North West City Region establishes world’s first regulatory supercluster
The North West City Region of Ireland is proposing to establish the world’s first multi-sector regulatory supercluster as an exciting and ambitious opportunity for the region, Ireland, UK and internationally. It will bring together industry, academics and public bodies to drive world-class research and innovation – working across sectors, regulators and borders to become a recognised world leader in regulatory technology. The Supercluster will have a particular focus on ESG and AI to address key global challenges around climate sustainability and emerging technologies.
Regulatory Technology (‘RegTech’) refers to the use of technology to automate or improve compliance processes. Regulatory innovation is crucial in today’s rapidly changing landscape. With advancements in technology, regulations need to keep pace. However the process of compliance can be both burdensome and costly – with ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) regulations to have a significant impact. This has presented a global market opportunity for RegTech to provide innovative and cost effective solutions.
The project will build on the region’s unique location straddling the EU-UK border and its cross-jurisdictional pool of talent, expertise and knowledge across multiple regulated sectors – as well as industry clusters and well established multi-sectoral partnerships. By leveraging and building on this strong ecosystem, the Supercluster will drive innovation and be a magnet for further investment and economic growth of the region.
The project is being led by founding partners Donegal County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and Catalyst – working closely with other key stakeholders across industry, academia and public investment agencies.
The Supercluster aims to position stakeholders at the forefront of addressing these complex international regulatory challenges by creating the required infrastructure, programmes, training and support to facilitate research, development and commercialisation of innovative regulatory solutions. It will be both digital (to reach a global audience) and physical – with proposed campuses in Letterkenny and Derry/Londonderry to create an international centre of excellence. These buildings will provide dedicated collaboration spaces and state-of-the-art facilities to support a range of services and support.
Feasibility assessment supported by Shared Island is complete, demonstrating a compelling case for establishing the Supercluster in the North West City Region, endorsed through regional, national and international engagement. Partners are now working towards securing funding to realise the full ambition of the project and to develop pilot initiatives and build on momentum in the interim.
For further information view our RegTech Super Cluster Interim Summary Report.
You can view our international conference ‘Navigating the Future of Regulation’ which provided an important platform to explore the future of regulation and the role of the Supercluster. The conference included Minister Dara Calleary, inspirational AI speakers and expert panels in financial services and health & life sciences. Find out more on our RegTech conference.