'Profound divisions' at the top of InvestNI are having a damaging impact on the organisation, an independent review has found.
They also heard "widespread concern" that the board, and in particular its chair, Rose Mary Stalker, had at times become too involved in operational issues.
A written submission from a group of senior managers said that some board members have been "perceived as pursuing their own agenda, with an increasingly ad hoc approach and a lack of coherent policy". There was also evidence of some difficult relationships between the cohort of senior managers themselves as well as "confusion and poor delegation" from some managers.The review has also raised questions about a central plank of Invest NI's support for businesses which is known as the "client company" model.
The review said there were strengths to this model but it means that a sizeable amount of Invest NI's financial support is tied up in repeat assistance to a very small number of firms
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Profound immune escape by SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1 even after 4 vaccine dosesIn a recent correspondence published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, researchers in Germany assessed the neutralization sensitivity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) XBB.1 lineage.
Read more »
Shropshire Labour Group set out its Alternative Budget for Shropshire CouncilShropshire Labour Group has set out its Alternative Budget for Shropshire Council which aims to invest in people, rather than property.
Read more »
Investing for dummies: Time to take the plunge and pick my first stocksI'm an investing dummy, admits lauriehavelock 'It’s time to put my money where my mouth is and choose where to invest £25' 👀 Here's how it went:
Read more »
Introducing micro physiological systems to evaluate new radiopharmaceuticals: A binding study with radiolabeled cetuximabRadiopharmaceuticals can be used for targetspecific functional diagnostics, such as PET or SPECT imaging, or radionuclide therapy of diseased tissue, depending on the incorporated radionuclide. Following initial in vitro testing, radiopharmaceutical candidates are usually further characterized in small animals. Since reduction, replacement and refinement (3R) of animal testing is a central precept in preclinical research it would be beneficial to replace at least some of these tests by alternative methods. Using micro physiological system technology, various organ-on-chip models can be created with human cell systems/organoids, which are operated in a circulatory system under defined physiological conditions. Here we present first attempts to introduce micro physiological systems for evaluating radiopharmaceuticals using the radiolabeled anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab as reference compound. In a micro physiological system equipped with six 96-well plate-like microwells in a flow chamber, binding of 64Cu and 68Ga-labeled cetuximab to cells and spheroids grown from A431 (EGFR-positive) and MDA-MB435S (EGFR-negative) cells was measured and compared to conventional microplates. Specific saturation binding of radiolabeled cetuximab at increasing concentrations was analyzed using a phosphor imaging system. The affinity of radiolabeled cetuximab towards A431 spheroids measured in the micro physiological system was in the same range as that of the spheroids in conventional microplates. Within the assays in micro physiological systems, the results showed a trend towards increased affinity for A431 monolayers compared to the spheroids. The values of binding capacity for radiolabeled cetuximab on 2D and 3D A431 cell culture models were in the same order of magnitude when measured in micro physiological systems or in microplates. Building on these first promising results, the work will continue on MPS modules containing advanced human spheroid/ organoid models.
Read more »
Iran protests: Facebook wrong to remove 'death to Khamenei' posts, board findsUse of the slogan 'death to Khamenei' in Persian did not break guidelines, a review finds.
Read more »