Simon O’Rafferty: Senior Research OfficerThe creativity gap? –

bridging creativity, design and sustainable innovation

what does the Ecodesign Centre do?

established in September 2006

through core funding from the Welsh Assembly Government

•applied research

(knowledge creation)– demonstrations with industry

•knowledge hub

(knowledge transfer)– policy – academia – education/training resource development and delivery

•international partnerships

climate change is not ‘a problem’

waiting for ‘a solution’

it is an environmental, cultural and political phenomenon

it is multi-dimensional

our response requires a heavy dose of creativity

new roles for business / new roles for government

lots of great programmes and initiatives on ecodesign

regulatory frameworksinformation servicesdemonstration projectsR&D financinggrants‘brokering’

services

BUT…

it is still not mainstream in design/innovation -

especially in SMEs…

market failure

neo-classical economics

linear tools of innovation

addressing inputs rather than system

supporting firms in isolation

systems failure

evolutionary economics

innovation systems

knowledge & interactive learning

actors, infrastructure and culture

networks

capacity building frameworks

principles underlying interventions

to enable ecodesign/creativity/innovation we require?

different forms of intervention

–

strategic competencies, capacity building

an innovation system perspective

–

knowledge, interaction, (clusters, brokerage, mobility schemes)

policy instruments that address changes in behaviour for innovation, dealing with strategic, informational, or organisational

needs

an exploration of new (possibly informal) support channels

-

e.g. VC or informal risk capitalists, entrepreneur networks, foresight programmes

greater policy coherence

(supply and demand side) with “open borders”

The stimulus for re-invention and for questioning the status quo has probably never been greater

“ “

Josephine Green

–

senior director of trends and strategy at Philips Design