Design ecosystems and innovation policy in Europe

In 2015, 15 of the 28 European Member States had design included in national innovation policy and between 2012 and 2016, design action plans have been adopted by governments in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland and Latvia as well as by the European Commission. Long misunderstood by companies and government as styling, design is a user-centred approach to problem-solving that can be applied across the private and public sectors. Design has attracted the attention of policy-makers as a factor for innovation as part of a paradigm shift in Europe where the remit of innovation policy is expanding. In the same way that innovation policy is based on an analysis of the Innovation Ecosystem, design researchers have demonstrated that design policy should be based on an analysis of the Design Ecosystem. Finland was the first country to adopt the concept of a National Innovation System to inform innovation policy in 1992 and it was also the first country to adopt the concept of a Design Ecosystem to inform its design policy in 2013. The European Commission’s Action Plan for Design-driven Innovation encourages all European countries to integrate design into innovation policy and develop design action plans. However, this raises the fundamental question of how government can effectively develop design policy. Through a consensus building process with policy-makers, academics and design centre managers, various components of a Design Ecosystem were explored and tested. The processes resulted in a consolidated Design Ecosystem model with nine components: (1) users, (2) support, (3) promotion, (4) actors, (5) designers, (6) education, (7) research, (8), funding, and (9) policy. The Design Ecosystem model advocates that a policy should consider every aspect of the ecosystem to ensure a balance between supply of and demand for design expertise

Design ecosystems and innovation policy in Europe

In 2015, 15 of the 28 European Member States had design included in national innovation policy and between 2012 and 2016, design action plans have been adopted by governments in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland and Latvia as well as by the European Commission. Long misunderstood by companies and government as styling, design is a user-centred approach to problem-solving that can be applied across the private and public sectors. Design has attracted the attention of policy-makers as a factor for innovation as part of a paradigm shift in Europe where the remit of innovation policy is expanding. In the same way that innovation policy is based on an analysis of the Innovation Ecosystem, design researchers have demonstrated that design policy should be based on an analysis of the Design Ecosystem. Finland was the first country to adopt the concept of a National Innovation System to inform innovation policy in 1992 and it was also the first country to adopt the concept of a Design Ecosystem to inform its design policy in 2013. The European Commission’s Action Plan for Design-driven Innovation encourages all European countries to integrate design into innovation policy and develop design action plans. However, this raises the fundamental question of how government can effectively develop design policy. Through a consensus building process with policy-makers, academics and design centre managers, various components of a Design Ecosystem were explored and tested. The processes resulted in a consolidated Design Ecosystem model with nine components: (1) users, (2) support, (3) promotion, (4) actors, (5) designers, (6) education, (7) research, (8), funding, and (9) policy. The Design Ecosystem model advocates that a policy should consider every aspect of the ecosystem to ensure a balance between supply of and demand for design expertise.Keywords: design ecosystem, innovation policy, design policy

A Review of Design Support Programmes in the European Union Countries

No abstract available

Design for circular economy: Developing an action plan for Scotland

In Europe, concern regarding environmental degradation, resource scarcity and price volatility brought about through traditional linear production methods, coupled with the need to enhance the global competitiveness of European business has led to an increased focus on creating the framework condi- tions for a transition to a circular economy. Transition from a linear to circular economy is not straightforward and there are very few existing examples of the transposition of the EU's ‘ Circular Economy Action Plan ’ into national or regional policy. This article reports on a project undertaken in Scotland to develop tangible and realistic policy proposals, aligning market and government needs in order to create favourable conditions for the public and private sector to adopt circular principles. Established theory on innovation ecosystems was adapted to map a ‘ Design for a Circular Economy ’ ecosystem in Scotland. Actions to build on system strengths and address weaknesses were co-developed through interviews, workshops and peer review with key stakeholders in the ecosystem. Twelve actions were developed addressing four major themes: business support and fi nance; skills and education; promotion and awareness; and policy and regulation. The actions varied in scope from groundwork, through instigating change to systemic change. The article concludes by summarising a number of good practices drawn from the experience in Scotland that may be used in other countries looking to develop a circular economy policy framework

