A critical analysis on the effectiveness of design support programmes in the UK

Abstract

SMEs represent over 99% of businesses in the UK (BIS, 2010a). The importance of SMEs for a country's business and economic growth and the recognition of the problems they encounter have resulted in business support being provided for SMEs in most industrialised countries. The effectiveness of design support is often evaluated by examining the impact of design interventions on business and measured by using the standard business performance indicators, such as company survival, economic growth and job creation. Focusing on the measurement of outcomes may inform whether the programme is successful or not, but it may fail to reveal why and how. This research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of design support by examining the design support discourse in order to understand the divide amongst SMEs, DSPs and design consultancies. In this discursive analysis, the author traces a number of specific themes from interview transcriptions (n=24), publicly available DSP case studies (n=21) and DSP reports (n=10) to provide a critical overview of the DSPs. Interviews used for the analysis were undertaken by the author with individuals representing SMEs, design consultancies, DSPs and government agencies. The findings of this study provide a critical discourse analysis on the effectiveness of DSPs and aim to improve the collaboration between SMEs and designers.

The Future of Design Support: What Can We Learn From Design Support Experience in the UK, Estonia and Turkey?

“…To Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2008), the use of a priori template increases the credibility of a study by providing a clear trail of evidence and transparency. A template of themes was developed through adopting the structure outlined by Rossi et al (1998), in their seminal book, "Program evaluation: a systematic approach", on social programme evaluation and Gulari's research on DSP evaluation (Gulari et al 2013;Gulari 2014). The categories form the template are "evaluation of programme need", "evaluation of the programme theory", "process evaluation" and "result evaluation".…”

“…Considerable resources are spent on 'business support', which often takes the form of information and advice provided by professionals from various disciplines, and which relies on financial incentives provided to businesses. Design Support Programmes (DSPs) refer to funded projects and time-limited programmes that aim to assist businesses externally in achieving their objectives by working closely with them and by using design methods, skills and knowledge (Gulari, 2014).…”