Qualifications - Ignite Accelerator Director Chris

The request was partially successful.

Dear Invest Northern Ireland,

In a recent news item it was announced Christopher McClelland was named to run a regional startup investment programme called Ignite.

Can you provide;

1) The criteria / qualification required in the open tender procedure for this project for the role (being taken up by Mr McClelland).
2) Confirmation how, by what measure, did Mr McClelland meet the requirements.
3) What was the process (as stated within any contract) that allowed a change in personnel ~1 year into contract award.
4) Were the events at the company he was involved with - Brewbot - taken into account when he was selected to fulfil this role?

Yours faithfully,

George Johnson

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson

 

FOI 1105

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your information request below which was received
yesterday.  Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the above
legislation.

 

We will aim to respond to your request as soon as possible but no later
than 20 working days from the day after receipt of your request.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

Best Regards

 

Clodagh

 

Clodagh Claxton
Information Governance Officer
Information Governance Team
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8864
Email: [1][email address]
[2]www.investni.com   [3]www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk

 

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights,
please visit: [4]investni.com/privacy

Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8864
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8864

 

 

 

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FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Johnson,

FOI 1105

Please find attached our response to your recent request for information.

Thanks,
Jane

Jane McKenna
Information Governance
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8226
Email: [email address]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8226
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8226

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights, please visit: investni.com/privacy

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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Dear FOI Invest Northern Ireland,

Thank you for your response.

You have stated that in accordance to ‘14.2 of Conditions of Contract within Annex A. Mr Christopher McClelland has at least equal status or equivalent experience and skills to the Key Personnel being replaced’ in your contract with Iginite NI for an accelerator programme.

However, we feel that you have failed to provide any evidence for that to be the case.

Other than he was
‘prominent in the tech and startup community’, - Which provides no data or evidence of intervention or relevant results / track record.

And, ‘as a Non Exec Director’ - However, this individual has only two listings on Companies House as acting as UK director – with companies (BREWBOT LTD (NI615974) which completed the process of a voluntary arrangement in November 2018 and ECLIPTIC LABS LIMITED (NI073173) which was dissolved via a compulsory strike off in September 2016.

[Note, a non-executive director, like any other director of a company will require his/her appointment and details notified to Companies House].

And, ‘He brings valuable experience of Accelerators’, gained while participating in the world’s preeminent Techstars programme.’
However, it is a view that Mr Christopher McClelland was a mere participant of a USA based Techstars accelerator programme in 2014. He was not active as a director, manager, mentor or investor on that programme.

All of the above information you have provided may point to a conclusion that Mr Christopher McClelland does not provide the background or skills to meet the conditions of the public contract awarded to Ignite NI as stated in your response. 

As a follow-up to your response:
Please provide a response to the following;

1) Provide the evidence / data of previous experience which was used (presumably provided by Ignite NI to Invest NI) to assess the suitability the following;

How/where Mr Christopher McClelland had previous experience of successfully managing and co-ordinating the delivery of an accelerator programme

Specifically the evidence required in the publicly awarded tender, as follows;

a) How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) have successfully targeted HPSUs

b) How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) assisted HPSUs in selling to international markets through the participation of the programme

c) How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) have assisted HPSUs to attract external investment through participation on the programme.

Please answer the above questions in relation to a where Mr Christopher McClelland had previous experience of successfully managing and co-ordinating the delivery of an accelerator programme – not being an business person, or associated with, as a participant on or as a mentor in an accelerator programme, such as Ignite NI , or being prominent or a non-exec director.

2) In addition,
Notwithstanding Mr McClelland employers Ignite NI awareness of his voluntary arrangement with Brewbot Ltd .

Please provide answers to the following questions;

Was ‘the Client’ in this instance, Invest Northern Ireland;

(a) aware of Mr Christopher McClelland’s voluntary arrangement with Brewbot and its insolvency procedure.

(b) If known at the time then Mr Christopher McClelland was proposed as a change in key personnel, did Invest NI staff use this data when allowing the change in the key personnel?

