Invitation to Tender DESIGN COUNCIL WISHES TO INVITE PROPOSALS FOR RESEARCH AND CASE STUDY WRITING FOR THE DESIGN FOR EUROPE PROGRAMME

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1 Invitation to Tender DESIGN COUNCIL WISHES TO INVITE PROPOSALS FOR RESEARCH AND CASE STUDY WRITING FOR THE DESIGN FOR EUROPE PROGRAMME BRIEF 1. Introduction The Design Council is tendering for a supplier to undertake research and write case studies regarding the impact of Design for Europe in ten European countries. This document includes information on the research topic, its background and the specific outcomes and outputs required. 2. Background and context Design for Europe (DfE) is a 3-year ( ) project, co-funded at 3.8m by the European Union. It is the European Commission (EC) s first major investment in design for innovation, and the vehicle for turning its Action Plan for Design-Driven Innovation into reality. Europe's economy needs innovation to grow, and there is strong evidence to suggest that design can play a significant role in achieving this. There is recognition at the EC that while some European countries and regions are world-leaders in this field, others are just beginning to embrace design as an economic driver. By sharing knowledge, experience and skills, DfE aims to strengthen the European design community of practice, and ultimately equip businesses, public sector organisations and policymakers with the tools they need to innovate. Led by Design Council (DC) with the support of 13 pan-european consortia partners 1, DfE aims to increase the use of design for innovation and growth across Europe. It is primarily delivered through a web platform ( and an active programme of engagement that brings together knowledge and best practices of design for innovation from across the private and public sectors, and policymaking in Europe. To enable effective dissemination across Europe, we have appointed 46 Ambassadors as champions of design-driven innovation. Our Ambassadors have been a valuable asset in promoting DfE through their local and regional networks, gathering content and intelligence, as well as brokering new partnerships. 1 Applied Research and Communications Fund Bulgaria; Birmingham City University - UK; Business and Cultural Development Centre (KEPA) Greece; Dansk Design Center Denmark; Dšola Slovenia; Design Council UK; Estonian Design Centre Estonia; European Network of Living Labs Belgium; Invest Northern Ireland - UK; La 27ème Région France; Lancaster University - UK; Luxinnovation GIE Luxembourg; Nesta - UK; Politecnico di Milano - Italy

2 The aims of the project are to: Increase user awareness of design-driven innovation Equip users with design tools and skills Empower users to embed and use design-driven methods in their work As of Jan 2016 (2 years in), the project has achieved the following: Over 47,000 people across and beyond Europe have visited the site 41 events across Europe reaching over 2,441 people face-to-face Ambassador network with 43 representatives covering EU27 13 high-level Expert members Over 12,500 social media followers 2,298 subscribers on our mailing list Over 180 pieces of excellent digital content In the final year, the focus is on creating a deeper impact with selected countries/regions. We took a strategic decision to focus efforts more deeply on some EU member states that are considered as modest and moderate innovators on the EU Innovation Scoreboard. This gave us a set of 16 member states who we are ready to offer a more targeted and supportive service, and we have been working more closely with ten of these. There has been strong interest coming from Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Spain. In addition, our partners are also making demonstrable impact in their own countries, i.e., Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece and Luxembourg. Target country Bulgaria Estonia France Delivery so far Arc Fund, held a seminar (Design-driven Innovation in Europe: policy framework, priorities and challenges) in Sofia last year with a targeted group of high level speakers and expert participants from different fields, and showcased great examples which are testament to the role of design in shaping and improving public services, financing schemes, entire cities, etc. The discussions were focused on the design-oriented policies at EU and national level, and good practices of Bulgarian stakeholders. This year, Arc Fund will organise a follow-up event targeting policymakers, and advocating them to put into action the key points/ideas covered last year. The Estonian Design Centre (EDC) organised a high level seminar (Innovative Public Service at the Example of E-residency) which gathered over 60 representatives from 25 different ministries and government agencies. The event introduced the advantages of service innovation process in the development of public services, and how design-driven innovation led to efficient and user friendly public services. This year, EDC will lead on the formation of the Design Development Plan in co-operation with other key shareholders in Estonia, and will share this approach with their Baltic neighbour, Lithuania, during the Lithuanian Design Week in May The OECD hosted a two-day conference (Innovating the Public Sector: from Ideas to impact) in Paris in 2014, covering the key challenges and themes around public sector innovation. Nesta and La 27eme Region participated in this event, which was attended by public officials from across the OECD network. Nesta delivered a workshop that introduced key design and innovation principles and tools, in the context of a service challenge. The following year, La 27eme Region organised a 2-day design seminar (Immersion in Public Design) at the Ministry of Public Affairs in Paris, aimed at immersing delegate into project journeys which in different ways are attempts to embed human-centered design in the public sector. DfE has also actively participated in other events organised by Cite du Design (DfE Ambassador), based in St Etienne, France. 2

