Design Performance: Design ScoreBOARD

The research proposed here aims to develop a novel approach to assessing the nation’s design performance – to support better use of design in the development and exploitation of the UK’s science base.

Over the last 10 years, many manufacturing activities have slowly relocated overseas, in the main to lower cost economies. Not content with being suppliers of cheap, low-skilled labour to the word many countries such as China, Korea, India, Singapore and Taiwan have been investing heavily in their science and technology base. And now these countries are also starting to recognise that they also need to develop their design capabilities.

The UK must act fast both at national level to put place a strategy and objectives – and at the company level to stimulate the recognition of the importance of investment in design.

The importance of design performance in the 21st century cannot be overstated. However, a key barrier to understanding the importance of design, the location of design activity and the role of design in the UK economy is reliable data in the design sector. There is a need for further work to effectively understand the value of design for both a firm and also a region or nation.

This research proposal is for a “Design Scoreboard” that can be used to understand the relative position of a region or nation in its design capabilities, design utilisation and design orientation.

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