In Confidence
Minutes of the 112th Meeting of the Board of InterTradeIreland, the Trade and Business
Development Body.
Tuesday 29th March 2011 – InterTradeIreland (11.00am – 1.00pm)
Present:
Board Members:
Dr David Dobbin CBE
Mr John Fitzgerald
Mr Brendan Butler
Mr Sean Gallagher
Mr Jack Gilmour
Mr Hugh Logue
Mr Tom Scott OBE
Executive:
Mr Liam Nellis
Mr Aidan Gough
Mr Laurence Lord
Ms Margaret Hearty
Ms Orla McGlennon
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Chief Executive
Strategy & Policy Director
Corporate Services Director
Director of Programmes & Business Services
Board Secretary
112.1 Apologies.
Apologies were received from Mr Ray Doherty, Ms Patricia McKeown, Dr Gerard O’Hare CBE and Mr
Vincent Parker.
112.2 Authorisation of Previous Minutes.
The Minutes of the 1st March 2011 Board Meeting were approved by the Board. The Board also approved
the Summary of Board Minutes of the 1st March 2011 Board Meeting for publication on the
InterTradeIreland Website.
112.3 Conflict of Interest.
No conflicts of interest were declared.
112.4 Matters Arising.
Mr Nellis updated the Board on Matters Arising from the Board Meeting held on 1st March.
112.5 Chairman’s Report
The Chairman reported that following the last Board meeting he and the Chief Executive had met with
IBEC/CBI Joint Council to discuss building better relationships and co-operation between the two
organisations going forward. He had also attended a dinner with business leaders and the Secretary of State,
Owen Paterson to discuss the issue of corporation tax. In addition he was a member of a panel of business
leaders at an interactive debate on corporation tax hosted by the Chief Executive’s Club, QUB. Panelists
had debated the benefits versus the possible reduction in the block grant. He proposed that following a more
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detailed discussion on corporation tax at the next Board meeting, InterTradeIreland should consider
responding to the corporation tax consultation exercise. He advised that he had attended a dinner organised
by Barclays Global and met with the IOD Director General, Miles Templeman to brief him on the NI & RoI
economies. The Chairman also reported that a meeting had been requested with Richard Bruton, the new
Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation and that there would be an opportunity to meet him at the
Venture Capital Conference next month.
112.6 Chief Executive’s Report
Mr Nellis presented highlights from his Chief Executive’s Report, which had been circulated in advance of
the meeting. He reported on the following:
The All-island Innovation Awards Ceremony organised by InterTradeIreland and The Irish Times, was held
on 2nd March at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham with over 160 people in attendance. Damini Kumar,
inventor of the non-drip teapot and European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation was the Keynote
Speaker. In presenting the overall ‘Innovator of the Year Award’ to Intune Networks, John Fitzgerald paid
tribute to our colleague Marion McAneney, who was closely involved in establishing the awards
programme. The main award was dedicated to Marion and her husband, Aidan Duggan was involved in the
presentation.
As reported by the Chairman, a meeting had been held with senior representatives of the IBEC/CBI Joint
Council. Following that meeting, the CEO and Mr Gough had subsequently met with Reg McCabe to
develop this co-operation further and share information on workplans and events.
On 8th March the CEO was asked to speak at an NSMC lunch in honour of the US Ambassador to Ireland,
Dan Rooney, in Armagh. The event focused on the increased importance of North-South economic cooperation at the present time and included input from the Ambassador, Seamus Mallon, Tourism Ireland and
other interest groups. The CEO also reported that he recently had attended the official opening of the NSMC
building in Armagh.
The CEO advised that following a tender competition, Michael Smurfit Business School at UCD had been
appointed to deliver the graduate training element on the Acumen Programme. There is provision
for 20 companies to avail of this assistance in 2011 with the training scheduled to begin in late
summer.
The CEO advised that a number of smaller technology based companies are experiencing adverse trading
conditions. These include loss of senior staff involved with INNOVA projects and negative cash flow
concerns. The INNOVA team are providing assistance to these companies to help them through these
difficult trading times, including adjusting project timelines and using some of our specialist advice
resources.
The All Island Software Network’s facilitator has been instrumental in developing a business network
called NI-Soft that would access public sector contracts in Ireland. This network has recently won a
major ESB contract worth £425,000 over a five year period.
The Irish Academy of Engineering, InterTradeIreland and Forfás are working together on a taskforce to
follow-up last year’s report on Infrastructure for an island population of 8 million by looking at
infrastructure costs and how these can be reduced, including the opportunities for North/South cooperation.
The report is being finalised and will be published in May 2011.
The CEO reported that the first ‘Chair of Innovation’ event took place in QUB & NUI Galway on the 22nd
& 24th March. Dr Peter Kelly from the School of Science, Aalto University, Finland was the guest speaker
and his Lecture focused on ‘Creativity Inspired Innovation’ which was attended by over 100 people. He also
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held a number of master classes and roundtable discussions at both universities, each with a different
audience, addressing CEO’s from some of the biggest companies on the island, business professionals,
academics & students. Feedback from the events was extremely positive.