(c) If the circumstances of the voluntary arrangement were not known at the time of his appointment by Invest NI – at what date did Invest NI become aware of this situation, and how, if at all was it used to assess Mr Christopher McClellands suitability to perform the role of Programme Director?

(d) Please provide a copy of the written justification that was used within Invest NI to allow the change in key personnel to be accepted, with dates.

Yours

George Johnson

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson,

FOI 1110

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your information request below which was received 6th February 2019. Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the above legislation.

We will aim to respond to your request as soon as possible but no later than 20 working days from the day after receipt of your request.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Thanks,

Jane

Jane McKenna
Information Governance
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8226
Email: [email address]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8226
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8226

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights, please visit: investni.com/privacy

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Johnson,

 

FOI 1110

 

Please find attached our response to your recent request for information.

 

Thanks,

Jane

Jane McKenna
Information Governance
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8226
Email: [1][email address]
[2]www.investni.com [3]www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8226
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44
151 494 1260 028 9069 8226

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights,
please visit: [4]investni.com/privacy

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

From: Monkey George [[5]mailto:[FOI #543566 email]]
Sent: 06 February 2019 08:11
To: FOI Invest Northern Ireland <[6][Invest NI request email]>
Subject: Re: FOI 1105 Response

 

 

 

Dear FOI Invest Northern Ireland,

 

Thank you for your response.

 

You have stated that in accordance to ‘14.2 of Conditions of Contract
within Annex A. Mr Christopher McClelland has at least equal status or
equivalent experience and skills to the Key Personnel being replaced’ in
your contract with Iginite NI for an accelerator programme.

 

However, we feel that you have failed to provide any evidence for that to
be the case. 

 

Other than he was

‘prominent in the tech and startup community’,  - Which provides no data
or evidence of intervention or relevant results / track record.

 

And, ‘as a Non Exec Director’  - However, this individual has only two
listings on Companies House as acting as UK director – with companies
(BREWBOT LTD (NI615974) which completed the process of a voluntary
arrangement in November 2018 and ECLIPTIC LABS LIMITED (NI073173) which
was dissolved via a compulsory strike off in September 2016.

 

[Note, a non-executive director, like any other director of a company will
require his/her appointment and details notified to Companies House].

 

And, ‘He brings valuable experience of Accelerators’, gained while
participating in the world’s preeminent Techstars programme.’

However, it is a view that Mr Christopher McClelland was a mere
participant of a USA based Techstars accelerator programme in 2014. He was
not active as a director, manager, mentor or investor on that programme.

 

All of the above information you have provided may point to a conclusion
that Mr Christopher McClelland does not provide the background or skills
to meet the conditions of the public contract awarded to Ignite NI as
stated in your response. 

 

As a follow-up to your response:

Please provide a response to the following;

 

1)            Provide the evidence / data of previous experience which was
used (presumably provided by Ignite NI to Invest NI) to assess the
suitability the following;

 

How/where Mr Christopher McClelland had previous experience of
successfully managing and co-ordinating the delivery of an accelerator
programme

 

Specifically the evidence required in the publicly awarded tender, as
follows;

 

a)            How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) have
successfully targeted HPSUs

 

b)            How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) assisted
HPSUs in selling to international markets through the participation of the
programme

 

c)            How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) have
assisted HPSUs to attract external investment through participation on the
programme.

 

Please answer the above questions in relation to a where Mr Christopher
McClelland had previous experience of successfully managing and
co-ordinating the delivery of an accelerator programme – not being an
business person, or associated with, as a participant on or as a mentor in
an accelerator programme, such as Ignite NI , or being prominent or a
non-exec director.

 

2)            In addition,

Notwithstanding Mr McClelland employers Ignite NI awareness of his
voluntary arrangement with Brewbot Ltd .

 

Please provide answers to the following questions;

 

Was ‘the Client’ in this instance, Invest Northern Ireland;

 

(a) aware of Mr Christopher McClelland’s voluntary arrangement with
Brewbot and its insolvency procedure.

 

(b) If known at the time then Mr Christopher McClelland was proposed as a
change in key personnel, did Invest NI staff use this data when allowing
the change in the key personnel?

