Today the Design Council announced the five projects which will receive £100,000 in total via its Design Fund for Growth to support the formation of closer connections between business, technology and design to encourage business development and economic growth.
The five selected projects are:
Creative Front Cambridgeshire, Designing for Innovation (D4I)
The project will bring together design, technology and a wider business audience to celebrate and effectively communicate the economic value of design whilst providing a platform and legacy which could be rolled out nationally.
Culture North, MADE NORTH
MADE NORTH will provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas on how traditional art and design are merging and the role that technology is playing in this process. It will be working with the best talent from across the North of England to develop a conference and touring exhibition showcasing regional designers.
Design Network North, Step up for Design
An event focused on networking and business pitching. It will be followed by a competitive, panel assessed access to accredited suppliers of design services.
Design Wales, 10 Things I Learnt...
10 speakers from across design, technology and business will share their experiences in an interactive event which will be filmed and streamed live.
West of England Design Forum, Design for Growth Week
Five events will be delivered over five days to help businesses to understand design and the strategic business benefits and to help designers promote themselves and design effectively.
"All the evidence shows that closer connections between design, business and technology help create successful, growing businesses," commented David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council. "We're delighted to be supporting these exciting initiatives aimed at bringing these disciplines together to help create jobs and boost economic growth right across the country."
The projects and events will take place across the country between November 2011 and March 2012. Each partner organisation will receive £20,000 from the Fund for Growth to plan, promote and run their proposed activity and to build on its impact thereafter. They will also receive press and media support, specialist event advice, a full set of event and promotional materials and some design support to help them orientate the materials for local use.
The call for the Design Fund for Growth received an overwhelming response, with 60 proposals submitted by organisations from all around UK. The selection panel, chaired by Design Council trustee Pam Alexander included respected figures from business, design and technology. The panel members were: Bill Sermon from Via Dynamics; Dee Halligan a Design Council Design Associate; Ellie Runcie, Director of Design Innovation Services and Networks at the Design Council; Kathryn Best from Kathryn Best Design Management and Richard Eisermann from Prospect.