Developing an Action Plan for the Strategic Use of Design in the UK

Design has a huge role to play in driving innovation that results in societal and economic benefit. In the UK this benefit is currently not being maximised as we do not have a consolidated action plan for design that that provides a compelling case for that assists decision-makers to employ design effectively. A growing number of European countries have developed action plans for design including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland and Latvia. The UK is not one of them. This innovative research project synthesises for the first time, multi-stakeholder and user-led perspectives to generate original insights that go beyond existing approaches in the UK through the development of an integrated action plan to increase and enhance the strategic use of design as a driver for innovation and provides a roadmap to how that could be achieved. Our research approach will: a) draw in multi-stakeholder views that hitherto have not been synthesised and combined together (synergising individual agendas into a compelling and coherent argument to maximise the impact of design), b) provide new insights that informs a high-level strategic understanding of the potential of design to drive societal and economic benefit in organisations (to foreground the capability of the strategic use design to drive innovation), and c) set out a series of integrated steps (the 'action plan') required to enable the operationalization of design through an actionable plan (with examples of potential application of design in the public and private sectors). The plan will include key action lines for implementation which aim: 1) to increase the awareness of how design creates high-level societal and economic benefit resulting in increased competitiveness of, and wellbeing in, the UK; 2) to extend the understanding of design as a strategic tool as a driver for innovation in the suppliers (design sector), users (design buyers, commissioners and managers), and beneficiaries (end users of products and services); 3) to achieve economic benefit through an enhancing the strategic understanding of the economic value of design as a driver for innovation in targeted private sector user groups (e.g. R&D managers, brand managers, design buyers, etc.); 4) to provide a strong impetus for the effective application of design in the public sector resulting in improved services, enhanced experiences and quality of life; and 5) to transform the ability of the users of design to translate a strategic understanding of the value of design into operationalized activities. As formal project partners, the Design Council provide opportunities for enhanced impact by supporting engagement with key stakeholders, policy makers and opinion-formers through: - Active participation in the research through membership of the project Steering Group - Promotion of the project and sharing of findings with policy audiences in particular, through Design for Europe platform and Design Council UK networks - Support for online engagement with target audiences drawing on our existing networks - Insights generated by the 2015 Design Economy research, which maps design businesses and their economic contribution at a local level across the UK - Co-authoring an introductory text for the final project publication - Hosting of a high-profile event at our offices in central London to launch the project research findings