meant HIRANI successfully led the original NI £7.5M Launchpad consortium bid with Invest-Northern Ireland (I-NI) and 5 NI councils covering 99% of HLS businesses. We are now making an application to leverage our resources developed over the last 3 years, including significant connections, assets, and cluster insights to apply for the management organisation for HLS Launchpad. This represents excellent value for money and creates significant additionality and sustainability potential, as it builds on significant assets.

To enhance the productivity and growth of this sector, we propose to design a Launchpad programme that incorporates existing business-led programmes and the sector-specific needs of the cluster: skills, collaboration and external networking. Key deliverables to strengthen the cluster innovation pipeline over the Launchpad (and several sustainable beyond 2 years) include:-

1. Recruitment of our first innovation manager to align and develop bespoke wrap-around HLS business support to promote R&D from spin-outs to SMEs and engage large industry
2. A regional mentoring network (60+hours)
3. 10 skills development workshops, clinics with RTOs, KTN-Catapults, Life-Science/business leaders
4. An online sector platform to map and measure longitudinal cluster growth and impacts
5. Promotional activities to showcase success, impacts, including celebrating diversity to encourage underrepresented groups/communities
6. Kick-off and annual events with another Launchpad/cluster

This proposal has full support from HIRANI founding organisations and local civic leadership, including Belfast-region, Armagh-Banbridge-Craigavon, Newry-Mourne-&-Down and Derry-Strabane Councils.