What design networks exist in the UK, and how can they be made stronger?
Find out what happened at an unprecedented gathering of representatives from the regional and national design bodies.
The one-day conference, organised by the Design Council, brought together organisations that represent designers and design businesses across the UK. If you want to have your say on the issues raised, the Design Council would like to hear from you. Use the form at the end of this article, or join the Design Council group on Linked-in.
Shaping the future of design networks
Within the last ten years, regional design networks have emerged over much of the UK, adopting a wide range of shapes and sizes. Some are county-wide, such as Design Leicestershire, while others are more locally focused, like Creative Sheffield. Of these two examples, Design Leicestershire focuses on design specifically, whilst Creative Sheffield takes on a wider city development remit. Larger networks span multiple counties and act as umbrella bodies for smaller groupings: the South West Design Forum (SWDF) is a good example of this approach. There are also networks representing Wales (Design Wales) and Ireland (Design Business Ireland).
A quick review of the Design Council's map and list of regions and their associated forums shows that some areas are well served by design networks and others have less activity. Add to this list the four main national design industry bodies – British Design Innovation, the Chartered Society of Designers, D&AD and the Design Business Association – as well as the Design Council itself, and it’s clear that there is a complex and sometimes confusing landscape of bodies, offering a range of services which sometimes overlap.
To review this landscape and to ask why we need networks, what we have already and how they can be made stronger, in December 2009 the Design Council hosted a day-long conference featuring an unprecedented gathering of people from the national bodies, regional networks, regional development agencies (RDAs), universities and county and district councils. Different perspectives and experiences were raised, along with questions about the future for collaboration, funding and the purpose of regional networks and national membership bodies.
What do design networks provide?
Representatives from both national bodies and regional networks outlined the activities and services that they provide, which include:
- Training
- Education
- Seminars and conferences
- Links and matchmaking between design, business, universities and the public sector
- Knowledge transfer partnerships
- Advice, support and good practice guides and documentation
- Professional networking opportunities
These are the typical services offered by both national and regional bodies, so why have both? Many regional networks have grown out of a perceived need to unify and promote design in those regions in a way that the national organisations have not been able to. Fuelled in many cases by economic development funding from the RDAs, such networks offer a way of maintaining local contact and relevance whilst allowing their design members to punch with greater weight.
Despite their disparate nature, all the networks share a common belief in the economic value of design and its power to innovate, improve and solve business and social challenges. Promoting this value to industry and government is the focus of many of the activities of both the national and regional design networks.
Why do we need design networks?
As well as providing links and matchmaking to businesses, design-led economic forums can also hook up with manufacturers and university research departments to create mutually supporting innovation programmes.
Networks can help designers share experience and resources and promote their services more effectively to businesses both inside and outside the region. With more designers working independently (the number of freelancers has grown by nearly 40 per cent in the last five years, according to Design Council research), networks fit with changing work patterns too, acting as social and professional hubs. ‘We’re already seeing different ways of working and we may see a greater concentration of remote, regional workforces who are connected by forums,’ said Barry Jenkins, deputy chair of the South Coast Design Forum.
According to Stuart McFarlane, sector manager for digital and new media industries at RDA Yorkshire Forward, networks are a vital resource for creative businesses. ‘Designers are businesses whether they like it or not and must start being creative entrepreneurs. Networks are an absolutely key business support tool.’
Should the national and regional networks collaborate?
Many at the event felt that a combination of national weight and local reach could be harnessed to better promote design across the country, with potential efficiencies and cost-savings along the way. While the national organisations have more clout and greater membership revenues, the regional networks offer local relevance to their members and could provide a ‘grassroots’ voice directly to a national body such as the Design Council, suggested Design Leicestershire project manager Kate Beresford.
DBA chief executive Deborah Dawton is keen on collaboration, saying: ‘I think there’s been a shift out there and there needs to be a generosity of spirit; we need to work together, to adapt things for the locality of where you’re working.’
Greater collaboration between regional and national bodies could give a more unified voice for lobbying government, on areas such as procurement policy, for example. ‘I think there needs to be some sewing up between the national and regional bodies so that you get a real lobbying membership and you might then be able to decide whose is the lobbying voice,’ suggested Emma Cheshire, head of industry development for Screen Yorkshire. SWDF chair Roger Proctor agreed: ‘We really have to work together. We have to make it really simple for government so we can lead them toward what we want to do.’
