Forfás

Forfás (Irish pronunciation: [fˠɔɾˠfˠaːsˠ]) was the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in Ireland.[2] The agency was established in January 1994 under the Industrial Development Act, 1993 and was run by a board appointed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to whom the agency was responsible. Forfás was dissolved on 1 August 2014 and its functions were transferred to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority and the Health and Safety Authority.[1][3]

Forfás
State Agency of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation overview
FormedJanuary 1994
Dissolved1 August 2014
Superseding agency
  • Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
JurisdictionIreland
HeadquartersWilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2
Employees90[1]
State Agency of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation executive
  • Chief Executive
  • Chairman
Key documents
  • Industrial Development Act, 1993
  • Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act, 2014
WebsiteForfás website

Functions

Legally, Forfás had five separate but related functions. It

  • Provided independent and rigorous research, advice and support in the areas of enterprise and science policy. This work informs the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and wider Government in its responses to the fast-changing needs of the global business environment;
  • Ensured the coherence of policies across the development agencies supporting enterprise;
  • Evaluated enterprise policy interventions;
  • Provided research and administrative support to independent advisory groups which currently include the:
    • Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ASC)
    • Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN)
    • Management Development Council (MDC)
    • National Competitiveness Council (NCC)

In its day-to-day business, the primary function of Forfás was to analyse developments in areas concerning Ireland's industrial and economic development and to make policy recommendations based on this analysis to Government. The Irish Government was not obliged to implement any recommendations that Forfás made. Additional functions included:

  • Accreditation services of the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB). INAB provides services for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories in Ireland.
  • Managing the national awareness programme, Discover Science and Engineering (DSE). DSE is the national science awareness programme for science, engineering, technology and innovation. The programme is managed by Forfás on behalf of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
  • Provision of certain shared corporate services for IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland;
  • Hosting the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to Government.

As outlined above, Forfás also played a significant role in co-ordinating the activities of Government Enterprise Agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland).

Governance

Board

Forfás was ultimately a board of members that advised Government. Members were appointed to the Board of Forfás by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and as provided for in the Industrial Development legislation. Under the Industrial Development Act 1993, the CEOs of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland were automatically Board members of Forfás. By tradition, the Director General of FÁS and the Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation were also board members. The Board also included a panel of business, economic and other specialists.

Executive

While Forfás was a board, that board was supported by an executive of salaried employees. Forfás was the sole legal employer of staff in its own executive, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. Arising out of this, all staff employed in these bodies are Forfás employees seconded to such bodies. Upon retirement, Forfás assumed responsibility for their pension, resulting in Forfás having a large annual pensions cost and a significant liability under accounting standard FRS 17.

Policy analysis and advice

Forfás fulfilled its mandate through three policy divisions:

  • Competitiveness Division
  • Enterprise Policy Division
  • Science, Technology & Human Capital Division

Competitiveness

The Competitiveness Division supported the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the development agencies and other government departments. It had the following departments:

  • National Competitiveness, Sustainability and Infrastructure Department
  • Regulation, Trade and Policy Foresight Department
  • Finance Department
  • Systems/IT/Facilities Departments

Enterprise policy

The Enterprise policy departments of this division supported the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on general enterprise development and related issues: It had the following three departments:

  • Enterprise Policy and Communications Department
  • Tax/Finance/Employment and Surveys Department
  • Discover Science and Engineering

Science, Technology & Human Capital

This Division supported the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the development and implementation of science, technology, innovation and human capital policy for economic and social well-being. The division also provided research and secretariat support to the Advisory Science Council, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Management Development Council. It was made up of the following departments:

  • Science, Technology and Basic Research Policy
  • Enterprise Research and Development Policy
  • Human Capital and Labour Market Policy

Secretariat support

Forfás provided the secretariat to a number of committees established by Government. These include:

  • Advisory Council on Science & Technology in Ireland (ACSTI)
  • Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN)
  • National Competitiveness Council (NCC)
  • Management Development Council (MDC)

Forfás has also provided support to the Enterprise Strategy Group, the Small Business Forum, the Business Regulation Forum and the Consumer Strategy Group.

Discover Science and Engineering

It also ran the Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) programme on behalf of the Office of Science & Technology. The programme bring together under one brand many of the existing national science, technology and engineering awareness activities and expands on these activities in a way that eliminates duplication and provides a more focused and effective communications strategy. The aim of the DSE programme is to encourage young people to consider careers in science, engineering and technology and, linked to that, to increase the numbers of students studying the physical sciences. In addition, the programme aims to raise the level of perception of science, technology, innovation and engineering among students and society in general. DSE runs numerous initiatives, including Science Week Ireland, Discover Primary Science, Greenwave and Science.ie.

Irish National Accreditation Board

The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) has three main functions. It:

  • Accredited organisations involved in the certification of quality and environmental management systems, products and personnel, laboratories involved in calibration and testing activities, certification and inspection bodies, attesters and attestation bodies
  • Responsible for accreditation in accordance with the relevant International Organisation for Standardisation ISO 17000 series of standards and guides and the harmonised EN 45000 series of European standards
  • Is the national statutory monitoring authority for GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) and EMAS (European Eco-Management and Audit Schemes)

Other activities

Forfás was responsible for the successful EMU Business Awareness Campaign in the Republic of Ireland and related Loughrea Eurotown project and more recently, the Enterprise Strategy Group and the Consumer Strategy Group.

Forfás is the direct employer of all employees in the 'development agencies', including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and also is the legal employer of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government. The post is currently held by Patrick Cunningham, Professor of Animal Genetics at TCD, who holds a PhD from Cornell University.

The previous holder of the post was Barry McSweeney, who resigned in 2005 when it was revealed that he got his doctorate from Pacific Western University, a so-called diploma mill.[4] McSweeney is now a director of research at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

Chairman of Forfás
# Name Appointed Retired
1. Tom Toner 1994 1999
2. Peter Cassells 2000 2004
3. Eoin O'Driscoll 2004 2014

Chief Executives of Forfás
# Name Appointed Retired
1. John Travers 1994 2002
2. Martin Cronin 2002 2010
3. Martin Shanahan 2010 2014
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See also

References
  1. "Forfás to be abolished". The Irish Times. 23 December 2013. Richard Bruton, the responsible Minister, received Cabinet approval last Tuesday for the move to dissolve the quango, which has a staff of about 90. The aim of the move is to strengthen the department’s capacity to drive job-creation policy.
  2. "Government plan for 20,000 new manufacturing jobs by 2016 – Minister Bruton, Minister Quinn". merrionstreet.ie. Irish Government News Service. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2018. Forfás is Ireland’s policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation.
  3. "Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act". Act of 2014.
  4. Lynch, Donal. (9 October 2005). Sunday Independent Degree of doubt for Bertie's boffin.
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