July 6th, 2011
Innovative research commissioned by the Western Development Commission (WDC) and carried out by researchers at NUI Galway has highlighted the potential for a doubling of the workforce employed in the Creative Sector over the next 10 years. Additionally this could lead to up to €150 million in additional exports per annum from the sector – a key area of growth identified. The report is a follow up to the WDC’s much heralded Creative West report (PDF Download) published in February 2009, which in itself established the creative economy in the Western Region as being internationally significant with 4,775 businesses employing 11,000 people directly.
The follow up analysis entitled –“Creative Sector in The Western Region – Future Growth Trajectories” (PDF Download), was published this week by the WDC. Complied by a research team led by Dr. Patrick Collins of NUI Galway’s Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC) the report maps out the future growth scenarios for an industrial sector that has been bucking international trends in terms of growth.
Posted in Creativity, Policy, Report, Research, Sector | 1 Comment »
Posted by: Justin Knecht
June 30th, 2011
The SEE project launched SEE Policy Booklet 4, which examines the role of design in bringing innovative ideas to market in the context of 1) new product and service development; 2) design support for SMEs and 3) national design systems:
- Section one demonstrates that design features not only at intermittent points in the innovation process but can form part of every aspect of the process from generating new product and service concepts and understanding user needs to a product’s production, use and ultimate disposal.
- Section two describes the lessons learned during the course of the SEE project in delivering design support programmes focused on enabling industry to develop new products and services.
- Section three contextualises the role of design support programmes within the broader national system for design, which includes other elements that make up a nation or regions’ design resources and actors.
Since design is increasingly highlighted in innovation policies (such as the European Commission’s strategy Innovation Union), mapping regional and national design systems can enable policy-makers to identify opportunities and obstacles in the way actors interact within the system in order to develop better programmes and policies.
SEE is a network of 11 European partners exploring how to integrate design into regional and national innovation policies. Electronic copies of all our publications are available to download from the SEE website: www.seeproject.org/publications.
Posted in Book, Policy, Programme | Comments Off
Posted by: Justin Knecht
May 23rd, 2011
In Dublin, nature meets future – an excellent basis for sustainable design, Dublin, with its visionary talents across all fields of design is growing the potential to be a model for a bridging cultures and connecting the world by design.
- Prof. H.c. Helmut Langer, Past President International Council of Graphic Design Associations
DUBLIN’S BID FOR WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL 2014
Rising to several centimetres thickness, each copy bearing one of 30 different covers submitted by 30 different designers, comprising a staggering 416 pages of dense research and vivid imagery and accompanied by a specially made film – Dublin’s bid for World Design Capital was submitted for the end of March deadline to the competition agency ICSID. Entitled “PIVOT Dublin – Turn Design Inside Out”, the bid celebrates ambiguity, diversity and difference.
Dublin is a paradox (…) it is not about dour perfection or monotony. It’s about everything that’s possible when people, relationships, creativity and culture collide.
The bid is a collaboration between the four Dublin Municipal Authorities and has National Government support. Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny, considers participation in the World Design Capital project a significant contribution to his Government’s ambitions for Ireland as a creative and innovative economy: In his letter of support for Dublin’s bid he says “this designation if awarded would provide a valuable opportunity for us to showcase Irelands vibrant design and creative industries while the invigoration provided by the proposed programme of events and projects would bring a renewed excitement and vibrancy to the city building on our experiences as City of Science 2012”.
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Posted in Creativity, Culture, Government, News, Policy | 1 Comment »
Posted by: Justin Knecht
February 9th, 2011
Understanding the Return on Investment in Companies, National Industry, Programmes & Policies, Economy & Society
A lack of knowledge and tools to evaluate the rate of return on design investment is often cited as a severe barrier to advancing the understanding of design’s value in Government. With design firmly on the European political agenda as part of the strategy ‘Innovation Union’, policy-makers across Europe will be looking at how design can meet challenges in industry, services and society.
This third SEE Policy Booklet provides an overview of current practice in design evaluation and identifies actions to improve these methods at micro and macro levels in both the private and public sectors. The four sections are:
1. Return on investment in design for individual companies
2. Return on investment in design in national industry
3. Return on investment of public funds in design programmes or policies
4. Role of design and its impact on the national economy and society.
This publication is an output of the European network SEE, funded by ERDF/INTERREG IVC, which has been engaging with national and regional governments to integrate design into public policy.