Neil Tinson, chair of the Cornwall Design Forum, asked if we even need four national bodies – should they merge to reduce duplication? They say not. There are too many different sectors in design and one huge organisation would be unwieldy, leading to further breakaways, according to BDI chief executive Maxine Horn. Frank Peters, chief executive of the CSD, agreed, saying: ‘We have 3,000 members, 39 areas of practice, in 34 different countries – every one with different ideas of what you should do. It would be an incredibly difficult thing to combine all the organisations. We have to gain professional recognition, it doesn’t really matter who you belong to – it’s about professional status.’ Peters also clarified that the CSD is not a membership body ‘seeking to compete with other groups based on services offered’, but a professional body to study, promote and support the practice of design.
What are the major issues facing design networks?
Uncertainty about funding streams is a cause of concern for many regional networks. Money typically comes in small amounts from different stakeholders and ‘pots’ and managing this can be time-consuming and inefficient, suggested Roger Proctor at SWDF. ‘We do this because we are passionate about the benefits of design, the economic benefits, the social benefits. But there are a hell of a lot of people between us and the source of the money we receive, so most of my time is not about value to the industry but spent [working with funding].’
With a change of government seeming likely and the future of the RDAs looking uncertain, must networks become self-financing and sustainable, as suggested by Vanessa Brady, president of the Society of British Interior Design, and Roger Proctor at SWDF? Events-based organisation Designer Breakfasts is already self-financing. Co-founder Amanda Tatham said that because Designer Breakfasts has no funding support, it has to think entrepreneurially, developing revenue through partnerships and sponsorships.
Other issues facing design networks include a lack of shared vision, apathy toward engagement and, according to DBA chief executive Deborah Dawton, ‘not thinking big enough’ when it comes to ideas to promote the industry. There’s also the effect of policy on funding streams: ‘There’s a central government policy document which dictates how the RDAs can work. If you want to be heard you will have to work to that policy,’ noted Stuart McFarlane at Yorkshire Forward.
The future of design networks
The Design Council event was regarded as a positive and inclusive step in bringing together regional forums and national bodies. Further similar meetings were desired, particularly by regional representatives. But objectives need to be clear, said Gavin Cawood, operations director at Design Wales. ‘If this group wanted to carry on and get together again it would have to find reasons to do so, to go beyond the show and tell type thing of today.’
SDWF member Kathryn Hughes suggested that future events could include ‘facilitated working sessions’ where the national bodies discuss ‘what collaboration actually means and what it offers to working design practitioners’. Amanda Tatham of Designer Breakfasts proposed a centralised point of communication. ‘We’re doing all sorts of things in isolation, but I think it would be really good to bring all these things together in one place, where the people here could all contribute, and see what comes out of it.’
Design Council chief executive David Kester summed up with a series of questions pointing to the future. ‘There are all sorts of extraordinary networks across the UK doing a wide range of work – a whole ecosystem to promote design. But is there a missing piece? And if so, what can we do? What can the Design Council do? What can all of us here do? As Gavin Cawood said, if you bring people together once it is quite interesting; twice you get a bit more out of it and then the third time you ask why you’re doing it. Is there something more that we can do in the UK, not just for designers, but for Britain as a whole, that comes from us working together in a collaborative way. If there is, if it’s feasible, what shape should it take?’
