Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1  Background Information

1.1As one of the key actions within the Councils International Framework to attract foreign direct investment, tourism and talent, the Council has engaged with key stakeholders in the city to shape and support our international marketing work. One of these stakeholders is Invest NI and its NI Connections organisation.

1.2NI Connections is a recently established organisation championed by Minister Arlene Foster, with the aim of developing and growing the support of people with a connection to Northern Ireland by birth, family, education or business. It is a not for profit public/private organisation which has been established to make use of Invest NI’s systems, but to act as fully independent, and be managed by its governing council via a supervisory board made up of sponsors and subscribers.

1.3The organisation’s objectives are:

-       to promote means for improved collaboration of diaspora consumers

-       methods to engage the strategic diaspora strategies to unlock the cultural diaspora market and mechanisms to support and remain connected with the recent Diaspora.

1.4Essentially NI Connections is a marketing and communications organisation that exists to create engagement with the NI diaspora worldwide, to send a consistent message in terms of our tourism, investment and educational opportunities.

1.5Belfast City Council (BCC) was invited as a sponsor to NI Connections in December 2012, and subsequently joined with the approval of Members at an annual cost of £30,000, for a period of three years, after which a review was to be undertaken of benefits and outputs for the Council.

1.6The Council was given a place on the NI Connections board to guide the strategic direction of the organisation. Development Committee members saw this as an opportunity to influence the strategic direction of NI Connections, and to engage with a wider diaspora with other NI organisations and to leverage their contacts and relationships and goodwill in other international destinations and markets of interest to Council.

1.7It was deemed that membership of NI Connections would allow Council the following benefits:

-       Strategic alliances with other key international stakeholders in the city

-       An opportunity to develop a Belfast connections sub set of the network

-       An opportunity to develop the Belfast ask list for NI diaspora

-       Marketing of the Councils information and good news stories to the NI diaspora

-       Develop lucrative links with NI diaspora

-       Participation in NI Connections events throughout the world

-       Cooperation of NI Connections council at BCC events

-       Leverage of the Councils investment in diaspora relationships and opportunity to build on the synergies that exist with others in NI.

1.8Actively participating in NI Connections is only one action within the Belfast International Relations Framework, and provides Council with an effective tool in marketing the city internationally and utilising NI and Belfast diaspora across the world.

2    Key Issues

2.1NI Connections has now completed its pilot phase and is entering its delivery phase, having built up the strong network of 1700 plus members across the world.   It has set out targets for the next two years which are outlined in the attached report.

2.2Going Forward

      Having been a member of NI Connections network for over a year, Officers have assessed the above benefits and the added value of remaining in the network at the annual cost of £30,000.

2.3Members will be aware that Council has ramped up its international relations work and has delivered many activities in the last 18 months in the trade sectors of investment, tourism and education within the targeted markets of North America, Europe, India and China.

2.4Given the growing level of activity that Council is delivering within the International Relations Framework with new initiatives such as Belfast Boston Sister Cities, the MOU with Shenyang, the UKIERI project in India and the many other planned activities, Officers have evaluated the benefits of the NI Connections annual subscription.

2.5It is therefore felt that an annual subscription of £30,000 is excessive.  Having discussed this with NI Connections, BCC has been offered a more basic level of membership at a cost of £6,000 per annum subject to review.

2.6This would allow Council to continue being promoted as a member, and to make up the financial shortfall it has been proposed that BCC directly involve NI Connections in its outward and inward activities as an opportunity in kind for NI Connections and its members as a whole. An example of this would be to involve NI Connections in the autumn BCC tech mission to the west coast of the USA and to brand an event within the mission as NI Connections. 

2.7The most significant benefit which NI Connections can offer BCC is to actively target the diaspora to attract conferences to the new Conference Centre at the Waterfront Hall which is due to open in May 2016. BCC and Visit Belfast are working proactively to place this on the NI Connections agenda.

2.8BCC would remain a member, benefiting from social media opportunities and maintaining roles on the tourism and investment sub groups.  Members are asked to consider this report and agree to a reduced members’ subscription of £6,000 pending review in one year.

5    Recommendations

5.1To pay the reduced membership fee of £6,000 for the period 2014-2015 pending a review in one year.”

            Discussion ensued in respect of the ‘Friends of Belfast’ network and it was suggested that that organisation needed to be re-established in order to co-ordinate any International Framework for the City. It was noted that a report in this regard would be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.

            After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendation.