Design as a competitive element

Design is one of Europe's greatest resources and is rapidly being recognised as a key element of innovative and successful businesses. Design Management Europe (DME) is an European initiative to demonstrate and promote to businesses the commercial benefits that can be gained with good design management practices. Design Management Europe is a key part of the PRO-INNO Europe initiative.

 

ADMIRE
Design Management Europe (DME) started off as the ADMIRE project; a 2-year project in the European PRO-INNO program (DG Enterprises and Industry of the European Commission). The ADMIRE consortium aims at stimulating companies - especially SMEs - to come into action and enhance innovation and competitiveness of their companies by the implementation of good design management in order to innovate and differentiate their products and services in a successful way, which will contribute to the innovative power and strength of regional and European economy in general.

Design Management Europe Award
One of the initiatives within the DME Network is the establishment of the Design Management Europe Award. The DME Award is a business award recognising the skills and leadership of management to implement design in their business for commercial success.

Companies and organisations across Europe are challenged to apply for the DME Award by demonstrating how design is integrated in their strategy, management and processes to achieve innovation and commercial gains.

Innovation by design management
Design Management Europe will also challenge European regional authorities to encourage innovation through a more sophisticated use of design managment at a regional level. The DME Network will provide advice and support, e.g. to develop design clusters and design promotion activities. In addition the DME Network will develop state of the art knowledge on design management.

Achieving the ambitions
However design is being recognised rapidly as a competitive element in business strategy, many small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are not aware of the potential this approach can offer to business strategy or how to implement it themselves.

DME aims at addressing this shortfall among European businesses and aims to stimulate European companies - especially SMEs - to come into action and enhance their competitiveness by the implementation of Design Management.

To achieve these ambitions, the following objectives are set out:

* Stimulate innovation in European SMEs by raising awareness, by promoting the potentials and opportunities, and by exchange of knowledge on (best pracitice) Design Management.

* Organise an annual Design Management Europe Award (DME Award) that celebrates and promotes good Design Management practices by European businesses.

* Establish a sustainable DME Network for knowledge sharing involving design centres, knowledge institutes and enterprises.

* Initiate new activities for promoting Design Management such as the development of a "DME Agenda" to recognize good Design Management in public and business administration.