Latest news

The MATRIX website is home to the latest Northern Ireland science & technology news, the most relevant reports and of course our own studies on Northern Ireland’s tech sectors and how best to grow them.

Matrix welcomes new chair, Robert Hill

March 11th, 2024|

Robert Hill is the Chair of the Northern Ireland Space Leadership Council and the Northern Ireland Space Special Interest Group (NISSIG) hosted by ADS. He has spearheaded the campaign to bring space sector opportunities to the region and authored and coordinated the development of the Northern Ireland Space Strategy, endorsed by then First Minister Arlene Foster MLA and Economy Minister [...]

A Fond Farewell to Rob Grundy, an Architect of Progress at Matrix

February 27th, 2024|

Since its formation in 2007 Matrix has had the good fortune to have been chaired by a series of influential and committed people and the last several years have been no different. Unfortunately, our current chair Rob Grundy, has reached the end of his tenure and will be leaving the panel in the coming days. As we say goodbye to [...]

What is Matrix?

MATRIX, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel, is a business led expert panel, formed primarily to advise government, industry and academia on the commercial exploitation of R&D and science and technology in Northern Ireland.

We produce regular, in depth reports which outline the work, findings and recommendations of our specialist panels. These reports are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how new technologies and market opportunities can be developed within the Northern Ireland economy and beyond.

The Matrix panel

We have a main panel of nineteen business and academic leaders, supported by a small secretariat team based in the Department for the Economy. The Chair of the panel is Robert Hill and the Deputy Chair is Mary McKenna.

Latest science and technology events

What Matrix does

The MATRIX panel commissions research, analysis and studies, to help DfE build the evidence base for future science and R&D policies within wider innovation policy.

The Matrix panel advises in three main areas:

  • Key R&D and science & technology issues affecting business innovation

  • The emerging strategic technology priorities impacting on Northern Ireland’s economy

  • The promotion of a culture of innovation and the importance of R&D and science & technology in the future, particularly with business and in regard to commercial exploitation activities.

The Matrix library

This library is a collection of Matrix reports as well as documents that the Matrix panel and secretariat have used in their research. The most recent additions to the library are here – if you want to see the full collection, arranged by topic, please visit the library section.

2024-02-20T11:03:01+00:00

Northern Ireland Deeptech Index

This report provides a snapshot of Northern Ireland’s digital and deeptech innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) established since 2017. It delves into the key trends shaping the [...]

2023-11-21T07:30:09+00:00

Advanced Wireless Networks

Matrix's Advanced Wireless Networks report shows that Northern Ireland is well-positioned to reap the rewards of Advanced Wireless Networks, if they are effectively deployed.

2023-08-31T15:18:52+01:00

UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy

The Wireless Infrastructure Strategy sets out a policy framework to affirm our unwavering commitment to extending 4G coverage to 95% of the population, deliver high quality 5G to all populated areas in the UK by 2030, and investing £40 million to drive take up of innovative 5G-enabled services for businesses and the public sector. It also sets out a comprehensive 6G strategy to harness and develop the UK’s strengths in future telecoms, and to ensure that the UK can influence and benefit from the development of 6G in a way that meets the UK’s future connectivity needs.

Live SBRIs and other funding competitions

The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) connects public sector challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving government objectives.

SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector and generates new business opportunities for companies, providing SMEs with a route to market for their ideas and bridging the seed funding gap experienced by many early stage companies. It supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of research and development (R&D).

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