3 Greece Hungary Lithuania Luxembou rg Malta Poland Business and Cultural Development Centre (KEPA) has submitted a proposal to set up the Hellenic Design Centre, with input from DfE partner, Danish Design Centre. KEPA plans to organise a policy roundtable session in Athens to garner further support for this. Alongside this exciting development, KEPA is also organising a business seminar (Innovation ID) this year to present design best practices and business tools from across Europe, to Greek SMEs and business intermediaries. In 2014, DfE spoke at Creative Budapest, a Creative Europe conference that touched on the role of the city in enhancing creative activity. Our Hungarian Ambassador then approached us for more targeted support for Hungary and the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) the aim was to help increase design awareness and ultimately to create a Design Action Plan to strengthen the Hungarian design ecosystem. The long term plan was to build on this methodology and expand it for the CEE region. Subsequently, CODEC (Contemporary Design Centre for CEE) was formed, comprising other DfE Ambassadors (Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria, etc). In collaboration with Lancaster University, a seminar and workshop (Design Drivers: an engine for growth and regional prosperity?) was held in Budapest, which highlighted different ways in which design can be utilised as an engine for long term sustainable growth within CEE. After several conversations with the Lithuanian Design Forum (Lithuanian Ambassador), the first series of events in our partnership took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, and were a marked success. With the support of our Ambassador, we were able to bring together networks from the design and education sector, the Mayor s office and a select group of representatives from the ministries of culture and economy. Following that, we held an event and workshop (Design Driven Lithuania), which was attended by about 40 people representing businesses, trade organisations, designers, students, public organisations and academia. The meetings and events were all positively received, and several DfE partners are planning follow-up activities (Lithuanian Design Field Ecosystem seminar) to advance the conversations, with the ultimate aim to develop a Design Action Plan for Lithuania. The first DfE event (Design-led innovation: Benefits for SMEs, institutions and the public sector) took place at Technoport (Luxembourg s national incubator), organised by LuxInnovation, the National Agency for Innovation and Research. High-level speakers included the Secretary of State for the Economy, Francine Closener, who spoke of her personal commitment to design. The lead policy officer also expressed commitment towards making design part of SME innovation policy by embedding design into their Fit4Innovation assessments, as well as extending their existing programme of financial innovation aid for SMEs to support the cost of hiring external designers. This was supported by the Luxembourg Design Action Group (DAG), a bottom-up initiative that saw the creation of the Luxembourg Design Action Plan, a forerunner for a national policy for the promotion of design. Recognised as a unique model, LuxInnovation will convene the DAG and invite selected DfE Ambassadors for a peer to peer event, aimed at stimulating exchange of best practices and inspiring bottom-up changes. The president of the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) attended the DfE Summit in Brussels, and described it as the catalyst we needed to understand what the issues are, where the challenges lie and which interlocutors we can tap into to make our initiative an overall success. Sensing this enthusiasm and readiness, DfE began to explore collaborative opportunities with MBB, and subsequently appointed their CEO as our Ambassador. Our first collaboration will be a Service Design Pilot in June 2016, aimed at imparting service design skills, tools and framework to a select group of 15 SMEs in Malta. This will be evaluated in early September, with the view to create a body of business case studies that will demonstrate the value of design. Hopefully this will seed a longer term partnership, in line with the development of the Valletta Design Cluster in Malta. DfE has participated in various events in Poland - Design in European Policy final summit in Poznan, Design Thinking Festival in Lodz, Lodz Design Festival, and most recently, Designled innovation & future thinking: Public Space in Warsaw. In collaboration with the City of 3

