Appendix
From Competence Centres to Technology Centres
The Competence Centre Programme continues to operate today under Enterprise and IDA Ireland but under a new name: Technology Centres. However, no explicit report of this name-change published by either the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, or IDA Ireland has been identified. At the programme’s genesis, Enterprise Ireland reported expenditures and expansions to the programme in their “Annual Report” series of publications. In their 2007 report, for instance, they describe the program as affording Irish enterprises opportunities to “engage in higher risk, longer-term research that will give them a competitive edge in international markets”. Enterprise Ireland. “Annual Report & Accounts: 2007.” Enterprise Ireland, June 8, 2007. https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Publications/Reports-Published-Strategies/Annual-Reports/2007-Annual-Report-Eng-.pdf, pg. 29. Enterprise Ireland makes similar references to the program in 2008 and 2009 but not 2010 and onward, instead crediting the then-new Technology Centre Programme for affording enterprises opportunities to “achieve the kind of transformational change required to develop new technologies and bring innovative products and services to market”. Enterprise Ireland. “Annual Report & Accounts: 2010.” Enterprise Ireland, June 11, 2010. https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Publications/Reports-Published-Strategies/Annual-Reports/2010-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2010.pdf, pg. 12. Further, Enterprise Ireland’s webpage for the program properly described the program in length in 17 December 2010. Internet Archive Wayback Machine. “Competence Centres and Industry-Led Research - Enterprise Ireland,” December 17, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101217123348/http://enterprise-ireland.com/en/Research-Innovation/Companies/Collaborate-with-companies-research-institutes/Competence-Centres-and-Industry-Led-Research-.html. By 16 April 2013, the page had been modified only to read “Technology Centres Initiative” rather than “Competence Centres Initiative”. Internet Archive Wayback Machine. “Technology Centres and Industry-Led Research - Enterprise Ireland,” April 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130416050436/http://www.enterprise-ireland.com:80/en/Research-Innovation/Companies/Collaborate-with-companies-research-institutes/Competence-Centres-and-Industry-Led-Research-.html. This evidence is presented due to the absence of primary documents describing the transition.