Invest NI: Former BBC chairman to lead review of agency
- Published
Sir Michael Lyons was chairman of the BBC Trust and is currently chairman of the English Cities Fund
A former BBC chairman is to lead an independent review of Northern Ireland's economic development agency, Invest NI.
Sir Michael Lyons will examine the organisation's efficiency and effectiveness as well as its capacity to deliver on Stormont's economic plan.
Invest NI is currently searching for a permanent chief executive after Kevin Holland stood down in November.
It is also facing budget pressures due to the post-Brexit loss of EU funding.
Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said Sir Michael would examine Invest NI's current business model and identify any support required to deliver on the economic plan known as 10X.
It was launched in May 2021 as a vision to transform Northern Ireland's economy over the next decade with a focus on five "priority clusters":
Digital and communications technology,
Agri-tech
Financial services
Life sciences
Advanced manufacturing
Recent Invest NI board minutes show some board members were concerned that Invest NI's business plan was not sufficiently joined up with 10X.
The September minutes summarise feedback from board workshops and includes a suggestion that "we need to identify the 10X purpose of Invest NI and to redefine structures".
Invest NI got a substantial part of its budget from two EU funds, the ERDF and the ESF
It added that: "We also need to consider what we can do differently. There was an acknowledgement that it can't be 'business as usual.'"
Other feedback includes a call for a review of casework processes and a request for the executive leadership team to "come back to the board and show how they will be the catalyst for change".
Sir Michael is currently chairman of the English Cities Fund, which is redeveloping large parts of Salford, and has other regeneration projects in Plymouth, East London, Wakefield and Liverpool.
He said he was committed to "ensuring all voices are heard" in the review and would be consulting stakeholders from all sectors and regions of Northern Ireland.
'Wholeheartedly endorse'
Invest Northern Ireland Board chair, Rose Mary Stalker, said the team fully welcomed the review and "wholeheartedly endorse the importance of independently assessing Invest NI's efficiency and effectiveness".
"Invest NI's operating environment has changed a lot since the last Independent Review of Economic Policy in 2008. In the last few years in particular we have seen both global and local changes.
"Ensuring Invest NI's capacity and capability is strategically aligned to the 10X Economic Vision and future economic realities is vitally important. Indeed, this is a journey that the board and the executive team have already embarked upon," she said.
Chief Executive Mel Chittock said Invest NI was focussed on supporting the department to deliver its economic policy.
He said the review offered the potential to be "constructive and pivotal in setting in place the right structure and foundations to commence the journey to 10X economic transformation".
"We are pleased that the review will also include engagement with stakeholders from all sectors and regions to ensure a wide range of voices are heard," he said.
"Sir Michael and his team will have the full support of everyone within Invest NI to ensure he is able to conduct his review thoroughly and we look forward to reading his recommendations," he added.
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- Published17 December 2020
