Review of RD&I supports available to businesses in Ireland to maximize business expenditure on research and development

Description

Fostering innovation, including spending on research and development is one of the key policies in sustaining economic growth. While business expenditure on research and development (BERD) within firms in Ireland is increasing, R&D intensity still lags behind that of other small advanced economies. Ireland’s recent strategy for research and development, science and technology “Innovation 2020” sets a target for public and private investment in R&D to reach 2.5% of GNP by 2020. Against this backdrop, Tenderers are being invited to carry out a study to identify how best to increase RD&I activity in firms that leads to the development of new products, processes and services that will deliver greatest economic impact, focussing on increasing the RD&I spend in a cohort of firms already doing R&D as well as increasing overall number of firms doing RD&I by reviewing the RD&I supports that are available to businesses in Ireland.