 

(c) If the circumstances of the voluntary arrangement were not known at
the time of his appointment by Invest NI – at what date did Invest NI
become aware of this situation, and how, if at all was it used to assess
Mr Christopher McClellands suitability to perform the role of Programme
Director? 

 

(d) Please provide a copy of the written justification that was used
within Invest NI to allow the change in key personnel to be accepted, with
dates.

 

Yours

 

George Johnson

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. file:///tmp/www.investni.com
3. file:///tmp/www.nibusinessinfo.com
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5. mailto:[FOI #543566 email]
6. mailto:[Invest NI request email]

I am writing to request an internal review.

This was the response provided by Invest Northern Ireland.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear Mr Johnston

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I can confirm that Invest NI has now completed its search for the information you requested on 6 February 2019.

Invest NI does not hold the information requested at Part 1 of your request.

Part 2 of your request related to Invest NI’s knowledge of Mr McClelland’s voluntary arrangement with Brewbot and its insolvency procedure.

a) Invest NI was aware of the Voluntary Arrangement in respect of Mr McClelland’s company Brewbot.

b) The decision to appoint Mr McClelland was made by IGNITE. Invest NI was aware of this decision when it consented to his recruitment into the role of Programme Director.

d) Invest NI does not hold written justification in regard to the recruitment of Mr McClelland as Programme Director, this decision was made verbally at a meeting on 3 December 2018.

You have the right to request a formal review by Invest NI within two calendar months of the date of this letter and if you wish to do so, please write to the Information Governance Manager, Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7ES or email ‘[email address]’.

If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, who will undertake an independent review.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely

Martin Adair
Programmme Manager – Propel Pre Accelerator & IgniteNI Accelerator

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mr Martin Adair

We find much of your response significantly lacking the data requested. We write to you as a follow-up seeking clarification on this matter.

Can you clarify the following?

1. Is Mr Christopher McClelland the Programme Director for the Ignite NI programme funded by Invest Northern Ireland?

2. Can you confirm that within the awarding contract, the award criteria contains the following quality criterion
a. AC1 Programme Director Experience, which carried a weighting of 10.2 (awarded 10.2% of the scoring marks).

3. The Programme Director role as detailed in contract criteria AC1 carried out by Mr Christopher McClelland was carried out by another person prior to his appointment.

Your response to our part 1 question. ‘Invest NI does not hold the information requested at Part 1 of your request.’

1. Can you confirm that the decision to appoint Mr Christopher McClelland to be the Programme Director of the Invest Northern Ireland funded Ignite NI programme, that across the entirety of Invest Northern Ireland records there is no information held relating to this decision?

2. Was the decision to allow for the introduction of Mr Christopher McClelland to be the Programme Director for the Ignite NI programme made without any documented recommendation or assessment?

3. Did Invest Northern Ireland at any time make any recognised formal documented assessment of Mr McClelland’s suitability against specific terms and conditions provision in any overriding contract?

4. To reiterate, we request you provide answers to the following and provide the evidence required in the publicly awarded tender, as
follows;
a) How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) have
successfully targeted HPSUs
b) How they (in this case Mr Christopher McClelland) assisted
HPSUs in selling to international markets through the participation of the
programme.

Your response to Part 2. ‘Part 2 of your request related to Invest NI’s knowledge of Mr McClelland’s voluntary arrangement with Brewbot and its insolvency procedure.’

a) Invest NI was aware of the Voluntary Arrangement in respect of Mr McClelland’s company Brewbot.

Noted.

Please answer the following questions;

1. At what date and by what method were you Martin Adair as the Programmme Manager – Propel Pre Accelerator & IgniteNI Accelerator, made aware of this voluntary arrangement?

Your response ‘b) The decision to appoint Mr McClelland was made by IGNITE. Invest NI was aware of this decision when it consented to his recruitment into the role of Programme Director.’

Please answer the following questions;

1. In this situation is it the responsibility of the awarding authority (Invest Northern Ireland) to assess the suitability of a key person (in this case Programme Director) to meet the specifications as required within the terms of the specification of the contract?

2. Would the responsibility of this action reside with Martin Adair (Programmme Manager – Propel Pre Accelerator & IgniteNI Accelerator)?

