Speech by Mr. John McGuinness, T.D., Minister for Trade and Commerce at the Innovation and Standards Supporting Enterprise Seminar

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am very happy to be here today and I’d like to thank NSAI for inviting me to speak about innovation in Ireland and to launch NSAI’s Guide to Good Practice in Innovation and Product Development Processes.

The scale and impact of the global economic downturn reminds us that the challenges facing Ireland's prosperity in the current time are complex and dynamic. The investment Ireland has made in research and development now provides a core foundation as we weather economic difficulties and look to regaining sustainable future growth. 

Simply put, this seminar is about Innovation. Innovation is about coming up with new ideas to create value, and putting these ideas to work in our businesses and everyday lives. Innovation can be found not only in research and development departments and high technology industries but also on farms where new tools are being used to increase crop yields, and within organisations that are applying new methods to improve production and increase their competitiveness. Innovation is not always about new inventions, it is about imaginative solutions to everyday problems. Innovative businesses are those that take ideas and make them grow, successfully.

The long-term sustainability of the Irish economy will be founded on the excellence of the products and services we produce in this country. Therefore, innovation is not only critical to business, trade and the economy, it is critical to the future prosperity of Ireland. While individual and corporate enterprise is the prime source of innovation, public policy has important supporting role.

Our current economic challenges drive home the critical importance of investing in the protection of our future competitive advantage. Our choice is clear.  Future Irish competitive strength will rely on our ability to foster a culture of ideas and innovation and in our capacity to translate these into commercial successes.  

Innovation will contribute powerfully to competitive advantage and will help to increase productivity in various ways, such as more consumer driven innovative products and services as well as the evolution of new business models, new organisational structures and new work practices.

The Government is committed to creating the conditions in this country in which innovation can flourish. The Vision of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation is that Ireland, by 2013, will be internationally renowned for its research and be at the forefront in generating and using new knowledge for economic and social progress, within an innovation driven culture. The significant infrastructure investment underpinning the Strategy over the 2007-2013 period will be central to economic recovery and the commercialisation of our research investment will allow us to build a sustainable enterprise base, underpinned by productive innovation activity across the economy.

Our policy on innovation, as enunciated in our Policy Statement published in June 2008, “Innovation in Ireland” , is a prescription which advocates that we bring knowledge and innovation into everything we make, do and sell. We are investing in companies, we are sharing the cost of Research and Development, and we are continuously working to create a supportive business environment for innovation. We will also be putting innovation at the core of our public procurement practices to catalyse business innovation activity and to foster an innovation culture in both the economy and in society. The recently launched Government Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal, “Building the Smart Economy”, identifies the measures that will help to promote economic stabilisation and restructure the economy over the next few years. This Framework has innovation at its core as the means to prepare and build for the future.

I share the consensus that the way ahead for Ireland is as a knowledge-based economy and society.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment consistently seeks to drive Ireland’s competitiveness, by creating conditions where enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation can flourish and quality employment opportunities are grown and maintained. NSAI has certainly contributed to this mission

NSAI, as Ireland’s national standards body, supports a consultative network that provides an impartial platform to secure and represent the views, not just of industry, but also of consumers, users and the public at large. Through this process, NSAI have been able to play a part in contributing to the growth of the Irish economy. Globally, NSAI is recognised as a respected national standards body internationally, which continues to play a significant role in attracting leading manufacturers to Ireland. This has happened because our enterprise support structures, of which NSAI is a core component, are internationally recognised as a trusted and respected institutions for many of the world’s leading manufacturers, be they in, for example, medical devices, technology or product manufacturing.

In many ways, NSAI channels innovation and contributes to the progress and advancement of products and services. Not only do standards-related activities help foster quality, performance and technological innovation in goods and services, but standardisation also enables products to compete in global markets.

Standards can play a major role in promoting innovative products and services by providing a recognised infrastructure for innovative companies, creating acceptance in large scale markets and building confidence among consumers. Therefore, standards can be considered to be an important driver of innovation.

Companies that participate actively in standards work have a head start on their competitors in adapting to market demands and new technologies; and research risks and development costs can be reduced for companies contributing to the standardisation process.

Despite our small size, Ireland has the same voice in standard development as much larger countries like Germany, the US, and China and we can often influence international work to reflect the most important considerations for the Irish market.

Arguably our greatest strength lies in the co-operation and networking of the relevant state bodies. NSAI work with Enterprise Ireland and with business groups to find ways of helping small and medium sized businesses access larger markets earlier through adoption of standards or ensuring the Irish contribution to international standards being developed for new and innovative products.

This work confirms the NSAI commitment to achieving long-term sustainability for Irish business, and to ensuring that enterprise in Ireland continues to be a competitive force in the world market. NSAI has this ability. It also has the constant support of my Department.

NSAI plays a key role in enabling enterprise in Ireland, every day and The NSAI Guide to Good Practice in New Product Selection & Development, which I am here today to officially launch, is an example of NSAI helping create an environment where innovation can flourish.

By using the innovation process model in the Guide, companies can focus their resources and develop innovations for them; you could say it is "an innovation process for all".  The guidance is set out in a step by step manner using easy to understand writing.

The timeframe for Research and Development can be very long, and tends to be in the remit of very large organisations and the universities.  Furthermore, research and innovation are limited in their contribution unless we also turn a significant number of those ideas into commercialised products and services. This Guide outlines how small and medium enterprise can be innovative today.

The Guide outlines the minimum requirements for successful innovation. It allows the reader to consider elements of the process in an overall business context. Adopting and implementing the recommendations in this Guide will develop an organisation’s capacity to do more.

More than anything the Guide brings home that Innovation is about taking risks, not all of which win, but by being more systematic about the selection and placement of these risks, companies give themselves the best chance of commercial success.

Ireland faces challenging economic circumstances now, it is true, but, equally, there are opportunities on the horizon – we have to find and grasp them! If Ireland is to create and keep competitive advantage we will need to successfully convert the fruits of our research into saleable products, processes and services, as NSAI have done with this Guide.

To conclude, the scale of the challenge facing us over the next few years means industry, third level institutions and Government agencies will need to play their parts to turn around the economy. NSAI are more than pulling their weight in ensuring the development of a thriving innovation culture and I am delighted to launch this progressive publication.

Finally, I would like to thank you for your attendance and Maurice Buckley and the staff of the NSAI for organising today’s seminar.

Thank you.