On 7 April 2009, the Commission published a working document on Design as a driver of user-centred innovation. It provides an analysis of the rationale for making design an integral part of European innovation policy. On the basis of this document, the Commission launched a public consultation aiming at finding out if more should be done at EU level in the area of design and - if so - what.
When the consultation closed on 29 June, the Commission had in total received 535 online replies - 309 from organisations, 226 from individuals. These replies have now been analysed and the results are now online.
91 percent of responding organisations consider that design is very important for the future competitiveness of the EU economy. 96 percent consider that initiatives in support of design should be an integral part of innovation policy in general, 91 percent that initiatives in support of design should be taken at EU level in addition to Member State and regional level.
On this basis, the Commission is now considering its next steps in better integrating design into European innovation policy and support.