3. Is any failure to assess the exchange of a key person within the overriding contract a possible breach of your responsibility in effective contract management?

Your response ‘d) Invest NI does not hold written justification in regard to the recruitment of Mr McClelland as Programme Director, this decision was made verbally at a meeting on 3 December 2018.’

Please answer the following questions;

1. Please provide a copy of the minutes of that meeting on 3 December 2018.

2. The names of all those present from Invest Northern Ireland and Ignite NI; and, the location of the meeting.

3. Also, please provide the circulation list for those minutes. Who in Invest Northern Ireland was the content of that meeting shared with and on what date?

4. Please share any emails, the related addressees and their content where the decision to consent to the appointment of Mr Christopher McClelland to the position of Programme Director was announced and shared with your colleagues.

In addition, please answer the following questions;

1. As the Programmme Manager – Propel Pre Accelerator & IgniteNI Accelerator, who is your direct line manager?

2. As a normal consequence in managing a contract of this size, would it be normal procedure to discuss an issue like this with your direct manager or with the CPD (Central Procurement Directorate)?

3. Can you provide a copy of the terms within the awarding contract that covers the conditions and process for the exchange of the appointed Programme Director?

Your recent response has totally ignored our question;

(d) Please provide a copy of the written justification that was used within Invest NI to allow the change in key personnel to be accepted, with dates.

Yours

George Johnston

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your request for an internal review.

As you may recall from previous reviews this is an opportunity for a fresh look at how a request was handled and the response provided. The internal reviewer is independent from the initial decision and considers whether the original response was appropriate. This process will normally be completed within 20 working days.

As part of this review it has been brought to my attention that whereas you have requested information under the moniker 'Monkey George' within that username you have also used two separate identities namely 'George Johnson' and 'Johnson Woods'.

To be a valid FOI request an applicant must provide their real name. As such, as part of this internal review we will consider whether this request should have been handled as a valid FOI request. Therefore to satisfy ourselves that this request was handled properly under FOI can you please provide identification to verify your real name.

We will accept certified copies of photographic identification such as a Passport or Driving Licence. Please send these to [Invest NI request email] (certified copy) or originals to :
Information Governance Manager
Invest NI
Bedford Square
Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7ES

Please provide this proof of identity by Friday 15th March to allow us to verify your identity and conclude the internal review. On receipt of identity we will also proceed with your additional queries.

Regards,
Steve Chambers
Head of Internal Operations

Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8343
[Invest NI request email]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8343
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8343

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights, please visit: investni.com/privacy

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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Dear Steve Chambers,

Thank you for your correspondence.

For clarity .

The email used contains a collection of characters 'monkeygeorge' - it is neither a name or a moniker; my name is George Johnson. From time to time I use the nickname Johnson Woods.

We consider your request to be an attempt to stall our enquiry for information in relation to the appointment of Mr Christopher McClelland to the role of Programme Director of the Invest NI funded Ignite NI programme. Our response is a fair and reasonable request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

We await a full response from yourself or Martin Adair to our last correspondence.

By way of courtesy, can you please confirm your identity? We will also accept certified copies of photographic identification such as a Passport or Driving Licence, posted in reply to this correspondence.

Yours sincerely,

George Johnson

For clarity, the following is the text from your first response to this enquiry, were you have replied to me as Mr Johnston.

[email address]
Bedford Square
Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7ES

Telephone: 02890698437

Email: [email address]

Our Ref: FOI 1105

Date: 5 February 2019

Dear Mr Johnston

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I can confirm that Invest NI has now completed its search for the information which you requested on 10 January 2019.

A copy of the information related to your questions is enclosed at Annex A.

I would like to clarify that Mr McClelland is not the senior Ignite executive responsible for the management and delivery of the Propel Pre-Accelerator and IgniteNI Accelerator. This task remains with Mr Watson.

I also attach a release schedule at Annex B detailing the information falling within the scope of your request.

In answer to your individual points:

1. The criteria/qualification required is detailed in the following documents:

i. The Tender Document, Section AC1, Prog. Director Experience.
ii. Conditions of Contract, Section 14, Key Personnel.
iii. The Contract Specification Document, Section 7.0, Prog. Director.

