Design PhD Conference 2009 Sustainability, Innovation and Design

A comparative study of national design policy in the UK and South Korea

16th June 2009

Youngok Choi

Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary ArtsLancaster University

Contents

1. Research topic

2. Methodology

3. Process

4. Challenges and

difficulties

5. Advice for students

1. Research topic

‘A Comparative study of national design policy in the UK and South

Korea’

1. Research topic

‘A Comparative study of national design policy in the UK and South

Korea’

• Aim

: to understand national design policy, with particular reference to the

national

business support programmes in design

1. Research topic

‘A Comparative study of national design policy in the UK and South

Korea’

• Aim

: to understand national design policy, with particular reference to the

national

business support programmes in design

• Research Questions

Q1. What is the relationship between national design polices and the

industrial

development in the UK and South Korea?

Q2. What are the drivers for and barriers to implementing national

business support

programmes in design in the UK and South Korea?

Q3. What are the appropriate approaches for developing and

implementing national

design policies and national business support programmes in

design?

• Inductive research (Research-then-theory approach)

a. answering the three research questions and

b. developing new ideas for national design policies.

• Triangulation of methods

Quantitative methods: Questionnaire survey

Qualitative methods: Literature review

Historical-Comparative research

Interview (Exploratory and in-depth)

2. Methodology

The research process and methods

3. Process and findings

1) Literature review and analysing existing data

• Investigating existing theories of national design policy

• Identifying the relationship between design policy and SMEs,

especially the impact of design policy on SMEs’ performance

• Identifying the relationship between design, national design policy

and

global competitiveness

• Seeking insights from the best practice of countries ranking highly

for

competitive performance through design

: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and USA

3. Process and findings

The relationship between current competitiveness and design index ranking in 75 countries in 2001 Based on (WEF, 2001)

The relationship between growth competitiveness and

Innovation index ranking in 117 countries in 2005

Based on (Porter and Schwab, 2005)

3. Process and findings

2) Relationship between the national design policy and the

industrial development

• Historical-Comparative research

- the development and implementation of the UK and South Korea’s

national design policies

- their industrial development

- the relationship of these various factors

Timeline of the design policy and Industrial development in the UK, in the global context

(Comparison of the supporting industries)

3. Process and findings

Timeline of the design policy and Industrial development in South Korea, in the global context

(Comparison of the supporting industries)

3. Process and findings

3. Process and findings

3) Drivers for and barriers to implementing business support

programmes in design a. UK: Designing Demand

Literature Reviews

Exploratory Interviews

In-depth Interviews

Design Council

Design Council

RDAs*

Delivery PartnersDesign

Associates

Businesses

With reports, guidelines, leaflets and related materials

Advantage West Midlands

London Development Agency

South East England Development Agency

South West England Development Agency

Yorkshire Forward

* Regional Development Agencies

b. South Korea: Design Innovation

Literature Reviews

Exploratory Interviews

Questionnaire survey

In-depth Interviews

KIDP*

Businesses

MKE**

KIDP

Businesses

Design Agencies

Design Association

Academics

With reports, guidelines, leaflets and related materials

Distributed to four hundred and nine SMEs, with eighty-two respondents

Internship at the KIDP

Participated a national design policy project‘A study for Nation Design Policy Development’

* Korea Institute of Design Promotion** Ministry of Knowledge Economy

3. Process and findings

3. Process and findings

4) Recommendations

Questionnaire survey National Design Centres

Design NGOs

Regional Development Agency

Business support agency

Research institute of economy

Twenty questionnaires distributed in ten countries, eleven were collected from six countries

University

3. Process and findings

a. Validation of the recommendations

4. Challenges and difficulties

1) Difficulties in meeting respondents to participate in the research

• KIDP’s support , especially for recruiting businesses in South Korea

• Using supervisors and the researcher's network in the UK

2) Enormous data

•Refinement of data

5. Advice for students

1) Create a clear proposal before starting a PhD

2) Have discussions about your research as much

as you can

3) Do not forget this is your research

Thank you