Dott Cornwall
How can a design approach develop sustainable solutions for social & economic issues in Cornwall?
Dott was developed by the Design Council to drive design-led solutions to economic and social challenges throughout the UK. It is founded on the principle of putting the end user first, encouraging them to share ideas with professionals and delivering positive outcomes collaboratively. Dott Cornwall is run in partnership between the Design Council, Cornwall Council, University College Falmouth and the Technology Strategy Board.
Initially tasked with coming up with the launch pad for Dott Cornwall, we conceived the multi-viral approach behind the Dott Shot microsite - www.dottshot.com. This won a Media Innovation Award in 2010. We later managed the rollout of the main Dott Cornwall website - www.dottcornwall.com.
As one of only two senior design producer teams based in Cornwall, we were then invited to lead the Designing Communities project in Pengegon, tasked with exploring: How can a new community centre bring about lasting benefits to the residents of Pengegon? Such has been the impact of our engagement and ideas that Designing Communities has transformed into a groundbreaking project that has been presented within the House of Lords and Department for Communities and Local Government.
We were then invited to lead Dott's largest project for the Skills Funding Agency, called New Work Cornwall, challenged with overcoming a major skills issue: How can we support individuals at risk of redundancy and enhance their skills, so that they can achieve better-paid jobs that are relevant to Cornwall's future economy? This unique challenge has fast become a transitional project for the Dott programme, whereby innovative design led thinking has played alongside payment triggering targets. In achieving our targets 8 months ahead of schedule, we demonstrated the importance of putting the end user first. And in an era of Big Society, with unemployment figures up and public services making budget cuts of 30%, we also demonstrated the value of embedding design and innovation in public services - that more and better can be achieved through collaboration and co-ownership.
Finally, we have led Dott's final and most ambitious project, the Big Design Challenge, asking the people of Cornwall: what local issues matter most to the people in Cornwall? In creating www.bigdesignchallenge.co.uk, we invited people to turn issues into challenges and then collaboratively submit ideas to those challenges. Six challenges are now being co-designed by community groups, designers, businesses and other mentors; to form new services and social enterprises as per the aim of sponsor the Technology Strategy Board.
These th ree projects are amongst the most talked about projects of Dott, compelling evidence perhaps that Sea have been integral to the success of the programme and a key part of the Dott legacy.