Co-designing design fictions:a new approach for debating and priming future healthcare technologies and services

Background Design fictions (DFs) are emerging as a tool aimed at engaging people in debating and questioning the direction of future technologies, services and possible societies. Following the challenges placed on healthcare provision by an ageing population, governments are introducing policies related to ageing that will shape future healthcare services. The exploratory ProtoPolicy project, investigated how co-created DFs might be used to help older citizens imagine the future implications of policy initiatives through the lens of technology in an ageing society. Methods A co-design research approach was employed. In collaboration with older citizens (n=21, 65-94 years old) the project team co-created two DFs based on citizen responses to government policy, which explored the issues of assisted living/smart-homes and assisted dying/ euthanasia in the UK. Feedback on the DFs was sought from citizens at a co-design workshop. Results Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the workshop engagements with citizens: increasing the plausibility and acceptance of future healthcare technologies and services, raising ethical concerns and questions, conceptualising new healthcare producs and services, helping with understanding and decision-making, and service/technology requirements capture. Conclusions Understanding and engaging with more complex social healthcare technologies through a co-design design fiction approach might provide added value for citizens in priming new technology introduction in healthcare services. Co-designing design fictions can also provide researchers with more in-depth insights about the preferable futures articulated by different groups within the context of technology and healthcare services

Using design fictions as a tool for engaging citizens in debating future pervasive health systems and services

The benefits provided by health-related technologies are often counterbalanced by the societal, legal and ethical challenges connected with the pervasive monitoring of people, as necessitated by such technological interventions. Through the ProtoPolicy research project we explored the co-creation and use of design fictions as a tool for open debate of pervasive health systems. Design fictions were co-created and tested in a series of design workshops with community groups in the UK. A thematic analysis of a debate among older people on a smart home and assisted living design fiction highlighted societal and ethical issues relevant to personal and pervasive health system design. We conclude that ethics, like ‘usability’, may be usefully based on engagement with directly or indirectly implicated publics and should not be designed into innovation by experts alone

Co-design, evaluation and the Northern Ireland Innovation Lab

Around the world there are more than 100 policy labs—multi-disciplinary government teams developing public services and policies using innovation methods to engage citizens and stakeholders. These policy labs use a range of innovation methods and approaches, including co-production, co-creation, co-design, behavioural insights, systems thinking, ethnography, data science, nudge theory and lean processes. Although the methods may vary, one element is consistent: policy labs actively, creatively and collaboratively engage the public and a wide range of stakeholders in jointly developing solutions. The Northern Ireland Public Sector Innovation Lab (iLab) is part of a growing UK and international community of policy labs using co-design to engage with users for value co-creation, aiming to improve public governance by creating a safe space to generate ideas, test prototypes and refine concepts with beneficiaries. Drawing on iLab’s experience, this paper explores three questions: What are the main determinants of effective co-design? What are the unintended consequences of co-design? And what lessons can be learned from iLab and shared with other policy labs

What Design Research Does ... : 62 Cards Highlighting the Power and Impact of UK-based Design Research in Addressing a Range of Complex Social, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Issues

Design research makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and society as a whole. Ever since the establishment of the Government Schools of Design in the nineteenth century, the UK has been widely acknowledged as an international leader in design research. Following this lead, the What Design Research Does… cards highlight the wide range of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that design research, funded and based in the UK, makes all over the world. The 62 cards illustrate unambiguously the positive changes that contemporary UK-based design researchers are making in many complex issues. Each What Design Research Does… card lists the challenges and issues faced by the design researchers, who they collaborated with, the research methods and approaches taken, the outcomes of the design research, what the main results and findings have been, and what impact the design research has had. In short, the What Design Research Does… cards clearly articulate the breadth of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that UK-based design researchers are achieving today