Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer has said he will announce details of a Northern Ireland innovation fund to promote industry and jobs across the North tomorrow.
During his budget speech in the House of Commons today, Mr Brown confirmed he would announce that the fund for Northern Ireland industry would be made to available to a new Stormont Executive if it was formed.
The Chancellor told MPs: "When the Northern Ireland Secretary and I meet all the Northern Ireland parties tomorrow morning, we will announce details of a new Northern Ireland innovation fund, a new fund for industry and jobs to be available for a restored Executive - the restored Executive we all want to see."
But the SDLP's regional development spokeswoman Margaret Ritchie warned people they should cautious about extravagant promises and tough talk about what could be extracted from the Chancellor in a devolution package.
"The first thing we want the Chancellor to do is fix the things the British Government broke here, starting with the Water Service," the South Down Assembly member said.
"But we have already seen that he has dazzled other parties with a few big numbers, while we had to point out that he was talking mostly about recycling money already committed.
"We will be seeking to isolate what genuinely new elements he has to offer to rebuild an economy shattered by decades of violence.
"We want new money from both the British and Irish Governments to be ring-fenced so the public will know it is separate from what would otherwise be available to the Executive.
"We need to show that additional money will not just disappear into the woodwork in departmental budgets."
Earlier Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin observed that the Irish Government was the only one so far to put new money on the table for an incoming Stormont Executive.
The South Antrim Assembly member warned: "It is of increasing concern to Sinn Fein that the British Chancellor Gordon Brown does not seem to be properly engaged on the issue of a substantial and significant peace dividend to be used by any incoming executive.
"As things currently stand, the only new money on the table for a future executive is that being provided by the Irish Government. The British Government have yet to come up with the necessary financial package to tackle the legacy of infrastructural under-investment in areas like water.
"This reality poses a very significant challenge to the successful transition to a power-sharing executive which can effectively deal with the very many difficulties which we face.
"Sinn Fein remain engaged with the British Government and the British Treasury on this issue and we will express these very real concerns to Gordon Brown when we meet on Thursday."
Northern Ireland's politicians are facing a deadline of next Monday to form a new power-sharing government featuring the DUP, Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionists and the nationalist SDLP.
An economic package - made up of funds from the Treasury, the Irish Government and possibly the European Union - is seen as vital if the executive is to have any chance of addressing key socio-economic challenges during devolution.
Last November Mr Brown offered the North's political leaders a £50 billion package over 10 years. While Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain hailed this as significant, the North's business and political leaders accused the Government of repackaging old funding as something new.
Northern Ireland's politicians want the final offer Mr Brown will make tomorrow to offer business incentives and hope it will help them stop controversial water charges which are due to be introduced in the province on April 1st.