Regional development agencies and policy in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the extent to which the national policy shift towards increased competitiveness envisioned by central Government has been implemented by the regional development agencies in Northern Ireland in the first half of the 1990s. It evaluates the implementation and monitoring of the competitiveness policy by the regional development agencies. In Northern Ireland, economic development policy is overseen and coordinated by the Department of Economic Development (DED), and is implemented by five development agencies. The development agencies are the Industrial Development Board (IDB), the Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU), the Training and Employment Agency (T&EA), the Industrial Research and Technology Unit (IRTU), and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) for the promotion of tourism. The chapter focuses on the activities of the primary agencies for delivering economic development policy, the IDB and LEDU. The allocation of total IDB expenditure on different activities, broken down between established industry and inward investment where possible, is outlined.