Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
129. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way the performance of the disruptive technologies innovation fund will be assessed and the output of the research and development activity to ensure value for money for taxpayers', given that €235 million has been awarded to private companies in the first three calls for the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55507/21]
View answerThe Government established the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) in 2018 as one of four National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2027 Funds under Project Ireland 2040. It is aimed at encouraging collaboration and innovation in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies, on a commercial basis, targeted at tackling national and global challenges. It is managed by my Department and administered by Enterprise Ireland.
DTIF focuses on the ability of Irish SMEs to drive disruptive innovation through collaboration on research with other SMEs, multinationals and research institutions. The Fund is open to partnerships working together on projects that have the potential to significantly alter markets or the way businesses operate.
The €235 million allocated in the first three calls of the fund has been disbursed across 270 project partners from the enterprise sector and research performing organisations across the country. A key condition of DTIF is that the amounts allocated by my Department must be matched by private sector investment.
In November 2020 the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) completed and published a Spending Review of the Fund, which is available on their website. The review was a comprehensive evaluation of the Fund aimed at systematically assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of DTIF and ensuring that the Fund remains in alignment with its policy objectives. The review acknowledged a strong rationale for a publicly funded programme making significant investments in disruptive technologies which are high-risk, high-return. It found that the programme is working towards achieving its stated objectives, including maintaining a focus on collaboration and building on publicly-funded research.
The Spending Review also set out a proposed framework – a Programme Logic Model (PLM) – for measuring the impact of the DTIF in the years ahead particularly as the first projects come to fruition from mid-2022. This PLM maps out the logical steps and associated key performance indicators (KPIs) in terms of the inputs, activities, outputs and final outcomes and impacts which emerge through the implementation of a programme.
The Spending Review also made a recommendation for a review examining on the processes of the Fund. This review, which is currently underway and is due for completion in January 2022, will provide feedback on participants’ experiences of DTIF to date and will set out in more detail the processes required to embed and operationalise the aforementioned PLM to ensure that it aligns with existing reporting mechanisms and avoids unnecessary duplication. On completion of the review, we expect that any additional recommendations arising from the review, with regard to measuring the impact of the programme, will be in place before the first projects are completed in mid-2022.
My Department will continue to engage with the IGEES on further reviews of the Fund over its lifetime to ensure that it continues to meet its objectives and achieve value for money.
