Objective
Drive the development of new solutions to UK social and economic challenges and involve communities in designing local services.
We co-ordinate a programme called Designs of the time (Dott). Dott challenges communities to design and develop innovative new approaches to local issues that are also nationally relevant and support sustainable living in the UK. Dott provides the design support and facilitation allowing community representatives to devise prototype concepts for healthcare, education, transport, crime prevention and other services. The involvement of local and national partners ensures local impact and national take-up. The programme includes design education outreach involving schools and colleges as well as public showcasing and events.
Dott provides tangible, lasting benefits for local communities and national partners including innovative new services designed around the needs of users. It also acts as a training and demonstration ground for social entrepreneurs and service designers. In addition, it raises public awareness of the role of design.
The first Dott venture was organised in the North East over a two year period from 2005 culminating in a festival event called Dott 07. Eight community innovation projects achieved results including prototype services which are being taken forward in full or in part. For instance, a project to design an improved sexual health service engaged 1000 members of the local community and has provided a blueprint which is being taken up by three Primary Healthcare Trusts. A programme of skills development was supported by an Explorers Club which ensured lessons and approaches to innovation were shared across the region. 200,000 members of the public, including 15,000 schoolchildren were engaged in Dott 07.
Dott depends on a wide array of public and private partners. Dott 07 attracted £7m of (mostly local) funding, primarily from the RDA One NorthEast as well as other public bodies such as the Arts Council and NESTA.
We ran Designs of the time (Dott 07) over the course of 2007 in the North East. In conjunction with ONE North East, the regional development agency, we engaged thousands of local people in design activities to help create new public services like eco-friendly schools, urban farmed food and better sexual health services.
Read all about the highlights of Dott 07
Dott didn't stop in 2007, or in the North East. Now it's rolling into Cornwall, where it's user-led approach to driving innovative solutions to social and economic challenges by engaging the affected communities. To deliver this, Dott Cornwall has been developed as a Partnership between the Design Council and Cornwall County Council and there are tenders out for designers and project managers to work on the new projects. Find out more