Mapping Design Innovation Ecosystems

Design is increasingly being recognised as a priority for innovation by government. In September 2013, the European Commission launched an 'Action Plan for Design-Driven Innovation'. In 2011, the UK Government stated that 'Design can be transformative for companies, through leading or supporting product and process innovation, for managing the innovation process itself, and the delivery of public services' and in 2013, the Welsh Government recognised design as a driver of innovation for the private and public sectors in the 'Innovation Strategy for Wales'. However, there is often a disconnect between policy formulation and implementation. As such, there is a real opportunity for academic research to influence how policy is translated into practice. Innovation ecosystems theory is an established line of academic inquiry but design has yet to be integrated in a meaningful way.

Many parts of the UK have initiatives to support design but they operate outside the mainstream innovation ecosystem and therefore are not reaching their full potential. To implement effective policies and programmes for design, policy-makers require insight into the design innovation ecosystem to ensure all components of the system are operating cohesively. Research is required to ascertain how design fits into innovation ecosystems theory and how it applies in practice so that policy-makers develop design innovation infrastructure in an informed way. By mapping the design infrastructure in Wales and Scotland, this research will validate design innovation ecosystems theory and provide concrete examples of how design can achieve innovation policy priorities.

Firstly, PDR will undertake a literature review on design and innovation ecosystems to inform the framework development and workshop delivery. Subsequently, PDR will host four exploratory workshops with different target audiences (policy-makers, designers, academics and industry representatives) in Cardiff, Bangor, Glasgow and Dundee to test the design innovation ecosystem framework. The workshops will employ design-led techniques to engage participants in identifying the main actors and initiatives in different components of the ecosystems such as users in the private and public sectors, design support, design promotion, design centres, the professional design sector, design education, design research and design funding. From the mapping exercise, the workshop participants will use hands-on and visual techniques to explore the level of systemic interaction and assess the systemic strengths and weaknesses. From the strengths and weaknesses, the workshop participants will co-develop a set of policy proposal for strengthening the ecosystems again using design-led techniques to engage delegates in constructive and inclusive dialogue.

By mapping and analysing the two design innovation ecosystems, the research will propose a set of concrete recommendations to the Welsh Government and Scottish Enterprise to improve existing innovation programmes and policy initiatives. The outcomes will be disseminated in policy engagement events in Cardiff and Glasgow as well as meetings with key stakeholders in Lancaster and London.

The outputs from the project will be:
- A literature review of design innovation ecosystems.
- A framework for design innovation ecosystems validated through testing in four workshops.
- A map of the Welsh and Scottish design innovation ecosystems, their strengths and weaknesses and policy proposals for strengthening the ecosystems.
- A 'Blueprint for Mapping Design Innovation Ecosystems' to enable other stakeholders to replicate the research (this report will include the aforementioned outputs).
- Two policy engagement events and two dissemination meetings.
- A website with the project outputs.
- A peer reviewed article in an innovation journal and a peer reviewed article in a design journal.
- A summary report including findings, lessons learnt and future plans.

This research is intended to instigate policy and programme change in Wales and Scotland and to provide insight for other stakeholders to map and analyse their design innovation systems to strengthen the policy and programme provisions for design. Furthermore, this research represents a feasibility study to developing a more ambitious 'Roadmap for a National Design Strategy'.

The Welsh Government and Scottish Enterprise will benefit directly from this research and be involved in the exploratory workshops and policy engagement events to give them ownership and enable them to provide input during the research phase. Through the workshops, they will be involved in analysing the strengths and weaknesses of their design innovation ecosystem and provide input to the policy proposals. By involving a range of stakeholders including government officials, the policy recommendations will be fit for purpose, concrete and within the realistic scope for action. The research intends to provide practical proposals for integrating design into existing business support and innovation programmes in Wales and Scotland.

From experience through SEE, it has been identified that design is often excluded from mainstream innovation programmes such as innovation voucher schemes, tax credit and export promotion initiatives. Or if design is an eligible cost, it is not explicitly highlighted or encouraged within the programme. Design is an accessible means for small companies to innovate. By integrating design into mainstream innovation programmes, SMEs will be able to build capacity to use design within their businesses to enhance competitiveness. SMEs will benefit indirectly from this research through programme changes as a result of key Welsh Government and Scottish Enterprise officials participating in the research process and having a vested interest in carrying out the proposals. The exploratory workshops will use hands-on, design-led techniques to engage participants in fruitful discussion. From experience, these creative techniques are very productive in stimulating debate and synthesising diverse perspectives. As a direct result of the research, PDR would hope that design would be formally integrated into at least one programme in Wales and one programme in Scotland to assist companies. Programme change can take a number of months so it would be anticipated that the changes would take place by the end of 2014.

Other policy-makers and academics across the UK and Europe will also benefit indirectly from this research. Other design stakeholders across the UK looking to influence local, regional or national government will also be able to use Wales and Scotland as case studies for mapping design innovation ecosystems and influencing programme and policy formulation. Dissemination meetings will be arranged with key stakeholders such as Lancaster University, Dundee University, the Design Council and Associate Parliamentary Design and Innovation Group (see attached letters of support). It is anticipated that this research could form part of a more ambition project to develop a five-year 'Roadmap for a National Design Strategy' with Lancaster University. The UK has an opportunity to lead on the design policy agenda and this research forms part of efforts to embed design within mainstream innovation policy and theory. There is also growing interest across a number of European regions including among others Flanders, Border, Midland and Western Region of Ireland, Central Macedonia and Silesia to integrate design into innovation policies and programmes (see attached letters of support). This research will create a blueprint for stakeholders to map and analyse their design innovation ecosystems to provide input for evidence-based policy-making. PDR already benefits from involvement in a number of European networks listed in the Pathways to Impact section. The results will be disseminated through UK and European research and policy channels.