What next? – Thoughts from the delegates
I think there should be a meeting between all of us, including the national organisations, to work out what we really mean by collaboration. It’s the role of the strategic body – the Design Council – to get us round a table and facilitate discussions about what collaboration could mean. In terms of funding, I don’t think there is going to be very much, so we are planning to build up revenue from our own assets, such as our high-profile directors, events, our newsletter and website and so on. I’m working on a model to do this and I am happy to share this with others. The national bodies can probably help as they are already self-supporting; the regions need the same financial stability, independence and sustainability. Peter Spence, Director, South Coast Design Forum
Regional design networks would benefit from opportunities to communicate with each other and share experiences. I believe that the Design Council is in an excellent position to facilitate such an exchange of information. The regional networks could also provide a route to grassroots opinion through their membership. This is not to suggest that the Design Council would become a representative voice of design practices – I know that is not its role – but it could enable the Design Council to develop strategies and initiatives that are better informed by the design sector. Kate Beresford, Project manager, Design Leicestershire
I thought that the biggest potential benefit that came out of the day – and also the biggest potential headache – was the idea of ‘open-sourcing’. We’re duplicating things all over the country. How much time and effort could we save collectively by sharing best practice and learning, by telling people what has worked well and what has failed? Can we adopt a more open source approach, not just to back-end technology, but also as a more general ethos? It would make us look better to our funders because we’re working with different parts of the country and it would be better value too. Morag McClaren, Chief Executive, a:design association
Whilst the [regional] trade bodies can organise their members by networking and promotion, they do not have the resources or expertise to promote design to UK business. This is the remit of the government, in the guise of the Design Council. I understand that the Design Council was called upon to provide some funding for a hub of regional groups and it would be difficult to argue against this proposal. A contribution of £50,000 to each of the 9 UK regions, to be split or awarded on a tendering basis, would only cost the Design Council £450,000 and the rewards would be immense for the regions and the Design Council’s image. If the Design Council wished to see accountability, as they must, they could channel the funding, or part of it, through the key national bodies: DBA, BDI etc representing the trade and CSD, Institution of Engineering Designers etc. representing the profession. Frank Peters, Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Designers
[As networks] we have to go way beyond just getting people together. We have to develop what people want first and then get them to pay for it. The South West Design Forum business plan is very focused around delivering strategic initiatives which can be taken up by the sub-local forums, ultimately encouraging paid membership. I also think we need a national organisation to present a coherent and single-minded message, otherwise government will get confused. I would like to see another meeting set up really soon and I think we should agree on a common strategy and business plan, then take it and partner with the Design Council, which is a good body to distribute resources throughout the country. We need to start doing things, not just keeping talking. Roger Proctor, Chair, South West Design Forum
Differentiation is very important. Why not carve membership bodies into specific sector remits such as graphics, digital, retail and so on, so there’s no competition? The regional groups should pay to join these to receive funding for local events, not use RDA funding to give services away for free without a sustainable business model. People were also concerned about duplication and reinventing the wheel across the country. BDI has already invested in a structure with a national centre and portals in every region. We are absolutely willing to find a way for people to use our structure and design directories technology in the most efficient way, so don’t reinvent the wheel – it’s already here. But all these things should be built around the needs of the external world – from the point of view of clients, students and business, not self-interest and self-promotion. We also need the voice of in-house designers. This group is now larger than consultancy-based designers and must be incorporated into the discussion. Finally, we really should be supporting the CSD, not tearing it down, as it is the only professional body for design and should hold the remit for education and professional development. If we lose the CSD and its royal charter it will take years to get anything like that again. The CSD should be as strong for design as the RIBA is for architecture. Maxine Horn, Chief Executive, BDI
I wonder if the national bodies are necessarily offering regional businesses value for money in the way that the local bodies are or could, especially [if the local bodies] had access to bigger chunks of direct funding. The national networks however provide a critical broader function within the UK design ecosystem, and our local North East networks benefit from valued strategic support from DBA in particular. This relationship works both ways and enables the national organisations to get immersed in the detail of regional operations without duplicating activity. Fundamentally it comes down to co-ordinating appropriate roles, resposibilities and levels of collaboration across the networks to maximise wider benefit for the sector. But there is likely to be less and less public sector funding for design, so how are we going to collectively plan for this? There needs to be collective agreement when it comes to dissemination of best practice – the whole industry should promote generic guideline documents. There should also be a means for talking with one voice when the industry needs to. It was absolutely clear that this co-ordination of voices and lobbying is one of the functions the Design Council should be fulfilling. The Design Council needs to develop a framework for converging regional needs and voices towards common industry goals and objectives, government facing or otherwise. Ben Strutt, Design senior specialist, One North East
What next? – Your perspectives
For me, the whole design community is too London-centric and - other than the BDI - there is little focus on product design or industrial design. For the past decade the "art" of design has benefited from the economic boom. However, as we enter an era of economic austerity, many of these nice-to-have design initiatives will disappear. The focus needs to get back to creating real wealth by creating real things... but I'm biased as my business is product design and research! Steve Roberts, Managing Director, Fripp Design and Research
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