The Knowledge Economy in Northern Ireland is growing faster than in the rest of the UK. The key growth areas are employment, business start-ups and number of Venture Capital investments.
In most developed countries the Knowledge Economy makes up a large share of economic activity and is based on those innovative companies whose operation is based on intellectual capital.
The third independent Knowledge Economy Index report, published today, benchmarks the health of companies in nine key areas including software, aerospace and transport, pharma and biotech and creative content against the rest of the UK and shows composite growth in the Knowledge Economy Index of 20% between 2009 and 2012.
Produced by the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy at the University of Ulster in conjunction with Oxford Economics, the report was commissioned by NISP CONNECT.
According to Programme Director Steve Orr, “these results represent excellent news for the both the Knowledge Economy and wider business base”.
“Typically, jobs in the Knowledge Economy pay 25% more than the average wage, and the more growth we see in this sector the greater the ripple effect across NI. The investments being made by DETI and delivered by Invest NI and other economic support organisations, including NISP CONNECT are evidently working”.
“We all know that the success of entrepreneurs and innovators will ultimately change the economy but government policies are essential in creating the conditions in which entrepreneurs and innovators can flourish. The challenge is to ensure that both government and the private sector make the most of the support available, stretch our growth targets and provide the joined up approach we need in terms of education, training, research and development, business planning, international sales, and marketing and supply chain development.”
Richard Johnston, Associate Director of NICEP, said that “those in the Knowledge Economy should look to the future with optimism. The sector has been growing since 2009 and with a number of economic indicators looking more positive in recent months; there are clearly opportunities for growth.”
He also noted that “As part of this research, we have developed a new Composite Knowledge Economy Index, which shows that the sector has grown more rapidly in NI than the UK, especially since 2009 when the impact of the recession was most acute. The Index is a comprehensive, succinct and easily understood tool that can be used by Government and industry to track the progress of the sector and the overall success of policies that are in place.
Richard added that “whilst there is much positive news within the report, there is no room for complacency. We must acknowledge that the Knowledge Economy in NI has grown from a low base and there is still some way for us to go to catch up with the UK. We should also be cognisant of the fact that all other UK regions are striving to grow their Knowledge Economies and we should not underestimate the scale of the challenge.”
NISP CONNECT Director Steve Orr concluded that the Knowledge Economy is vitally important in driving growth in Northern Ireland. “Over the next year we will work tirelessly with the business sector and government to further develop an environment that will continue to prioritise support for new start-ups as well as growing and diversifying companies within the Knowledge Economy.
“I believe we have the capacity locally not only to continue to grow more quickly than our UK Regional counterparts but to be much higher in the ranking in real terms.”
