Design Programme – Information Sheet

What is the Design Programme?

Design is vital to the success of businesses. Research in Europe which followed 1,000 companies over a 7 year period showed that businesses utilising design principles to revise their strategy, business model, brand and operations grow 50% more than those which don’t.

Invest NI have been proactively helping companies benefit from Design principles for a number of years. One method of support is the Design Programme.

Invest NI’s Design Programme has been in operation for over 15 years. During this time we have learned the best methods to help companies and identified the areas requiring focus. Our aim is to continue to improve the programme for the benefit of NI companies.We are now ready to run the next tranche of support.

This 4 month long course is designed to be interactive and apply to the broad range of businesses which the participants represent. The programmewill allow for up to seven days of design consultancy support from an experienced design consultant to help your business develop concepts based around your design need. This support includes interactive sessions, a mid-term review, a final exhibition of work and a six-month evaluation review. You will be charged £1,250 +VAT for these consultancy projects.

A recent independent evaluation of the Design Service (2008-2015) showed that:

  • 40% of businesses who engaged with the service reported an increase in export sales. This equated to net export revenues of £8.4m (£15m gross);
  • 49% businesses reported an increase in sales;
  • Estimated that net 433 (gross 772) additional jobs have been generated in firms associated with the programme;
  • 63% confirmed that participation had enabled the business to add value to existing products/services
  • More benefits will accrue, as a result of the activity & expenditure already completed, in the later years to 2020

The objectives of the programme are to:

  • promote good design practice as a key business factor
  • provide tools and techniques for use in the development of your current and future designs
  • illustrate best practice in industry by means of company case studies

The Design Service is run by Queens University Belfast on behalf of Invest Northern Ireland and isfundedby the Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014 - 2020 under the European Regional Development Fund.

Dates of Programme

Below is the list of dates, times and confirmed locations for the next Design Programme. Please make note of the Attendance requirements below.

Session 1 / Wed 27th January 2016
TIME: 9.15am – 5pm / VENUE TBC
Session 2 / Wed 10th February 2016
TIME: 12.15pm – 5.30pm / Park Avenue Hotel,
Holywood Road, Belfast
Session 3 / Wed 24th February 2016
TIME: 9.15am – 5pm / Park Avenue Hotel,
Holywood Road, Belfast
Session 4 / Week beginning 4th April 2016 / Meeting at client premises
Session 5 / Wed 4th May 2016
TIME: 9.15am – 5pm / VENUE TBC
Session 6 / Wed 1st June 2016
TIME: 12N – 2.30pm approx / VENUE TBC

Attendance Requirements

Attendance at 2 out of the first 3 sessions is mandatory as this is where all the learning and information sharing is done. If more than 1 session is missed, there is too much to be caught up to be of benefit to the participating company.

If a company misses more than 1 session within a programme then they will be withdrawn and will have to reapply under a future call for applications.

Personnel to Attend

We highly recommended to get the full benefit of the programme that the attendee(s) are those who are able to make decisions on behalf of the business. We also recommend that this same person attends all sessions. While we understand to due to business need this may not always be possible, we can accommodate 2 people from each company per session.

Expected Outcomes

Potential outcomes from participation on the Design Programme can result in significant increases in sales and market share. For example, a previous participant has experienced increases of 1000% sales within the supermarket sector whilst another participating business has developed a market leading innovative product which has greatly improved the end user experience.

At the start of the programme, you will be allocated a mentor from our Design Group. This mentor will work with you throughout the programme and mentoring time is factored into the end of each of the Session 1-3 dates above.

After the completion of Session 3, the company will be asked to produce a design brief by a deadline (this is normally 2 weeks after the Session 3 date), the content of which will already have been discussed with your mentor. Invest NI will then use the information contained in this brief to undergo a competitive tendering process to select a Design Consultantfor your project. This process normally takes 2-3 weeks to complete.

The session 4 date is an indicative date of when you should be allocated your consultant. Once allocated, your design group mentor will facilitate a meeting between the company and the selected consultant to discuss the content of the design brief and the way forward. After this stage of the process, we encourage companies to solely engage with their design consultant, however your mentor will be in the background should you need assistance.

How to apply?

The application is in 2 parts (Part A and Part B) and both must be signed and returned by the submission deadline to be considered eligible.

Application forms are availablebelow or by contacting the Design Group on or 028 90698025.

Application form - Part A

Application form - Part B

Completed applications for the current tranche should be returned to no later than 5pm on Friday 27th November 2015. Late applications will not be accepted.