Alistair Darling
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
“Design is good for the bottom line but with only a fraction of UK businesses investing in design, they are missing a huge opportunity.”
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling, has asked the Design Council to produce a report on how well UK industry is making use of design and creativity.
Since the Cox Review of Creativity in Business in December 2005, the UK has made great strides in applying design process to benefit the nation’s economy and society.
And the 2006 budget confirmed that design is central to building competitive advantage in the face of increasing competition.
But too many UK companies spend nothing on design, which shows that design-led planning is not part of mainstream business thinking.
We’re trying to find out just how well we’re doing – and what more needs to be done.
So we need to talk to partners and experts in design, business, and academia to get a clear picture of just how much progress is being made towards harnessing the UK’s creative capabilities to support the nation’s productivity, performance and sustainability.
We’ll be asking
- What has been the impact to date of a greater emphasis on creativity in business?
- How can the UK take best advantage of its design talent?
- How best should businesses to use design to compete against the rise of low-wage, rapidly expanding developing economies?
- What can be done to link innovation with economic growth?
- Are all of the recommendations of the Cox Review being taken forward?
What more needs to be done?
We will be making our report in February 2007. For it to be most effective, we need to consult widely, talking to small-business owners, universities, large businesses as well as to designers and other creative industries. You can have your say on our Perspectives page.
