The NIO regularly engages with other UK Government departments including the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), as well as Northern Ireland Executive departments including the Department for the Economy (DfE) to take forward various UKG policies relating to economic growth. The NIO also engages regularly with the other Offices for the Nations to identify how the Industrial Strategy can best be delivered across the UK as a whole. In order to coordinate UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive policies and strategies relating to economic growth, the NIO has established the Northern Ireland Growth Coordination Group (NIGCG), an official-led working group tasked with the coordination of policy and engagement to promote economic growth in Northern Ireland. The NIGCG, chaired by the Northern Ireland Office’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Julie Harrison, brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the NI DfE, Invest NI, DBT, and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), to ensure that both reserved and devolved levers for growth are working in collaboration. The NIGCG is important in ensuring that the pillars of the Industrial Strategy make the most of Northern Ireland’s strengths in competitive sectors such as life sciences and advanced manufacturing, while taking into account its unique advantage of UK-EU dual market access. The group’s first meeting was in May 2025, and it continues to meet at appropriate points, most recently on 29 May 2026, where it focused on Industrial Strategy implementation including Life and Health Sciences, UKRI funding, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) and the UK Government’s work to highlight the work of the Industrial Strategy one year on from its launch.