Fifty years on from the Scandinavian Report, Ireland has a new “Policy Framework for Design in Enterprise in Ireland” commissioned as part of Irish Design 2015 (ID2015). Research undertaken shows that:
The Design sector accounts for €38bn in exports or 20% of total exports
48,000 people or 2.5% of the workforce are employed in design roles in Ireland
Between 80% and 90% of firms cite the importance of design to innovation, customer service and profit
Ireland’s design-sector exports are higher relative to the UK.
ID2015 was a year-long initiative exploring, promoting and celebrating Irish design throughout the country and internationally.
Major outcomes for ID2015 to date include:
- 28.5 million have engaged with ID2015 including 1.7million exhibition attendees, 24.6 million installation viewers, 17.8k workshop participants, 26.8k talks/symposium attendance, 1.2 million digital viewers and 130k social media followers and website unique users
- 6486 Irish designers/companies showcased on the island of Ireland
- 476 Irish designers/companies showcased internationally
- Export sales pipeline of over €24.18m generated to date
- 370 new design businesses registered in Ireland during 2015
- Over 17,000 designers receiving training
- Over 1,500 business professionals receiving design training
- 80+ corporate and strategic partnerships created including Design Museum (London), V&A (London) and Vitra (Germany)
- 10 fold return on investment
As ID2015 Programme Director I am delighted that the Irish Government intends to build upon the legacy of ID2015, and is committed to pursuing concrete actions on design, under the 2016 Action Plan for Jobs, including:
- Strengthening Ireland’s design capability and performance through Enterprise Ireland and DCCoI supports such as Regional Collaboration Funds, Start-Up Funds, International Trade Promotion, Clustering initiatives, Technology Gateways, Incubator initiatives and regional and sectoral networks
- Exploiting opportunities for Ireland to win EU design collaboration funding
- Expanding the ‘Design 4 Growth’ Initiative launched as part of ID2015 and led by Dublin City Local Enterprise Office, bringing small firms and designers together.
- Continued promotion of Irish design through our Embassies abroad and through Enterprise Ireland’s export promotion activity
- Enterprise Ireland will work with DCCoI in promoting design thinking to their clients as a strategic element of business management
- The Government’s Future Skills Group will look at current provision of design skills and scope out future skills needs
alex milton design 