High-Level Skills for Higher Value was published following consultation with over 1000 designers, educators and industry experts to develop the plan.
The consultation process examined whether our industry has the requisite skills, capabilities and infrastructure to respond to the new demands of the UK's knowledge based economy and add even greater value to business and the public sector in the future.
Qualitative Consultation
A formal qualitative consultation was conducted in 2006 to gather the opinions of key groups, on behalf of the Panel. This took place via a series of workshops, focus groups and in-depth interviews with designers, design employers, representatives of further and higher education and secondary school educators. The sample was designed to be inclusive (rather than representative) of various aspects including region, design discipline, experience, type of educational establishment and seniority.
Quantitive Consultation (Online Questionnaire)
The Panel posted a voluntary online questionnaire which was live on www.keepbritishdesignalive.com from 8th May to 1st November 2006.
Final analysis was based on 902 completed questionnaires and the sample achieved a spread of respondents across different regions, design disciplines, age, experience and occupation.
Design a New Design Industry
Following its first year of activity and research in 2005, the Design Industry Skills Panel published an initial consultation document, which served as the foundation of the formal quantitive and qualitative consultation that ensued (see above).
Supplementary research and material
*NB: This research was conducted independently of the design skills consultation exercise.
The Business of Design 2005*
The Design Industry Research conducted by the Design Council in association with the DBA is based on a survey of 2,433 telephone interviews conducted with designers from design consultancies and in-house teams as well as freelancers.
Design in Britain 2005*
The Design Council 2005 National Survey of Firms, published as Design in Britain, was based on telephone interviews with1,500 businesses from the Experian National Business Database. We also conducted a supplementary survey of 250 businesses identified as design-alert who were asked to quantify the impact that design had on a range of measures of business performance.
For further information, please contact us at research@designcouncil.org.uk
The Supply of and Demand for Design Skills 2006
Produced for the Art, Design, Media Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through Design and the Design Council, this work aimed to identify the skills and knowledge delivered through post-compulsory design education in the UK (Supply) and compare this with the contemporary skills and knowledge required by design businesses and practising designers in the current climate and in future years.
The research included a preliminary literature review of associated UK and international publications, a focused review of the public information available on a range of design courses in the UK and 59 1-hour interviews with design practitioners.
Creative Blueprint research 2006
In order to deliver stages 1 and 2 stage of the Sector Skills Agreement (the Creative Blueprint) Creative & Cultural Skills undertook an extensive programme of research that included an assessment of skills needs and of training and education that drew upon a number of data sources, including:
- Approximately 1800 creative and cultural businesses
- 120 in depth interviews with creative and cultural practitioners
- 21 structured focus groups
- 50 in depth interviews with training providers
- 30 students undertaking creative study at GCSE and A-Level
The surveys were conducted between August and November 2006, covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland across the entire Creative & Cultural Skills Footprint (advertising, craft, cultural heritage, design, music and performing, literary and visual arts).
