Design Council invites bidders

The Design Council is inviting bids for design project funding, having secured ̼200 000 from the Department of Trade and Industry Рits first allocation in its new role as a conduit for Government spending on design.

The cash is for the financial year beginning in April and will be split between a number of projects, with grants ranging from ú2000 to ú25 000. No organisation will receive more than ú50 000.

The council is “keen to widen the range of bids”, and is inviting organisations with “a legitimate interest in design” to take part. Likely bidders are the Chartered Society of Designers and the Design Business Association.

The council is asking for submissions by 21 February. A judging panel, made up of Design Council staff and external assessors, will rule on the bids by the end of March.

The council is seeking projects covering areas of design effectiveness, definitions of design, mapping the UK’s design resources, and collaboration. But other projects will be considered.

The Design Council has four new members: Sean Blair, founder of Newcastle’s Octo Industrial Design; Dick Powell of Seymour Powell; Ivor Tiefenbrun, founder and managing director of Glasgow hi-fi manufacturer Linn Products; and Roy Williams, recently retired from a top Civil Service post in the DTI. Standing down after completing terms on the council are Barrie Weaver, Mary Bromly and James Kincade.