Decision to stop funding the NDRC incubator indicates shift towards more structured approach to fostering innovative business
Decision to stop funding the National Digital Research Centre incubator indicates a shift towards a more structured approach to fostering innovative business
What appears to have happened is that the Department of Communications has tried and failed to get the Department of Enterprise to take over responsibility for funding the incubator to the tune of €17 million over five years. The NDRC is now obviously a better fit with the Department of Enterprise. However they have demurred, citing the overlap with various programmes and schemes run by Enterprise Ireland which also comes under their purview. In their view, these programmes have rendered the NDRC obsolete.
When measured up against the scale of Enterprise Ireland’s operation, it is reasonable to question the logic of continuing with State support for the NDRC. It is run on a commercial basis by Dogpatch Labs and backed by a number of tech industry figures. In truth you would not expect them to say anything different. To a greater or lesser extent they are beneficiaries of the founder-led incubator model as is promulgated by the research centre and its peers. Of course, that does not mean they are wrong.
According to the research centre, more than €180 million has been raised by early-stage tech companies participating in NDRC programmes since 2021 alone. Research centre portfolio companies have created 650 jobs over the same period, while more than 950 companies have participated in the accelerator’s initiatives, including over 175 regional founders.
Department-Of-Communications Dara-Calleary
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