The All Island Innovation Programme is also delighted to have secured Dr Rosabeth Moss Kanter for their
conference on the 4th & 5th October in QUB. Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle
Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for
change. The former Editor of Harvard Business Review (1989-1992), Professor Kanter has been repeatedly
named in lists of the "50 most powerful women in the world" (Times of London), and the "50 most
influential business thinkers in the world" (Accenture and Thinkers 50 research).
The CEO reported that he had opened the 2nd Annual HBAN Business Angels Conference held in Dublin on
23rd March. This successful event was attended by almost 100 business angels.
The Board approved the request to rename the Conference Room in InterTradeIreland the ‘McAneney
Room’ in memory of our deceased colleague Marion McAneney.
112.7 Board Sub Committee/Steering Committee Reports
Acumen Steering Panel Report
Mr Gilmour reported back from the Acumen Steering Panel meeting held on 3 rd March. The Board noted the
decisions of the Panel.
Audit Committee Report
Mr Fitzgerald reported back from the Audit Committee held on 1st March. The Board approved the revised
Fraud Policy (2011) and proposed currency management arrangements including the setting up of new bank
mandates.
112.8 For Information, Consideration, Discussion, Decision &/or Approval
Innovation Capability Pilot Programme
Mr Gough presented the proposed Innovation Capability Pilot Programme which aims to work with
companies focussing on growth. The objective of the pilot is to move companies who have tried innovation
on an ad hoc basis to strategically embed innovation to deliver transformative change in company
performance. The programme aims to improve competitiveness and profitable growth of companies based
on improved and sustainable innovation management and innovation performance.
The Board approved the recommendation to fund an Innovation Capability Pilot Programme.
North/South Trade Acceleration Programme for Microenterprises
Mr Gough presented the proposal for a North/South Trade Acceleration pilot programme for
Microenterprises which targets companies aspiring to grow through cross border business. The results of the
Business Monitor indicates that the downturn in the domestic demand is particularly affecting
microenterprises. For these companies the cross border market is the first step to exporting. Mr Gough
advised that a series of focus groups had been held and microenterprises confirmed the need and rationale
for this type of initiative. This non-bureaucratic pilot programme aims to build on the Trade Accelerator
Vouchers to provide an Accelerator Voucher for the following cross border activities:
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
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Trading Solutions: advice on cross-border tax, legal regulatory issue
Export Readiness: to provide one to one mentoring support for businesses planning to grow by
developing the cross-border market
Go-to-Market: to provide a company with consultancy support to enable them to commence their
cross-border market entry.
Mr Gough informed the Board that the pilot will assist over 50 companies of the 12 month period. The
Board discussed the proposed pilot and stressed the importance of engaging with industry relevant/high
quality mentors. The Board asked the Executive to ensure that robust procedures and processes are in place
for the procurement and management of consultants for this service.
The Board approved the recommendation to fund a North/South Trade Acceleration Pilot Programme for
Microenterprises.
Communications & Marketing Strategy Monthly Progress Report
Mr Lord presented the monthly Communications Progress Report. He advised that following the recent
formation of the new Government in Ireland there will be a lot of PR activity which targets specific
Ministers for various InterTradeIreland activities. Mr Lord informed the Board that 72 InterTradeIreland
Business Ambassadors had been identified across the various constituencies in Ireland from a wide range of
programmes and sectors. He brought to the attention of the Board, the InterTradeIreland calendar of activity
for 2011 which includes key diary dates. Good progress was reported in relation to social media this month.
InterTradeIreland went live with corporate profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. A social media
launch session had been held with staff and a pilot is underway using the social media for the Venture
Capital Conference, Seedcorn Competition, Innova launch and Fusion graduate recruitment. The Board
stressed the importance of ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures are in place for users.
Permissions to go to Tenders and Variations to Letters of Offer
The Board approved the request to go to competitive tender for a contractor to undertake
commercial/financial assessments for Innova applications and provide support to the project team.
The Board approved the request to go to competitive tender to establish a panel of independent technical
assessors for the Innova Programme to evaluate proposals and provide support to the project team.
The Board approved the request to go to competitive tender for the provision of an Internal Audit Service for
InterTradeIreland.
Governance and Financial Matters
Mr Lord presented the Governance and Financial Matters Report.
112.08 For Information and Noting
The Board noted the following reports:
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Follow Up to the Gravity Model – ‘Exploration of Factors that Might Explain the Level of NorthSouth Trade’;
Draft Fraud Policy (2011);
March 2011 Communications Progress Report;
The Accounts and Financial Commentary for February 2011;
February 2011 detailed Business Plan Progress Report.
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112.09 Any Other Business
Mr Gough provided a brief update on the Economic Forum
Mr Gough gave an overview of the follow up to the Gravity Model – Exploration of Factors that Might
Explain the Level of North-South Trade.
The Board asked that an outline of the proposed FP7 Conference programme be emailed to Board members
for information.
The Chairman asked that going forward the Director of Programmes is to provide a regular Progress Report
on key issues in the Operations Directorate.
The CEO informed the Board that a Natural Gas Conference organised by Phoenix Energy Ltd is taking
place at the Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin on 14th April 2011.
……………………………………Authorised by:
Dr David Dobbin CBE
Chairman, InterTradeIreland
19th April 2011
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