6 in 10 EU businesses use design – more investment needed says European Commission
More investment is needed to boost the EU’s innovation performance as six in 10 firms in the region require design talent, according to Antti Peltomäki, deputy director-general of DG internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Commission (EC).
Antti Peltomäki
Speaking at the first Design for Europe annual summit in Brussels, he said the EU is committed to encouraging greater adoption of design as a driver for innovation and growth within both the public and private sectors but stated that an investment in design skills is required to produce highly skilled talent.
Antti Peltomäki said: “We included a question on the use of design in our Innobarometer, which is a survey addressed to decision makers of companies in all member states as well as in Switzerland and in the US. The companies were asked about the level of integration of design into their business.
“The results are encouraging, even if the disparities between the EU countries are big. We also found that companies in the US are more likely to say design is not used in their company, compared to their counterparts in the EU (49 per cent vs 38 per cent).”
Annabella Coldrick, Design for Europe programme coordinator and director of policy and research at Design Council said: “As the results of the Innobarometer show, Europe’s businesses are beginning to embrace design. Design can be the catalyst for boosting innovation, economic growth and job creation.
“As such it is vital that we help businesses and public sector organisations better understand the important role design plays and encourage more EU members to include design in their national policy.”
Design for Europe is a three-year, €3.8m EC funded programme that aims to help organisations in the public and private sectors use design to accelerate innovation.