Cardiff Met’s International Centre for Design and Research (PDR) is recognised for its research into how design can improve people’s everyday lives and how for example governments and policy makers can change the way they develop policy for the benefit of all.
In this film, you will hear from Professor Andrew Walters and Professor Anna Whicher about one such example, involving the development of a design ecosystem for the provision of innovation support which has had significant impact on policy and practice in Europe and a positive impact on regional economic performance.
They explain how their research project working with multiple European Partners enabled policy makers to make decisions on how best to support SMEs in their regions. In particular, how this has contributed to seven policy instruments across six countries, increased government investment by around €14 million in design support and reaching 2,600 companies across Europe to deliver both increased competitiveness and sales growth for SMEs.