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Until 2010, I have been working at Qatar Foundation to develop the strategy for the creation of an infrastructure for design and innovation in Qatar. The strategy consists of several interrelated activities, here is the case study for the fundamentals of the project. For more on the topic, have a look at the report from the architectural design workshop: Developing the Blueprint for a Zero-Carbon Community in the Desert 


DESIGN ZONE 



Design Zone is envisioned as an organization complementing national initiatives for education and science towards a knowledge society. Its mid-term goal is to build the basis for a creative culture and to kick-start a creative infrastructure to accelerate Qatar’s development. The long-term goal is to establish a sustainable creative sector to help Qatar compete on equal terms with competitors in economies where creativity, design and innovation are important aspects of economic, social and cultural development. 



In an "ideal system", creativity suffuses education in schools, innovation is in demand in economy and government, and creative ideas are welcomed in society. Although a simplification, it is still useful to plot out such an "ideal system" to visualize how education, economy and society are interrelated in providing for the dynamics to be achieved for the growth of a new nationwide creative infrastructure.



The basis for a creative infrastructure is a creativity-friendly culture. To move towards this end, activities are proposed on several levels:

●  Business has to be informed about the economic benefits of design and innovation.
● Government has to support long-term goals to build a sustainable creative infrastructure.
● Education institutions have to provide creative education which is meaningful for economy and society.
● Finally, society at large has to be involved to become interested in design and creativity.


The project name “Design Zone” is given to a framework which sets out priorities and action plans to connect resources with the long-term goal of creating a creative infrastructure in Qatar. Over the long term, Design Zone is envisioned to become a global creative hub and center of excellence in the region.

Its main goals are:

● to support national competitiveness 

● to increase public interest in creativity, design and innovation 

● to enable the participation of the public

● to promote the social, cultural and economic benefits of creativity, innovation and design

While there are several quality education offerings in the region, there are presently only a few quality offerings for design services in the region and in the emerging markets in Qatar’s proximity. Design Zone thus could tap into a latent demand for excellence in design services for the Arabian Gulf, India, and Africa.

If developed into an international creative hub and national center of excellence in design and the creative industries, Design Zone could undertake work on several levels:

● creating its own design and architecture projects
● working on design projects for external clients
● organizing design events
● running an incubator to foster creative start-ups
● contributing to education programmes in order to leverage creative skills


ECONOMIC BASIS

The economic position of Qatar is particular: Its GDP is over $60,000 (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, October 2006) and projected to be the highest in the world in the near future. At the same time, unlike the economic environments of countries with existing design promotion organizations, it has no manufacturing base. This poses unusual challenges and opportunities.

Design support activities of other countries are traditionally built on a manufacturing-oriented economy. This foundation is not applicable to Qatar. An effective design organization must be built to suit the distinctive economic and cultural environment in the country it serves. As the economic and cultural environment of Qatar is different from other countries, different future design development strategies and activities need to be applied.


DESIGN AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

The intention of the Qatari government is to diversify the economy and to advance the country into a knowledge society. A future design promotion strategy, therefore, will require a strategic fit for a knowledge-based economy.

The Knowledge Economy and its Demands for Design

In a knowledge-based economy, the ways design adds value are substantially different from a manufacturing-based economy. In a knowledge economy, humans and their knowledge are the assets. In order to convert knowledge into actual value, several factors are to be considered: the structures in which knowledge is generated; if environments support creativity; the organizational design of knowledge businesses; and the design of infrastructures enabling access to knowledge.

The traditional company creates value by transforming raw or preprocessed materials into goods through prescribed procedures. Companies in a knowledge society are systems to generate knowledge and turn it into value in the form of tangible and intangible goods - products, services, experiences, or any combination of these. The transition of product-oriented to knowledge-oriented companies is inherently difficult, as it involves the reconfiguration of linear business structures to non-linear ones. However, there are company structures which are set up from the outset to catalyze creativity and support the creation of new knowledge.

In a knowledge society, creativity is a vital basis and needs dedicated strategies, company structures, and tools. It needs top management commitment and with it encouragement, support, and feedback. Matrices, networks and interdisciplinary project structures support creativity, while rigid hierarchies inhibit it. Support tools are, among others, creativity techniques, systems for problem seeking and solving, and information tools to catch, decode, and distribute knowledge.

Knowledge which creates value is not propositional, but prescriptive, i.e. applied to products and services. To convert propositional knowledge to prescriptive knowledge, design is a core discipline. In an industrial economy, design is part of the procedures converting resources into things. In a knowledge economy, design converts a variety of knowledge resources into products, services, and experiences. Design is a process driven by knowledge, and knowledge is embedded in designed artifacts.

Design is also good in unpacking complex, or “wicked” tasks - the kind of problems increasingly occurring in highly competitive economic environments. Another strength is its inherent visionary quality: every design is an instruction for something which does not yet exist.

