Design as a driver for economic growth in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s creative industries are a powerhouse of economic activity which require dynamic and sustainable collaborative networks, but are compromised by limited understanding and support at government level. This is further compounded by an immature and unconnected network of creative communities, many of whom are unfamiliar with the concepts of collaboration and innovation as a positive and embedded part of their design and business processes. In Northern Ireland, the legacy of socio-political difficulty and a pervading risk-averse culture has resulted in low innovation league table rankings which has led to a reduced confidence in its ability to compete globally using design as a driver. The study uses international exemplars to propose a new paradigm for how innovation, design, and the development of a sustainable creative ecosystem can work in an advantageous way for Northern Ireland’s economic growth. It offers a novel model of design and innovation and develops proposals for future policies and practices in the pursuit of sustainable internationally-focused creative excellence.