First industrial design programme a winner, says Tekes
The Finnish funding agency for technology and innovation - Tekes - is currently finalising the evaluation of its first industrial design programme. While the final report is yet to be published, the positive results of the programme are already evident. Tekes awards government funding, both to university- and company-led projects. Much of the funding is done on a reactive basis, whereby Tekes waits for researchers to submit project ideas. The Industrial Design programme was more pro-active, and saw government funding going to companies. 'There is a difference between industrial design and design,' Janne Viemerö from Tekes told CORDIS News. 'Design is something made of the designer's mind. Industrial design is a reflection of the end user,' he said, explaining that it could be based on ergonomics, psychology and usability studies. 'There are also secondary things, besides technology, in the decision on whether or not to buy. We wanted companies to think about these things,' said Mr Viemerö. Tekes therefore allocated a budget of €10 million over four years. Conditions for funding included having partnerships outside of Finland, interdisciplinarity, and perhaps most importantly, a willingness to introduce changes to the whole production chain. 'We wanted to give companies tools to design, and not to just fund the development stage. Investing in knowledge lasts much longer,' said Mr Viemerö. The results of the programme have been impressive. Some 80 per cent of participating companies have seen results from their involvement, with many reporting an increased turnover and new products. Around 100 companies received funding, and some 20 PhDs were supported under the programme. This is particularly impressive when one discovers that, until this programme, only around 10 people had ever done a PhD in industrial design in Finland. 'We have done what we wanted,' said Mr Viemerö. Tekes has been so happy with its Industrial Design programme that the organisation is now looking at broadening it, perhaps involving academia more, and extending it to areas such as electronics, plastics and services.
Countries
Finland