Monday 23 Jun 2008 @ 14:11
London Development Agency
London Development Agency
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GROUNDBREAKING LONDON BUSINESS DESIGN PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
The ground breaking Designing Demand programme – which shows business leaders how good design can turn ideas and technologies into profitable products, services and brands - was officially launched in London last week.
The £3.5m programme, funded by the London Development Agency (LDA), was developed nationally by the Design Council. In London, a consortium of Grant Thornton UK LLP and Design London - a major partnership between the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London - are jointly delivering an expanded programme.
Designing Demand in London aims to have more than 600 London Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) experience at least one element of the programme over the next three years. Workshops for both SMEs and the business advisory community are being rolled out in the coming months in order to generate prospective clients for the various programme streams.
Richelle Harun, LDA Senior Design Manager, said:
"Designing Demand will provide hundreds of London’s small businesses advice on how they can use good design to give them an edge over their rivals. Good design is good for business and this programme will be good for London."
The launch event, held at Tanaka Business School, Imperial College, offered both the design community and prospective business clients a chance to gain greater understanding of the programme and how it has already benefited hundreds of businesses.
The London consortium will offer an extended programme of design support, tailoring new services for business based on their executive development courses and associated facilities such as rapid prototyping and technology labs.
For further information, please contact the LDA media team: Robert Beasley 020 7593 8437; for public enquiries, please call 020 7593 9000; for out of hours media enquiries, please call 07977 439 371.
Notes for editors
• The London Development Agency is the Regional Development Agency responsible for the sustainable economic development of London.
• Design London was established by lead partner The Royal College of Art with Imperial College London in 2007, supported by £5.8 million backing from funding bodies HEFCE and NESTA. The venture combines creativity and expertise in design from the Royal College of Art, engineering from Imperial College's Faculty of Engineering and the business of innovation from Imperial College's Tanaka Business School. Established following the Cox Review, Design London has four main pillars: creating new teaching programmes, conducting top-level research, incubating new business ideas and pioneering the next generation of innovation technology.
• Grant Thornton UK LLP is a leading financial and business adviser with 30 offices nationwide. We are the UK member of Grant Thornton International, one of the world's leading organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms providing assurance, tax and specialist business advice to privately held businesses and public interest entities. The strength of each local firm is reflected in the quality of the international organisation. All Grant Thornton International member firms share a commitment to providing the same high quality service to their clients wherever they choose to do business.
• The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the vital role of design in making businesses more competitive and public services more effective. www.designcouncil.org.uk
• Designing Demand is a national design support programme developed by the Design Council and delivered by regional development agencies. It came as a result of the extensive Cox Review of Creativity in Business, published in December 2005, which emphasised that Britain needed to move beyond low-cost manufacture and up the value chain in order to continue to compete globally. One of the key recommendations was for a national programme that helped SMEs understand how creativity and design can boost innovation. www.designingdemand.org.uk
o Designing Demand Workshops: fast-paced and practical one-day workshops showing SMEs what design investment could do for them.
o Designing Demand Generate: a support service to help both established businesses and start-ups identify the right design project for their needs and take it forward.
o Designing Demand Innovate: an intensive support service helping early-stage technology ventures use design to commercialise new technology.
o Designing Demand Immerse: an intensive strategic service for mature businesses, helping them embed design to tackle core business issues and make a lasting impact on performance through up to 18 months of direct support.
For further information please contact:
Robert Beasley, Acting Head of Media
Tel: 020 7593 8437 Mob: 07790 907568 robertbeasley@lda.gov.uk LDA out of hours: 07977 439371 Public enqs: 020 7593 9000
The £3.5m programme, funded by the London Development Agency (LDA), was developed nationally by the Design Council. In London, a consortium of Grant Thornton UK LLP and Design London - a major partnership between the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London - are jointly delivering an expanded programme.
Designing Demand in London aims to have more than 600 London Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) experience at least one element of the programme over the next three years. Workshops for both SMEs and the business advisory community are being rolled out in the coming months in order to generate prospective clients for the various programme streams.
Richelle Harun, LDA Senior Design Manager, said:
"Designing Demand will provide hundreds of London’s small businesses advice on how they can use good design to give them an edge over their rivals. Good design is good for business and this programme will be good for London."
The launch event, held at Tanaka Business School, Imperial College, offered both the design community and prospective business clients a chance to gain greater understanding of the programme and how it has already benefited hundreds of businesses.
The London consortium will offer an extended programme of design support, tailoring new services for business based on their executive development courses and associated facilities such as rapid prototyping and technology labs.
For further information, please contact the LDA media team: Robert Beasley 020 7593 8437; for public enquiries, please call 020 7593 9000; for out of hours media enquiries, please call 07977 439 371.
Notes for editors
• The London Development Agency is the Regional Development Agency responsible for the sustainable economic development of London.
• Design London was established by lead partner The Royal College of Art with Imperial College London in 2007, supported by £5.8 million backing from funding bodies HEFCE and NESTA. The venture combines creativity and expertise in design from the Royal College of Art, engineering from Imperial College's Faculty of Engineering and the business of innovation from Imperial College's Tanaka Business School. Established following the Cox Review, Design London has four main pillars: creating new teaching programmes, conducting top-level research, incubating new business ideas and pioneering the next generation of innovation technology.
• Grant Thornton UK LLP is a leading financial and business adviser with 30 offices nationwide. We are the UK member of Grant Thornton International, one of the world's leading organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms providing assurance, tax and specialist business advice to privately held businesses and public interest entities. The strength of each local firm is reflected in the quality of the international organisation. All Grant Thornton International member firms share a commitment to providing the same high quality service to their clients wherever they choose to do business.
• The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the vital role of design in making businesses more competitive and public services more effective. www.designcouncil.org.uk
• Designing Demand is a national design support programme developed by the Design Council and delivered by regional development agencies. It came as a result of the extensive Cox Review of Creativity in Business, published in December 2005, which emphasised that Britain needed to move beyond low-cost manufacture and up the value chain in order to continue to compete globally. One of the key recommendations was for a national programme that helped SMEs understand how creativity and design can boost innovation. www.designingdemand.org.uk
• Designing Demand has developed four strands to meet business demands:
o Designing Demand Workshops: fast-paced and practical one-day workshops showing SMEs what design investment could do for them.
o Designing Demand Generate: a support service to help both established businesses and start-ups identify the right design project for their needs and take it forward.
o Designing Demand Innovate: an intensive support service helping early-stage technology ventures use design to commercialise new technology.
o Designing Demand Immerse: an intensive strategic service for mature businesses, helping them embed design to tackle core business issues and make a lasting impact on performance through up to 18 months of direct support.
For further information please contact:
Robert Beasley, Acting Head of Media
Tel: 020 7593 8437 Mob: 07790 907568 robertbeasley@lda.gov.uk LDA out of hours: 07977 439371 Public enqs: 020 7593 9000
