Belfast Region City Deal
The BRCD partners comprises Belfast City Council, five partner councils, two universities and four of the region’s further education colleges (Southern Regional College, Belfast Met, Northern Regional College and South Eastern Regional College).
The Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD), signed in December 2021, represents a new way of working between central and local government and regional partners and secures a bespoke package of investment from central government and the BRCD partners of more than £850 million to support the delivery of our shared vision.
“Inclusive economic growth that delivers more and better jobs, a positive impact on the most deprived communities and a balanced spread of benefits across the region."
Investment and Economic Growth
The BRCD partners have worked with the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to secure the deal, with each government partner committing to invest £350m over the lifetime of the deal.
The substantial financial commitment, which will be further supplemented by the private sector, will generate up to 20,000 jobs as it is delivered over the next 10-15 years - an exciting, once in a generation opportunity to accelerate economic growth for the region in an inclusive and sustainable way.
This deal will strengthen the region’s offer in growth sectors such as life and health sciences, the digital and creative industries, and advanced manufacturing. It will support next generation digital capabilities, boost tourism and support the regeneration of our region, underpinned by infrastructure developments and investment in skills to connect people to jobs and services.
Southern Regional College is proud to be part of the Belfast Region City Deal and is looking forward to working collaboratively with the BRCD partners to develop the pipeline of skills required to respond to the employment opportunities created through this deal.
More information can be found at Belfast Region City Deal our you can view the BRCD programme online video.
Latest Updates
Belfast Region City Deal Reaches Major Milestones
During 2025/26, the Belfast Region City Deal reached major milestones with Studio Ulster, AMIC, and the UK Digital Twin Centre now operational, construction progressing on iREACH Health and Momentum One Zero and more than £674 million of investment committed through signed funding contracts.
Digital Twin Industry Challenge Led Accelerator - Open
Turn your technology into a digital twin solution for a real-world industry challenge, with up to £75,000 in Innovate UK grant funding to support its development.
The programme will support up to 12 technology SMEs to work directly with an Industry Challenge Owner, combining funding, technical support, mentoring and industry access to develop and demonstrate a digital twin solution.
Digital Twin Academic R&D Accelerator 2.0 - Open
Digital Catapult's Digital Twin Academic Accelerator 2.0, delivered by the UK Digital Twin Centre, is now open for applications from UK academic institutions and RTOs.
The Digital Twin Academic Accelerator is an 11-month innovation and research programme designed to generate practical, scalable research outputs that directly support industry adoption of digital twin technologies. Applicants will focus on one of two challenges: Complex Live Digital Twin Interoperability or Digital Twins for Social Innovation. Successful applicants will receive up to £225,000 Innovate UK grant funding to complete their research.