Capturing the Impact of Design for Europe
Design for Europe has had a larger sphere of influence than any previous European funded project on design. The figures are testament to its reach – as of August 2016 there has been over 65,000 web users and more than 5000 people have participated in 90 events. Through a targeted and strategic pan-European campaign to raise awareness and enhance the understanding of design, Design for Europe has created critical mass for a previously disparate set of stakeholders.
During the summer of 2016, I was asked to capture the impact of Design for Europe and produce 10 case studies based on interviews with 28 partners, experts and ambassadors. In this blog post I reflect on some key findings on Design for Europe activities and propose some recommendations for enhancing future impact.
Today it is not just about products anymore. It’s about solutions that address users’ needs. This is design: integrating the users’ needs from the start of the process.
Design for Europe is the main
implementation mechanism
of the Commission’s Action Plan
for Design-Driven
Innovation. The mission of
Design for Europe is to share
knowledge, experiences and
skills to strengthen the
European design community of
practice, and ultimately
equip businesses, public sector
organisations and
policy-makers with the tools
they need to implement
design-driven innovation. The
network has instigated a
Europe-wide shift in
understanding from design as the
final touch in the innovation
process to design being
holistically integrated into
every stage of the
innovation process.
“Design is a tool to bring new
ideas to the market. We
have many good ideas in Europe,
but if we are not
capable of bringing them to the
market, they will have
no impact at all. Moreover,
today it is not just about
products anymore. It’s about
solutions that address
users’ needs. This is design:
integrating the users’
needs from the start of the
process.”
Mark Nicklas, Deputy Head of
Unit, Innovation Policy for
Growth, European Commission.
Based on the interviews I
conducted, I developed 10
case studies, each focusing on
the impact on a different
country: Bulgaria, Estonia,
France,
Greece,
Italy,
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta,
Spain and
Poland.
These countries were selected
not only based on the
richness of data but also to
provide insight into the
spectrum of impact that Design
for Europe has had.
For example, in the case of Bulgaria, the Design for Europe partner departed from a very different starting point than in other European countries with more embedded design traditions. Yet in Bulgaria, ARC Fund, the Applied Research and Communications Fund, has engaged with a large number of influential organisations within the innovation ecosystem to implement the vision for design in the Smart Specialisation Strategy. Alternatively in Estonia, there has already been a National Design Policy and the first design support programme called Bulldozer. As such, the Estonian Design Centre engaged with civil servants with an interest in the e-Estonia agenda to demonstrate the role of design thinking in creating user-centred digital public services.
In Greece, the Business and Cultural Development Centre – KEPA, has accelerated progress toward its ambition to establish the first Hellenic Design Centre and has also implemented the first design pilot programme for Greek SMEs.
In France, the Design for Europe journey centres on Living Labs for co-creating products and services for business with the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as well as Public Innovation Labs co-creating services and policies with citizens by La 27e Région and Nesta. In Greece, the Business and Cultural Development Centre – KEPA – has accelerated progress toward its ambition to establish the first Hellenic Design Centre and has also implemented the first design pilot programme for Greek SMEs. The Italian partner, Politecnio di Milano, has advanced the national debate on design policy kick-starting a larger discussion around the contribution of design to policy and politics.
With the on-going support of Nesta and the Danish Design Centre, the Ambassador at the Lithuanian Design Forum has been accelerating progress towards a Design Action Plan with commitment from the National Statistics Department to collect new data on design and from the Ministry of Economy to broaden the scope of the new DESIGN LT programme for SMEs. Luxinnovation have integrated design into the business support programme Fit4Innovation and engaged with the Ministry of Economy so that design will feature in the government’s new Creative Industry Cluster for Luxembourg.
Through engagement with Design for Europe, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, one of the managing authorities of EU Structural Funds, will allocate 10% of their innovation budget of €24 million to support SMEs to use design.
Under the leadership of the
Design Council and Danish
Design Centre, the Ambassadors
at the
Malta Business Bureau
have benefited from
expertise from across the
network and have embarked on a
new pilot initiative involving a
series of workshops
targeting 15 local companies
from various services
sectors. The workshops built
capacity for the companies
to perform a design diagnostic
using self-assessment
tools according to their
specific requirements and
develop design action plans for
their companies. Through
engagement with Design for
Europe, the
Spanish Chamber of Commerce,
one of the managing
authorities of EU Structural
Funds, will allocate 10% of
their innovation budget of €24
million to support SMEs
to use design. While
in Poland, with the
support of Birmingham City
University and Lancaster
University design has been used
to re-imagine public
consultation and revitalise a
rundown district of Warsaw.
With the current round of
European funding drawing to a
close, there are both shorter
and longer-term
opportunities for enhancing the
impact of the network
through further activities and
strategic partnerships.
In the shorter-term there are
opportunities to
collaborate with some of the
more active Ambassadors
that have already contributed to
the success of the
network by providing additional
support to develop
design support programmes,
provide evidence to leverage
EU structural funds for design,
provide evidence to
engage with national statistics
agencies to collect data
on design, develop design action
plans and train civil
servants in design methods.
In the longer-term, there are opportunities for Design for Europe to forge strategic alliances with prominent European networks for business, the public sector, policy and design
In the longer-term, there are
opportunities for Design
for Europe to forge strategic
alliances with prominent
European networks for business,
the public sector,
policy and design. With
European-funded initiatives
there is the risk that
activities and commitment
dwindle
and ultimately stall once the
seed funding has run out.
To create a self-sustaining
model, Design for Europe
could consider how some online
services might be
delivered. For example, the web
platform could offer a
matchmaking service between
organisations for conference
speakers, commercial projects
and European funding
creating an online marketplace
for design expertise.
Furthermore, with its current
trajectory, Design for
Europe could be a portal for the
increasing number of
European funded design projects
bringing all the outputs
to one place.
This is a very exciting time for
design in Europe, and
Design for Europe has played a
fundamental role in
accelerating a shift in
understanding towards design as
strategy. The Partners, Experts
and Ambassadors now need
to propel this momentum into a
new phase to ensure
longevity and lasting impact. We
will all be there for
the journey.