DBA, Design Council and COI think Design Does It

The Design Business Association is spearheading an initiative that kicks off this week to help Government design buyers get the best out of design.

Entitled Design Does It, the initiative has been created by the DBA in partnership with the Design Council and Government agency COI Communications.

The initiative aims to help public sector employees commission design and measure its effectiveness. It will constitute a three-day training programme for groups of around 20 civil service communication specialists.

DBA board director and The Team managing director Julian Grice has been working on the idea of promoting design effectiveness to Government for over two years. The DBA took the idea to the Design Council, which has created an on-line ‘toolkit’ for Government design buyers and involved COI Communications, which is making a financial contribution to the scheme.

‘We felt we had to have buy in from Government departments and are delighted that COI Communications came in,’ says Design Council director of design and innovation Clive Grinyer.

Roland Unwin, creative director of COI Communications’ publication and digital media group says, ‘Our objective is to promote design, share best practice and spread the word that design can be effective in getting across messages and changing behaviour.’

The Design Council has so far provided some £20 000 to launch the not-for-profit programme, says Grinyer. This has enabled the partnership to involve Vicky Sargent, DBA one-time chief executive, and Simon May, who has been working with the Design Council to create course content.

According to Grice, Design Does It, which is endorsed by training body Government Information and Communications Service and the Centre for Management Policy Studies, will work with 200-300 civil servants in the first year.

The first workshop was held yesterday, with another planned for January.