Enhancing the in-house design capability of industry through TCS projects

The value of design as a mechanism for improving industrial competitiveness has been clearly established. Ensuring industry actually changes its behaviour, however, to take on board the design message is an unending process. One proven mechanism for facilitating changes in the behaviour of industry is the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS). Since 1975 this part-industry, part-government funded scheme has enabled businesses to form partnerships with academia to facilitate the transfer of technology and the spread of technical and management skills. To date over 2000 TCS partnerships have been initiated, a number of which have focused on developing the design capability of the industrial partner. This paper reports on twelve 'design related' TCS programmes which have acted as case studies in a Design Council sponsored project investigating in-house design enhancement. Each of the programmes is shown to have effected different facets of the industrial partners' business. In each study in-house design enhancement has bought clear changes to the physical attributes of the product or service offered by the business. In addition, however, through exposure to a design resource many internal changes have taken place within the companies concerned such as: Development of product development strategy; Clearer understanding of the product development process; Greater commitment to product development activity and changes to company culture and organisation.