4 Warsaw and AGERON Poland, this event explored design-led innovation, future thinking and the transformation of former industrial sites into creative hubs. The panel discussion was facilitated by our Polish Ambassador, with focus on the needs of designers and the roles they can play. Birmingham City University (BCU) hosted a workshop that investigated key areas of support for Warsaw's business community. Spain In collaboration with Surgenia, a Spanish Technological Centre specialising in design, BCU delivered a successful workshop at the READ Convention in 2015, where local and regional stakeholders identified 6 design and innovation actions they would like to take forward. Following this, 3 priorities were outlined, and BCU is planning a follow-up event in June 2016 in Madrid to take these forward. Alongside this, Nesta collaborated with EIPA (European Institute of Public Administrators) on a two-day interactive seminar (Public Sector Innovation Lab) in Barcelona, aimed at public officials interested in strategic and systematic approaches to innovation. 3. Aims and objectives of this research The aims of this research are: To tell the story of DfE s achievements To capture results and show impact of project To create impact case studies for ten identified countries (five short and five in-depth) To share and communicate key insights To get buy-in for future support and identify where further opportunities may lie The research questions can include the following these will be discussed and refined with the successful bidder. In the ten countries identified: Has DfE been effective in raising awareness and reaching out to stakeholders and users? How has DfE helped in catalysing design development (e.g., formulation of design policies, programmes or actions) in the country? What other/further role(s) would stakeholders in the countries like to see DfE play? 4. Approach and methodology The research should focus on evidencing the impact of DfE s work with the selected countries. This should aim to communicate impact both at the end of our intervention, as well as possible longerterm impact over time. We also need to understand why we have/haven t achieved our expected outcomes so that we can learn what works well (and not so well), why, for who and in what circumstances for future work. The impact case studies should clearly demonstrate the following: Evidence of impact of DfE on lagging countries/regions Role of DfE in catalysing design-driven innovation development (e.g., helped influence policymakers, pilot design programmes, raised awareness amongst businesses, etc) Evidence indicating how users (target audience and Ambassadors) have benefitted from DfE support Insights on what worked/what hasn t/any unexpected outcomes 4

5 Further needs of our users (beyond 2016) Qualitative and quantitative data sources should both be used in this research to demonstrate impact and learning. Design Council can provide information about the delivery and support offered to each of these countries, and the numbers engaged. Secondary data about the countries should also be integrated into the case studies to set the context. A proposed approach is set out below, however, bidders may propose alternative or added methodologies that deliver the aims and objectives and the desired outputs of the research: Desired outputs (we need to demonstrate the following) Broad reach across EU28 among target groups (Breakdown by country and target groups will be made available) Overall development (short impact case studies) in selected countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece and Luxembourg (DfE has Consortium Partners in these countries who can help to collect data/information) In-depth impact case studies on lagging countries: Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Spain (DfE has no Consortium Partners in these countries but has been working closely with Ambassadors and other local stakeholders) What we currently capture No. of events and attendees No. of site users (and site analytics) No. of followers (newsletter, social media) Outcomes of events (refer to pages 2 & 3) Outcomes of events (refer to pages 2 & 3; some post-event articles have been published online, see example) What else do we need? DC is considering conducting a short survey across all our users on the reach and effectiveness of DfE (to discuss with successful bidder) Consortium Partners can provide input to successful bidder e.g., more comprehensive evidence (qualitative and quantitative) on how design has developed in these countries. This can be gathered by means of interviews/communication with our Consortium partners. Bidder to conduct interviews with stakeholders - Partners, Ambassadors, users, local agencies and government bodies, business intermediaries, etc (DC can help to identify them and provide contact details) DC will make available all the data we currently have on our project delivery and reach to the successful bidder. 5

