NIACE Centre has secured £5M funding from Invest Northern Ireland to support the establishment of
the Northern Ireland Advanced Engineering Competence Centre. (NIAECC)

Competence centres are organisations comprised of businesses and researchers working
collaboratively under an agreed strategic research plan, to deliver market focused projects which
generate benefits for industry.

Competence Centres have huge potential as they allow organisations to engage in high-risk,
longer-term research into market problems that, once solved, can offer industry a competitive edge.
They can also provide businesses with access to leading edge technology and expertise, and
enable collaborative industry-led and focused R&D projects between businesses and Universities.

The Competence Centre will support Industrial collaborative projects and provide up to 75% funding
with the remaining 25% as in-kind contribution from the participating companies.

To support our Participants, we have a simple 4 stage process to support the generation of projects:-