1. 15-Sep-15 1 DEVELOPING COMPETITIVENESS IN IRELAND DAVID LOVEGROVE Bogota, Colombia 16 September 2008

2. 15-Sep-15 2 Tackling Competitiveness Need to address at three levels: 1) Competitiveness in an Enterprise Policy Development context 2) Competitiveness at National Level 3)Competitiveness at Company Level

3. 15-Sep-15 3 1. COMPETITIVENESS IN AN ENTERPRISE POLICY DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT

4. 15-Sep-15 4 1. The Enterprise Policy Development Process 1Vision (The Big Picture) 2Strategy (The what needs to be Done) 3Policy Development (The How it will be Done) 4 Empowerment (Actually doing it) Implementation and Structures Resources

5. 15-Sep-15 5 The Enterprise Development Process Vision: The “Big Picture” -Making Colombia the No. 1 location for FDI in South America -Doubling GDP per capita by 2025 Strategy: Sets out how the vision will be achieved….By creating the most competitive business environment in South America

6. 15-Sep-15 6 The Enterprise Development Process Policy Development: Sets out exactly what will have to be put in place to give effect to the Strategic Plan and create competitive business environment: - Public sector policy reform - Education policy reform - Regulatory environment - Legislative framework - Competitive business environment - Support systems for Enterprise - Competitive incentive package

7. 15-Sep-15 7 The Enterprise Development Process Implementation: Empowerment The legal and legislative underpinning of the process that allows the actions necessary to achieve the desired results to be undertaken Commitment by Government to providing the infrastructure necessary to achieve the outcomes

8. 15-Sep-15 8 The Enterprise Development Process Implementation: Resources The financial and other resources that are required to achieve the desired results, despite strong and competing demands from all sources of the economy And, most importantly,DON’T wait for the perfect solution….it never appears. Implement, learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward.

9. 15-Sep-15 9 2. Partnership Process  Born from chaos in 1987: Ireland Inc. on the brink on ruin.  Coming together of three pillars of the economy: Government Employers Unions Everyone gave a lot and took little  Shared analysis and agreement on way forward  Wage restraint through lower personal taxation  Critically important to Ireland’s competitiveness  All economic policy developed within Partnership Process

10. 15-Sep-15 10 3. Drivers of Change  Innovation in strategy and policy formulation led to FDI driven growth, plus support for domestic sector Hardware: IDA Ireland and Forfas  Competitiveness achieved through Partnership and Government constantly addressing issues to facilitate business Hardware: Forfas and Competitiveness Council Collective software was our ability to innovate

11. 15-Sep-15 11 2. COMPETITIVENESS AT NATIONAL LEVEL

12. 15-Sep-15 12 The National Competitiveness Council (NCC)  History  Terms of Reference  Composition  NCC Competitiveness Framework  Key NCC Outputs  Modus Operandi

13. 15-Sep-15 13 The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) History  Established by Government in 1994  Emerged from Social Partnership  Focus on competitiveness and addressing emerging issues Terms of Reference  Manages own work programme, but required to produce: Annual report on competitiveness policy (Challenge) Annual report on competitiveness benchmarking (ACR) Other studies requested by the Minister and Prime Minister

14. 15-Sep-15 14 NCC Composition  Current membership is 16 Appointed by Minister Representatives from employers, academia and trade unions Appointees from diverse businesses - CEO level CEO of Forfas  Assistant Secretary Advisors Ministry of the Prime Minister Ministry of Finance Ministry of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Ministry of Transport Ministry of Environment and Local Government Ministry of Education and Science  Forfás Secretariat 5 Staff (Manager, 3 Economists, 1 Business Analyst) Support for entire organisation and development agencies

15. 15-Sep-15 15 NCC Competitiveness Framework

16. 15-Sep-15 16 Annual Competitiveness Report  An Annual report which draws attention to emerging issues and recommends policy changes 16 countries benchmarked (12 EU AND 4 others) 128 indicators 5 input and 2 output areas (growth and trade) 23 sub-categories

17. 15-Sep-15 17 Competitiveness Challenge  Brings forward evidence from Annual report  Key competitiveness policy document  5 “input” areas examined  Key recommendations made to Government  Is the result of detailed studies by the Council

18. 15-Sep-15 18 Impact on Investment Policies  Advises Government on strategic areas for the future  Pushes for allocation of resources to do the job: Development agencies National priorities Focus on creating pro-business environment to facilitate investment and enterprise sector. Ensuring correct skills match in place

19. 15-Sep-15 19 Competitiveness Policy Formulation in Institutional Context Government Ministry Enterprise IrelandIDA Ireland Science Foundation Ireland Private Sector Consultation Policy Formulation Private Sector Consultation

20. 15-Sep-15 20 Competitiveness in National Context  Need to look to medium/long term  Must be sustained over time  Need to capture private sector information  Ability to reflect information in policy documents for Government  Important to have effective communications channels into decision makers  Implementation is critical to continued support from private sector

21. 15-Sep-15 21 3. COMPETITIVENESS AT COMPANY LEVEL

22. 15-Sep-15 22 Competitiveness at company level 4 Key Activities for Success  National Priority  Government Support Systems  Adequate Training Facilities  Institutional Structures

23. 15-Sep-15 23 Competitiveness at company level National Priority  Competitiveness for domestic companies – very important  Government constantly listening to the requirements of private sector  Allocate resources to helping companies to become more competitive – Ireland very pro-active here  Aim at facilitation rather than regulation  An issue for the Prime Minister

24. 15-Sep-15 24 Competitiveness at company level Government Support Systems  Constantly examine support systems to ensure they are relevant: Project Identification National Linkage Programme Technology Transfer Programmes Mentoring Export Promotion

25. 15-Sep-15 25 Competitiveness at company level Adequate Training Facilities  Entrepreneurship training…..the next generation of SMEs  Training for both management and operatives very important  Part of on – going programme of development  Introduce new technologies and thinking

26. 15-Sep-15 26 Competitiveness at company level Institutional Structures  Requires dedicated Agency with skilled staff  Companies need hand-holding  Good advice is better than money!  Aim at holistic approach addressing all aspects of the company  Constantly work with companies to facilitate development

27. 15-Sep-15 27 Conclusions  In a globalised economy, essential to be aware of competitveness rankings (and deficiencies) and be “Quick on your feet”  Establishing foundations for economic success requires patience and commitment and knowing where you are going  But globalisation means that economic turnaround can happen very quickly also easy to get caught out  Establishing a shared vision and policy coherence is key to developing a competitive economy  A Competitiveness Council is a very important institution in helping to establish an enterprise friendly environment