A new initiative developed by the Design Council and funded by the Regional Development Agencies is going to help businesses discover and harness the real fiscal benefits of design.
According to the initiative's website (www.designingdemand.org.uk) a one day workshop is a positive starting point to get businesses and their advisors enthused about the usefulness of good design:
"...they show how design fits into business planning to get results. Then, intensive services bring top-level expertise direct to the boardroom to find opportunities and work on projects."
All companies accepted onto the scheme receive the intial workshop, associated services and five days assistance from highly successful Design Associates chosen for their track record with FTSE 100 companies. All that the company has to invest in is the consultancy fees. The amount of investment from the company varies from company to company, but the organisations helped so far have seen "substantial returns" on investments of £5,000 - £14,000.
This opportunity for businesses is very similar to another initiative from the Design Council. The Dott Cornwall Eco Design Challenge (www.ecodesignchallenge.co.uk) does the same thing for schools; showing that the design process and design thinking can help find the solution to endemic problems faced by Cornwall's high schools. The Eco Design Challenge has been produced by Matt and Coordinated by Chris and will culminate in The Eco Design Awards as part of DesignEd in Cornwall at Tremough Campus on 9th July 2010.