Download your copy from: www.seeproject.org/publications.
Posted in Government, Policy, Proof, Report, ROI | 1 Comment »
Posted by: Justin Knecht
February 4th, 2011
Policy, Innovation, Design
Issue 5 of the SEE Design Bulletin is available for down load at:
http://www.seeproject.org/publications
Posted in Government, Policy, Report | Comments Off
Posted by: Linzi Ryan
February 2nd, 2011
Policy, Innovation and Design
The SEE project is a network of eleven partners in Europe engaging with regional and national government to integrate design into policy, particularly innovation policy. The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVC programme.
This conference is the project’s final event and aims to provide delegates with an overview of design’s role in innovation, recent design policy developments in Europe, examples of successful design policies and promotion programmes. The programme will be opened by Polish MEP, Jan Olbrycht with reflections on design as part of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Highlights from the conference include:
Design as part of innovation policy in a global context
Gavin Cawood / Operations Director, Design Wales
Making design policy happen in Denmark: the journey since 1997
Anders Byriel / CEO of Kvadrat, Chairman, Danish Design Council
Innovate and integrate: Design support for companies in New Zealand
Judith Thompson / Director, Better by Design
Design policy in practice: innovative strategies for local authorities in Flanders
Patrick Janssens / Mayor of Antwerp
Jan Van Alsenoy / Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities
Design as a Government capability
Bryan Boyer / Strategic Design Lead, SITRA – the Finnish Innovation Fund
EU Design and Innovation Initiative: What’s next for design in Europe?
Christine Simon / European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry.
Further information can be found on http://www.seeproject.org/.
Posted in Event, Government, Policy | Comments Off
Posted by: Linzi Ryan
November 6th, 2010
Last night I found a 50% off deal for custom created calendars. I thought it would be a good idea to buy one and customize it with my photos from China. I believed it could make a great present for my parents for Christmas, as they are always asking me for pictures and we don’t see each other so often. (Sometimes is hard to be so far away from home.)
I was all enthusiastic and started to look through all my pictures in order to find the best 12. I uploaded the pictures and double checked everything for printing. According to the website I should pay €7.99 as the calendar is half price. I went on and decided to start the checkout steps:
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Posted in Business Issues, Experience, Service Design | Comments Off
Posted by: Cristina Luminea
October 21st, 2010
Design Wales is calling upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Assembly Government to consider the potential significant role for design in future innovation, public service and social enterprise policies and programmes. This is in the light of increased commitment to design agenda by other nations around the world and in preparation for the new Innovation Policy published by the European Commission.
On the 14th October Design Wales launched the MANIFESTO: Design for Innovation in Wales: Industry, Services and Society. On the same day, the e-petition ‘Design for Innovation in Wales’ was opened on the National Assembly for Wales e-petition website.
Sign the petition.
Posted in Government, Policy, Report | Comments Off
Posted by: Justin Knecht
June 28th, 2010
The second policy booklet (PDF) from the SEE Project was recently published. There will be a total of four policy booklets over the course of the programme.
Design thinking can be a tool for realising social innovation and sustainable development by contributing to long-term behaviour change and integrating the user experience into significantly improved products, processes, services and systems. This Policy Booklet outlines the rationale behind policy intervention in this domain, explores how design can be employed to address social innovation and sustainable development, provides illustrative case studies and proposes policy recommendations. We have applied this framework under four headings: communities, industry, the public sector and policy-making.
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Posted in Book, Design thinking, Government, Policy, Report, Sustainability | Comments Off
Posted by: Justin Knecht
November 20th, 2009
On the 9th November 2009, the SEE project launched its first Policy Booklet on Integrating Design into Regional Innovation Policy (PDF) at the SEE network summit in Copenhagen. SEE is a network of eleven European partners working to lobby our national and regional governments to assimilate design and creativity into public policy. The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IVC programme.
The SEE Policy Booklet presents an overview of innovation policy priorities in the SEE partner regions. These priorities were identified from national and regional policy documents and contrasted with the strategic priorities for innovation identified by the European Commission. From this comparative analysis six key issues emerged as common across the policy agendas:
- Innovation in Services
- Public Procurement
- Collaborative Clusters & Networks
- Lead Markets & Eco-innovation
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Broadening the Scope of Innovation
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Posted in Book, Government, Policy, Report | Comments Off
Posted by: Justin Knecht
