Hello Shashank and François,
We have been running a similar scheme here in France. Although much
more modest in figures (but of comparable scale if we were to divide
by the ratio of population or number of businesses) !
I would be interested in getting your support documents. I could send
some of ours, but they are in french !
My personal opinion at this stage is pretty much the following. It
might not apply at all to your context, but still :
- these schemes can be effective, and deliver value for (public)
money, if the process goes beyond sensitizing and disseminating
information. I don't believe that promoting design to businesses is
very effective if it stops at the level of (fabulous) cases,
clarification about the costs, different types of design etc. At the
end, a large majority of businesses that come out of such sessions
prove unable to discriminate between priorities, have difficulties in
writing a proper commission, and a contract, and comparing different
design offers. This results in frustration on all sides, which is not
what we want;
- of course, one can argue that better a project than none. But we
think that it is not the first project that is difficult (every one
wants, somehow, to succeed), it is the second, or, generally, the
next one. And this might require changing designers, looking for
different skills etc. In some regions, the design ecosystem might not
be there at all !
- we have a rather strict information policy regarding the due
respect for creation and design : in terms of finances/costs, respect
for the competence of designers : they are the experts regarding
design, not the rest of the company's staff, or, to put it in other
terms, the fact that "you pay + colors are a matter of personal
taste" doesn't allow people to despise design proposals. Of course,
we are not there during the process, but we are more and more pushing
to positionning ourselves as a mediator all over the design project.
In terms of financing, I agree with Francois that if this depends
only on public money, it can become risky. We try to get businesses
to contribute at different stages, and hopefully intermediary
institutions to include design support in the broader schemes of
innovation support.
Best regards,
Jean
Jean Schneider
Chargé de projet APCI / Project manager APCI
[log in to unmask] +33(0)661 350 357
www.apci.asso.fr
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