In 2009, the European Commission public consultation on ‘Design as a driver of user-centred innovation’ asked about the most serious barriers to the better use of design in Europe. The most significant obstacle was considered to be the “lack of understanding of design among policy-makers” (78%). The second was considered the “lack of knowledge and tools to evaluate the rate of return on design investment” (64%). As design climbs policy agendas across Europe, the importance of addressing the barrier of evaluating design is more relevant than ever. Evaluation is a vital part of the evidence to support decision-making.

 

When analysing the return on investment that the private design sector offers at a macro level, we are able to identify that design contributes in two ways: as a sector by itself; and as a strategic discipline that contributes to the growth of other sectors in the manufacturing and service industry. For governments to appreciate the significance of design both as a sector and as a strategic discipline that contributes to national competitiveness, decision-makers need to have data on the composition and strength of the design sector. What is design’s contribution compared with that of other sectors and disciplines?

 

In Wales (UK), the Creative and Cultural Industries Economic & Demographic Footprint research was conducted by Creative & Cultural Skills in 2008. It is based on data collected from sources including the Annual Population Survey (2006), the Inter-Departmental Business Register (2007) and the Annual Business Inquiry (2006). Creative & Cultural Skills defines the creative and cultural industries as advertising, craft, cultural heritage, design, literature, music, performing arts and visual arts. In Wales 24,060 people are employed in the creative industries and design accounts for the greatest proportion (22%). In addition, the Welsh creative industries contribute £465 million in gross value added annually to the UK economy, of which 36% comes from design. However, despite such encouraging figures, businesses in Wales take limited advantage of design. Only 17% of Welsh businesses use product and industrial design in their business.  Similarly, in the public sector in Wales design is mainly used for communication, and its strategic potential to develop efficient systems, services, products and process remains under-explored.  The value of this research is that it contextualises the role and contribution of design compared with other creative industries. This has been valuable for Design Wales, lead partner of the SEE project, to communicate the strength of the Welsh design sector to the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh Assembly Government.

© Design Wales 2011