Design to be championed in new EU innovation policy

Design Wales is keenly following EU innovation policy developments in the European Commission. EurActiv recently interviewed the EU Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who stated that the new EU innovation policy due this autumn will be ‘fundamentally different’ to the previous policy. More significantly the scope of EU innovation policy will broaden from the conventional drivers of innovation: R&D, technology and product development, to include a strategic role for social innovation, industrial policy and DESIGN.


When the responsibility for drafting the new document was transferred from Commission DG for Enterprise and Industry to DG Research there were concerns that the progress made by the design lobby in getting design on the agenda would be overlooked. Now it looks like the results of the public consultation will still be incorporated into the new policy although the exact role of design has not been clarified.

To access EurActiv’s interview with EU Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, click here.