Design Council to look at role of the industry

The Design Council is set to launch a detailed investigation into the role of the design industry in the UK economy.

The design industry body plans to approach the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, among other organisations, to work with it on the as-yet unnamed project.

‘We will be looking at how design contributes to the modern economy, finding areas of growth and identifying potential targets for Government intervention and investment in design,’ reveals Design Council Government relations manager Mil Vukovic.

The year-long project will kick off in the next two or three months, with final results due for publication next autumn.

‘We will publish interim results periodically, as the research progresses,’ says Vukovic.

The report could complement current research into the creative industries by Nesta.

The organisation has just published The Geography of Creativity, the first phase in its geographical mapping of the creative industries throughout the UK. The map indicates that certain creative industries tend to cluster together in particular regions, but it fails to pull out information specifically about design. This is due to the sector’s much-bemoaned lack of an official Standard Industrial Classification code.

Nesta hopes that once complete, the project will inspire the Government to tailor creative industries policy to suit different clusters and regions.

For more on Nesta’s The Geography of Creativity report, see the next issue of Design Week, out tomorrow.

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