2. Confirmation how Mr McClelland met the requirements:

See 14.2 of Conditions of Contract within Annex A. Mr McClelland met the requirements by being of at least equal status or of equivalent experience and skills to the Key Personnel being replaced and being suitable for the responsibilities of that person in relation to the Services.

Mr McClelland is a respected Northern Ireland business figure, prominent in the tech and start-up community. He has been working as an Entrepreneur in Residence on the Ignite programmes since inception, in addition to supporting other start-ups with advice and as a Non Exec Director. He brings valuable experience of Accelerators’, gained while participating in the world’s preeminent Techstars programme.

3. What was the process that allowed a change in personnel, 1 year into contract award?

See 14.2 of Conditions of Contract within Annex A.

4. Were the events at Brewbot taken into account when selected for this role?

The circumstances related to the voluntary arrangement regarding Brewbot were considered by Ignite.

If you feel that the information we have provided does not fully meet your request please contact me on 02890698437 in the first instance. You have the right to request a formal review by Invest NI within two calendar months of the date of this letter and if you wish to do so, please write to the Information Governance Manager, Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7ES or email ‘[email address]’.

If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, who will undertake an independent review.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Adair
Programme Manager – Propel Pre-Accelerator & IgniteNI Accelerator

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson

Thank you for your email. I am the Head of Internal Operations division within Invest NI and I am taking forward the internal review of your FOI request.

As noted in my previous correspondence an internal review is to assess whether all aspects of how a request was handled were done so in line with FOI legislation.

Invest NI does not, in normal circumstances, question the validity of a requester’s name, however as it has now been highlighted that you have used several names, whether they be nicknames, a pseudonym or a moniker, it is reasonable for a public authority to request identification to confirm the identity of an applicant. This is to ensure that the request is valid under Section 8 of the legislation.

This is in line with the Commissioner’s guidance ‘Consideration of the identity or motives of the applicant’ which states that, when determining whether a request is valid, it will be permissible for a public authority to enquire about the identity of the requester if it has reason to believe that they have not provided their real name.

I await evidence of your identity to contribute to the review on or before the 15th March.

Regards
Steve Chambers
Internal Operations

Head of Division
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. Belfast. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8345
Email: [email address]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8345
If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8345

For details on how we use your personal data, including your rights, please visit: investni.com/privacy

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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Dear Steve Chambers

Thank you for your reply relating to our enquiry regarding information relating to the appointment of Christopher McClelland as Programme Director of the Invest NI funded Ignite NI programme and relating to responses previously provided by Martin Adair.

Can you clarify the valid forms of identification, and format, that can be used through this website.

Yours sincerely,

George Johnson

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson

The valid forms of identification, format and addresses are contained within my internal review acknowledgement dated 5 March 2019.

We will accept originals or certified copies of photographic identification such as a Passport or Driving Licence.

You can send a certified copy of the documents above to the Invest NI FOI mailbox ‘foi @ investni . com’ (no spaces); or send the original document to :
Information Governance Manager
Invest NI
Bedford Square
Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7ES

Please feel free to contact us on 02890698655 if you have any further queries on how to send these documents.

Invest NI would not recommend that you post evidence of your identity on a public website.

Whereas we will accept confirmation of your identity through the channels noted, we will of course - on receipt of valid identification - continue to correspond with you through this website.

Regards
Steve Chambers
Internal Operations
Head of Division
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. Belfast. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8345
Email: [email address]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8345 If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8345

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FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson, further to my recent email.

On further consideration of our request, and to facilitate your response, in this instance we are content to receive a clear scanned copy of your Passport / Drivers Licence as opposed to a certified copy.

Channels for receipt as detailed in previous email.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Regards
Steve Chambers
Internal Operations
Head of Division
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. Belfast. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8345
Email: [email address]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8345 If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8345

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Dear Steve Chamber

Many thanks for the clarification.

Yours sincerely,

George

Dear Stephen Chamber

In relation to our request for information in relation to the appointment of Chris McClelland as Programme Director of Ignite NI programme, funded by Invest Northern Ireland, pus supporting responses by Martin Adair.

