Co-Design Bay — Developing a collaborative platform for design services networks

Finland has a reputation as a design country. The presence of designers in the region of Lahti, for example, has contributed significantly to the success of industrial companies in the region. However, the Finnish design field has not yet been able to serve large customers in domestic or international markets effectively. The design ecosystem developed in the Lahti region has the potential to act as a driver of service production and development in industrial sector design in Finland. Leadership requires a well-functioning structure to enable collaboration between top experts in the field, in cooperation with national and international design ecosystems to foster interaction. Despite a well-functioning design strategy and ecosystem, the Lahti region still lacks an operating environment supporting the practical processes and piloting of design in industrial sectors, in which the industry’s leading experts could be placed. The goal of the Co-Design Bay project is:1. to develop a collaborative model for Finnish industrial design ecosystem operators, which will result in increased investment in T&K by SMEs and the creation of new business. The activities support the growth and internationalisation of the sector (e.g. companies, financial organisations, development companies, industry organisations, universities) 2. to develop the model of the Finnish Planning Services Network’s project and cooperation platform that enables the reception of larger and more demanding assignments, and 3. to pilot operations in operational platforms to be developed in practice with case clients, with the aim of increasing investments by Finnish SMEs in T&K. The content to be developed with the help of the project is intended to:I) enable the provision of industrial design services based on the use of network teams tailored to the needs of the design network. andii) enables industrial and service companies to outsource design processes efficiently and reliably to the relevant network teams. Collaboration between top design experts can achieve the scale and capacity of the offering, enabling world-class design services to be delivered and thus competing alongside major international design and T&K service providers for significant international design assignments. The cooperation to be piloted will enable SMEs to offer wider and better quality services to larger customers, as well as to receive more demanding orders in domestic and international markets. The processes and operating environment under development aim at positive effects in the development of the turnover of the design industry as a whole. The project will help develop a unique environment for design business in industrial sectors to improve the conditions for efficient and effective collaboration between growth and development-friendly service companies operating in the industry, as well as with funding agencies, research and development organisations, and design training organisations. The collaboration accelerates the development of design companies’ offerings to the level of longer-term strategic partnerships, which in turn helps customer companies to become design-intensive. Design-intensive companies, in which design and designers play a strategic role in their business, are on average more productive and have better positions on the market than competitors.The original objectives of the Co-Design Bay project are derived from the needs highlighted by the Lahti Industrial Design Advisory Board. The group consists of key personnel from companies and organisations of national and international importance, representing the main target groups of design services.The horizontal principles of the design field of the project toteutuksessa:Suomen are in principle adhered to processes based on equality, sustainable development and gender equality. The gender balance in the sector is very uniform, and design projects or organisational structures do not identify operators hierarchically. The projects proceed in the spirit of meritocracy, with each expert focusing on his/her specific field. Striving for ecological material and structural solutions, as well as saving energy during the life cycles of the products, services and environments planned, are basic principles in Finnish design work. These principles will also be followed in the development of the Co-Design Bay environment.