6 5. Reporting and dissemination The impact evaluation will be used to communicate the outcomes and outputs of DfE to our funder (EC), Partners and other potential clients/funders. The impact case studies will be published on our website, and presented in person (by the respective Ambassadors/Partners) at our final summit in Estonia on 06 October Printed impact case studies will also be made available for distribution at the summit. The required deliverables are: Fortnightly verbal or written progress reports A final report, which should include the following: o o Executive summary Ten impact case studies Five short impact case studies outlining overall development in: Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece and Luxembourg. These case studies should be around 700 words. Five in-depth impact case studies on lagging countries: Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Spain. These case studies should be around 1,200 words. All the case studies should be able to exist as stand-alone pieces. They should contain a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data to provide a compelling narration. The format could be a combination of text, videos, photos, etc, to give it a rich narrative treatment. Attributed quotations and testimonials should also be used. Case studies should follow the format below: Background Issue/Challenge/Need How design helped (design methodologies applied, design support delivered) Outcomes and outputs achieved Additional benefits Full datasets and interview transcripts/positive quotes gathered through the evaluation, which could be used as testimonials or for marketing purposes. 6. Timescale for the evaluation Key project milestones will be agreed at the project inception meeting, however we envisage the project following a timetable similar to that detailed below: End of May: Project inception meeting June-July: Fieldwork; Stakeholder interviews Mid-July: Deliver draft of ten case studies Mid-August: Finalise ten case studies End of August: Final Executive summary and full report delivered 6

7 7. Management arrangements PeiChin Tay, Project Lead (Design for Europe), will be the day-to-day contact. 8. Budget The budget for the impact evaluation is 10,000 (excluding VAT). A breakdown of costs and man hours is required within the proposal. 7

8 THE BIDDING PROCESS 1. Submission requirements The maximum length for proposals is 10 A4 pages. CVs can be included as an appendix, along with any additional information you think is relevant. Within the page limit the proposal should cover the following: A succinct summary of the proposal Details of the approach and methods to be used, including your rationale for choosing this approach and methodology Your experience of writing case studies, particularly in the design/policy/not-for-profit sector Details of the personnel to be involved including their role for this work and their previous experience (full CV to be included as an appendix) Arrangements for managing this work and quality assuring outputs, including how you would like to work with Design Council during the project A detailed budget, including a breakdown of time and costs per activity and per team number the budget should also include expenses and specify if it includes VAT Consideration of any ethical and other research governance issues 2. Criteria for selection The criteria, in order of importance, which will form the basis of shortlisting and invitation to interview are: Experience of conducting similar and relevant evaluation projects Evidence of an understanding of design and of the science/innovation sector Experience of measuring the s impact of support programmes Suitability of proposed methodology Track record for presenting engaging impact evidence with compelling writing Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively Proposed budget and value for money of the proposal Creative thinking in meeting our needs 3. Selection process If you wish to consider bidding, we would appreciate if you could inform us of your intention by 5pm on 29 April 2016 (please note that this is not a pre-requisite). Queries regarding this tender should be submitted in writing to us no later than 5pm on 06 May Proposals should be sent to us no later than 5pm on 12 May Interviews will be held in the week commencing 16 May A project inception meeting will be held with the successful bidder in the week commencing 30 May Contact The key contact person is PeiChin Tay at PeiChin.Tay@designcouncil.org.uk 8