Mayor of Clare Councillor Patricia McCarthy today officially launched a major new inter-agency enterprise strategy for County Clare at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis.
‘Collaborating to compete - County Clare Enterprise Strategy’ features six high-level strategic enterprise goals that merge with national policy objectives while seeking to maximise the competitive advantage of enterprise in Clare. ith spatially balanced enterprise development as an overarching objective, the Strategy is underpinned by specific goals aimed at increasing R&D activity in the county, increasing the skills and adaptability of the workforce, increasing the competitiveness and innovation in Clare enterprises, and growing high potential enterprises to scale to enable them to compete globally.
The Community & Enterprise Directorate of Clare County Council will drive the implementation of the County Enterprise Strategy through the establishment of the Enterprise Partnership Forum, which will be chaired by the County Manager and will continue the work of the Enterprise Steering Group. Work has already commenced on implementing the strategy, including actions on Research and Development (R&D), increased third level activity in the county and the development of the community enterprise centres, as well as the development of an annual Clare Enterprise Week.
Councillor Joe Arkins, Chairperson of the Clare County Development Board (CDB), explained the background to the development of the Strategy. “Following a review of the CDB strategy ‘Shaping the Future’ which identified that Clare faced a particular challenge in moving towards a more knowledge-based society, in 2006 the Community & Enterprise Directorate of Clare County Council hosted a major conference aimed at strengthening its remit as the co-ordinating body for enterprise development and to facilitate discussion and networking among the CEOs of the main enterprise support agencies. Following this event, Community & Enterprise contacted the enterprise agency representatives and proposed that an integrated enterprise strategy should be developed for County Clare.”
Commenting on the role of the CDB, he added, “The CDB is based on a partnership model and its strategy for the social, cultural and economic development of County Clare – ‘Shaping the Future’ – is based on a partnership model. I regard ‘Collaborating to Compete’ – the County Clare Enterprise Strategy, to be an extension of this very successful model of co-operation. If agencies act in isolation, duplication and inefficiencies can occur but if they work together we can achieve better outcomes for the people of Clare through a targeted and effective partnership approach.”
A wide range of organisations with a role in enterprise support in County Clare were consulted in the formulation of the strategy document including Clare County Council, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development, FÁS, IDA, Shannon Airport Authority, Clare County Enterprise Board, VEC, IBEC, Rural Resource Development, NUI Galway, University of Limerick, Limerick Clare Energy Agency, Chambers of Commerce, social partners and local companies.
According to Mr Tom Coughlan, Director of Services, Community& Enterprise, Clare County Council, “The Community & Enterprise Directorate of Clare County Council examined and set out the global, national and local context for the development of a strategic action plan. Partners were consulted in order to refine and agree a series of actions for the enterprise strategy.”
Mr. Coughlan, who is also Director of the Clare County Development Board, continued, “By networking the enterprise support agencies, third level institutes, and collaborating with the business community, national objectives and targets for enterprise development can be achieved at county level and Clare can ensure that it extracts maximum benefit from enterprise-related NDP funding. ”
He indicated that the county has traditionally done well in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and that the Strategy seeks to ensure that Clare remains attractive to inward investment by building a strong skills base and developing a knowledge economy.
Joint operational plans for 2008-2010 clearly setting out the specific actions, outputs, timescale, funding sources and target audience have been agreed, and will deliver each of the strategic goals at county level. Commenting on the launch of the Strategy, Mayor of Clare Councillor Patricia McCarthy, said, “I would like to congratulate the Community & Enterprise Directorate of Clare County Council and the inter-agency Enterprise Steering Group, which were assisted by CM International Consultants, for facilitating the development of the County Clare Enterprise Strategy from its inception through the consultative and research process to agreement of the Strategy by all those involved.”
Mayor McCarthy said that the formulation of the Strategy was a unique achievement as it involved national enterprise agencies and local organisations working together. Through this inter-agency networking there will be a sharing of intelligence, which will allow a more strategic approach to the provision of enterprise supports and activities in the county. This will address spatial imbalances, minimise duplication, identify gaps and work towards a highly focused approach to fostering entrepreneurship and creating sustainable and successful enterprises in the county”.
“The process was complicated and has been successful due to the commitment and expertise of those involved. The partners have acknowledged that this inter-agency approach will support the achievement of their own objectives as well as enhancing the competitive advantage of County Clare”, concluded the Mayor.
