Design4Innovation (Interreg Europe Programme)
Valletta Design Cluster
Design for Innovation
Design for Innovation (Design4Innovation)is a collaborative project by eight European partner organisations working together to promote design as a tool for user-centredinnovation. Design4Innovation aims to help small and medium enterprises create a more sustainable business practice based on products and services designed around user needs, ultimately enhancing the competitiveness of European SMEs.
Through interregional knowledge exchange, the project will identify best practice in design support mechanisms for SMEs and engage with policymakers to integrate support instruments for design into the funding programmes supported through European Structural Funds.
The Valletta Cultural Agency is the Maltese partner in this project and has been working to develop and implement a Design Action Plan (DAP) which will facilitate the development of the local design ecosystem.
The Design Action Plan supports the implementation of the Valletta Design Cluster, a community space for cultural and creative practice which will serve as a platform for interaction among practitioners active in the different areas involving design, as well as a facility to support their practice.
The project objective is to integrate design-driven innovation for SME competitiveness into the ERDF operational programmes of eight countries and regions, and consequently, for a number of enterprises to benefit from the policy instruments for design by the end of 2021.
Phase 1 of the project was concluded in 2021, and Phase 2 (joined by 6 of the original project partners only) will be carried out in 2022 to monitor the implementation of the Design Action Plan.
Interreg Europe: https://www.interregeurope.eu/
National Coordinator for Territorial Cooperation Programmes (Malta): https://fondi.eu/
National Coordinator for Territorial Cooperation Programmes (Malta): https://fondi.eu/
