Design Council
Is an independent, not-for-profit organisation incorporated by Royal Charter. It is the national strategic body for design and advises government on design in national policy. Its aim is to promote design and the value of design to the economy. It does this partly by delivering transformative design coaching programmes for the public and private sectors, including Public Services by Design, Innovate for Universities and the Department’s Solutions for Business product, Designing Demand.
Public Services by Design is a mentoring and coaching programme for public sector professionals, enabling them to innovate and deliver innovative customer focused services. It uses experienced design mentors to transfer valuable skills, bring fresh insight and draw upon a collection of design tools to challenge thinking, provide direction and find new ways to solve complex public service issues.
Designing Demand is one of the Department’s Solutions for Business products. It is a mentoring service for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It helps businesses with an appetite for growth discover how to become more innovative, more competitive and more profitable. Management teams are led through a practical-based process that helps them to understand how design can be a strategic and effective tool to boost performance, open new markets, cut costs and reduce risk.
Innovate for Universities helps UK universities learn how to exploit the commercial potential of their scientific and technological discoveries for competitive advantage and thereby encouraging private investment. The programme supports university TTOs by parterning them with a design mentor to help them use strategic design and innovation tools to accelerate the commercialisation of their research projects.
See further information on the Design Council and its activities at: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk
Review of the Design Council
In July 2010, David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, announced a review to consider the future role and status of the Design Council as the national strategic design body as part of the Government’s public bodies reform programme.
Martin Temple CBE, Chair of the EEF and a member of the Design Council Board, was asked to lead the review.
Recommendations were made to David Willetts and Ed Vaizey, Minister for Communication, Culture and Creative Industries, in September 2010. The review found a compelling case for the Design Council to continue to champion design and for continued government support. Ministers accepted the recommendation that the Design Council "should continue as a Royal Charter charity, but not as a non-departmental public body, and with reduced funding from government. It should sharpen its activities to do more for less and provide improved value for money to the taxpayer by operating in a new way, as a smaller organisation and from different, shared premises, drawing on shared back office services."
The Design Council and BIS worked together to translate the recommendations of the review into an operational plan and new structure for the Design Council. On 1 April 2011 the Design Council ceased to be a Non-departmental public body. At the same time, it took on some of the assets and staff belonging to CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment).
The full review is available here: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/innovation/docs/d/10-1178-design-council-review.pdf
BIS press notice announcing a review of the Design Council: http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=414508&NewsAreaID=2
BIS press notice announcing the change in status: http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=415971&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true
CLG press notice announcing merger with CABE: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/1841458
For further information, please visit the Design Council website: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk
Link to BIS Innovation Capability Team: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/public-sector-innovation/about-us
Press Release: Design Summit held on 23rd June 2011: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/government-pledges-commitment-to-design-at-landmark-summit/
