It’s clear Northern Ireland has significant existing strengths in this area, for every one new LHS job created there are 1.8 jobs  created elsewhere in the economy. However, in England, 1 new LHS job creates 2.8 jobs, suggesting a gap in the support and scaling for LHS in NI that should be addressed.

In 2021, four City and Growth Deals (City Deals), with a combined funding of £1.3bn from the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government were launched in Northern Ireland – the deals are an agreement between UK Government, the NI Executive and the respective local authority to fund a series of capital projects with innovation, digital, tourism, infrastructure and skills aspects that will drive sustained and inclusive growth in a particular region over the next 10- 15 years.

City and Growth Deals will help create global centres of innovation excellence in key growth sectors. They will provide opportunities for businesses, located both in and outside Northern Ireland, to collaborate and tap into the expertise within NI’s universities to create breakthrough technologies, products and services. Additionally, the City Deals will develop the infrastructure and test environments that will allow the next generation of products to be tested and trialled.

Under the innovation pillar there are a number of centres of excellence being developed which have the potential to impact NI’s Life and Health sciences sector:

• Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology (CDHT)
• i-REACH (Institute of Research Excellence for Advanced Clinical Healthcare)
• Global Innovation Institute (GII)
• Transformation for Healthcare Research Innovation and Value-Based Ecosystem (THRIVE)

Matrix, was established to inform government on the development of science and technology strategies and policy that will ensure Northern Ireland’s sustainable competitiveness in the global economy, Matrix has therefore commissioned a foresight study to better understand and make recommendations on how the City and Growth Deals can provide opportunities for the Life and Health Sciences sector in Northern Ireland.

The purpose of this work is to secure a quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing activities in the Life and Health Sciences sector globally and the opportunities they present to Northern Ireland. The report will make recommendations on how businesses in Northern Ireland’s life and health sciences sector can access the infrastructure which NI City Deals will create to gain maximum benefits, including increased levels of research, development, and innovation. It will consider best practice for city deals in terms of engaging with industry in a timely and competitive fashion, highlighting best practice across similar centres in the UK and abroad and identify the opportunities as well as the barriers to industry engagement.

Work began on the project through our delivery partners KPMG in February 2023 and it is expected to be completed in July 2023. We are currently looking for industry representatives to participate in a short survey for for this research, if you work in the Northern Ireland LHS sector and would like to contribute you can visit HERE for more info.

In 2008 the Matrix panel published its first report on Life & Health Sciences. Back then, the sector contributed approximately £310 million to the economy.

At that time there were approximately 60 companies in the Life & Health Sciences sector in Northern Ireland, employing 4,000 people. The sector was high value-added and export-oriented, with around 80% of sales generated from external markets.

In 2015 the Matrix panel published its second report on Life and Health Sciences. At that time, there were approximately 130, mostly indigenous, Life & Health Sciences companies in Northern Ireland, employing around 7,500 people.

The sector was worth close to £1bn value to the local economy and was 90% export orientated. The sector accounted for approximately 12.5% of all Northern Ireland R&D expenditure.