Sharing Experience Europe - policy innovation design

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As Europe strives to develop a knowledge-based economy and exploit innovation as a tool for economic growth, it is vital to ensure that innovative ideas actually manifest as successful products and services. Investment in R&D and innovation must be encouraged, but it is equally important for countries to be prepared to convert this knowledge into commercial products and services. Design is seen around the world, particularly in emerging industrial nations outside of Europe, an essential step in the process of transforming innovative ideas into products and services fit for purpose. There is currently a shortfall in this area in most EU countries, particularly within SMEs. The SEE project is a partnership of 11 organisations wishing to establish how this shortfall can be reduced to best effect by sharing experience, developing new thinking and influencing regional policy. The group will share information on policies that have been successful in using design to boost innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability or economic development. All the partners are already active in establishing design programmes or strategies at regional or national levels which target SMEs and their lack of resources for implementing design practice and innovation into their business. This group is now willing to develop an interregional cooperation to exchange information and experiences in order to identify, analyse and disseminate good practices on innovation and design policy and other related areas (e.g. sustainability, R&D). The partner organisations, from UK, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Spain, alll work as an integral part of regional innovation policy and have commitment from regional government to improve their provision and delivery of policies for innovation, entrepreneurship and design. The SEE project proposes to operate from July 2008 to June 2011. The project will deliver two Conferences, four Thematic Workshops, a Study Visit, a Collection of Good Practices on Design Policies, six Newsletters, an internal contacts database, four Booklets of Policy Recommendations and 6 short films on policy best practice in this field. The aim of the SEE project is to establish an active dialogue within each region at both an operational and strategic level in order to positively influence regional policies for innovation and design.

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