In contrast to sending your organisation a scanned copy of my ID by email, is it possible to hand deliver a copy of a driving license to your Bedford Street office, Belfast on 15 March?

For purposes of clarification, does my ID need to be from the UK or can EU identification?

Would it be possible to meet with Martin Adair during our visit? Plus, is it acceptable to be accompanied by our legal counsel?

Yours sincerely,

G Johnson

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

Dear Mr Johnson

Thank you for your email.

Further to your suggestion, we are content for you to hand deliver a good quality scan copy of your ID (UK or EU) tomorrow (15th March). Please leave this with reception, marked for the attention of the Information Governance team.

Alternatively, if you do not have access to a photocopier and wish to bring in original ID, please do so by 5pm and ask for Mark Hutchinson, a member of the Information Governance team, who will meet you and take a copy of your ID.

This will allow us to progress the internal review for this FOI request.

In terms of your meeting request, unfortunately we cannot accommodate this at such short notice. Such a meeting would not fall within the scope of the FOI process and Invest NI cannot discuss arrangements for such a meeting through this website. In order to arrange a meeting, we request that you contact us directly, providing details of the purpose of the meeting and who is planning to attend.

Thank you for your continued assistance in this matter.
Best Regards

Danny Smyth
Information Governance & Data Protection Manager
Internal Operations
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. Belfast. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8655
Email: [Invest NI request email]
www.investni.com www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk Text Relay Number: 18001 028 9069 8345 If you are calling using a textphone from outside the UK please call: +44 151 494 1260 028 9069 8345

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Invest Northern Ireland,

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

George

Dear FOI Invest Northern Ireland,

Invest NI does not hold the information requested at Part 1 of your request.

Part 2 of your request related to Invest NI’s knowledge of Mr McClelland’s voluntary arrangement with Brewbot and its insolvency procedure.

a) Invest NI was aware of the Voluntary Arrangement in respect of Mr McClelland’s company Brewbot.

b) The decision to appoint Mr McClelland was made by IGNITE. Invest NI was aware of this decision when it consented to his recruitment into the role of Programme Director.

d) Invest NI does not hold written justification in regard to the recruitment of Mr McClelland as Programme Director, this decision was made verbally at a meeting on 3 December 2018.

In answer to your individual points:

1. The criteria/qualification required is detailed in the following documents:

i. The Tender Document, Section AC1, Prog. Director Experience.
ii. Conditions of Contract, Section 14, Key Personnel.
iii. The Contract Specification Document, Section 7.0, Prog. Director.

2. Confirmation how Mr McClelland met the requirements:

See 14.2 of Conditions of Contract within Annex A. Mr McClelland met the requirements by being of at least equal status or of equivalent experience and skills to the Key Personnel being replaced and being suitable for the responsibilities of that person in relation to the Services.

Mr McClelland is a respected Northern Ireland business figure, prominent in the tech and start-up community. He has been working as an Entrepreneur in Residence on the Ignite programmes since inception, in addition to supporting other start-ups with advice and as a Non Exec Director. He brings valuable experience of Accelerators’, gained while participating in the world’s preeminent Techstars programme.

3. What was the process that allowed a change in personnel, 1 year into contract award?

See 14.2 of Conditions of Contract within Annex A.

4. Were the events at Brewbot taken into account when selected for this role?

The circumstances related to the voluntary arrangement regarding Brewbot were considered by Ignite.

Yours sincerely,

George

FOI Invest Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Johnson,

Please find attached our response to your recent request for an internal review.

Thanks
Jane

Jane McKenna
Information Governance
Invest Northern Ireland, Bedford Square, Bedford Street. BT2 7ES.
Direct T: +44 (0) 28 9069 8226
Email: [email address]
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Jayne

Thank you for your reply provided by Steven Chambers, relating to our enquiry in relation to the appointment of Chris McClelland in Ignite NI and your programme manager Martin Adair.

The response of Invest Northern Ireland is understood.

However, to those who read our request for clarification on this matter might question the rationale not to fully address the questions asked.

We are content that the request is closed.

Yours
George Johnson