In a survey of over 1000 companies in Europe, it was found that service firms innovate mainly through structural, organizational change, while manufacturing firms innovate through a focus on products. In a study on 2900 European companies, it was found that knowledge-intensive business firms are more likely to find external organizations as important sources of knowledge and that they are more likely to enter in co-operations for innovation. A cross-sectional study with 1300 company managers in Sweden showed that companies with high design integration (treating design as an integrated process rather then a second-order activity) are performing substantially better then companies with a low degree of design integration. Also a study on 42 companies in the UK showed statistically significant relationships between business growth and investment in design. It was shown that in companies with strong growth, knowledge and attitudes of managers were positive toward investing in design, while declining firms had a limited knowledge and narrow understanding of design and innovation.

The knowledge economy also brings new industries as typical clients for design: government, education, social services, the hospitality industry, healthcare, banking and insurance, legal and business consulting, and the entertainment industry.

In summary: With increasing knowledge, design integration in companies becomes higher. Knowledge-intensive companies are more open to external information and co-operations for innovation. Yet, manufacturers are more likely to perceive design as important and innovate through products, while service companies are less likely to perceive design as important and are innovating mainly through structural and organizational change.

► In order to support the transition of Qatar to a knowledge economy, a first strategic focus for the envisioned Design Zone should be design for knowledge-intensive companies. In knowledge-intensive firms the readiness for external information and cooperation is high, making them good initial clients for support activities.

► The most convincing argument in promoting design to companies is the proven positive correlation between design integration and economic success.

► For effectiveness, the Design Zone should not be organized as a classical, rigid structure but as a network of relatively independent units, managed as profit centers.


BUILDING DESIGN SUPPORT

In other economies, design promotion activities have often been based on strengthening the economy through the adoption of design by the manufacturing industry, with a perceived economic threat as the single most important driver. The situation in Qatar is substantially different, as there is neither a manufacturing base nor an immediate economic threat.

In developed economies, the contribution of creative industries is substantial. For instance, the creative industries represent London's third largest sector of employment (525,000 people) and second biggest source of job growth, contributing one in every five new jobs. Creative industries contribute 6 per cent of GDP in the UK. However, creative enterprises are small: 77% of design businesses have a turnover of less than £100,000/year.



The original driver for emerging economies to embrace design - such as Japan in the sixties or South Korea in the nineties - was the need to upgrade industrial production in order to be able to compete with established economies by improving the quality and appeal of locally produced goods. 

Another approach was initiated in the early 2000s in Singapore. In the face of the economic threat of a rising China and the emerging economies in Southeast Asia, Singapore, itself having only few production facilities, found that its strategy to stay ahead of the curve is to invest into creative industries to be able to compete. The idea was to leverage Singapore to a knowledge and service economy. Singapore since then has invested into projects such as Fusionopolis Media City and the Media 21 programme.

► Main drivers for national design support are: A perceived need for economic change, the realization by a government that design is conductive to the economic and cultural goals of a country, and consequently government dedication for long-term design support. Main obstacles would be the lack of consciousness for design in government, the lack of funding, and a disconnection with the design scene and the current economic situation.

► National design culture depends on global recognition. There is a connection between design and the cultural attitudes of a country, resulting in design as being an important constituent of national identity and pride. Also, the realization of the local public that design is part of a national culture tends to set in as a positive feedback effect once the design of a country becomes globally recognized – examples for this are Finland, Denmark, Italy, Japan, or Korea.

► It is the strategic fit between government intent, an adequate design promotion strategy, its allocated resources and the overall structure of an economic environment which ultimately determines if a design organization can be successful. Another primary factor is the degree to which design has become part of national culture and identity.

► Successful design support employs measures designed to advance the economic environment and are built on clearly articulated strategies, such as setting up specialized university departments, promoting design in cooperation with mass media, funding start-ups in innovative design fields and enabling processes such as product envisioning in companies.

► Design support should be bound to visions with quantifiable goals such as: 7 global brand companies by 2008 (Korea), 6 % creative industry contribution to GDP by 2012 (Singapore), 30 % of companies taking design to a strategic level by 2005 (Finland).

► Piecemeal design consultations, also when carried out programmatically over a longer timeframe, seem not to substantially contribute to an improvement in design capability. The reason might be that they do not provide sufficient cultural and economic resonance. Korea has learned in the mid-nineties that such an approach is not effective if not managed by a strategic design approach. Instead, promising design firms are funded directly.


THE CHALLENGES

Growth competitiveness/Design competitiveness



Based on research by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, the differential between growth competitiveness and design competitiveness for Qatar is -28. In comparison, this differential is for Germany: +12, for Japan: +11, for Korea: +3, for Denmark +1 and for Singapore: - 10.

Local research

“Creative businesses are small in scale and lacking diversity. Many specialized design disciplines are not represented.
 Clients have a moderate to low understanding of the value of design. Design companies are focused on providing services to domestic market, are struggling under pressure to perform and compete with international design companies, are constrained through the lack of, and access to, adequately trained human resources, market knowledge, technical support and training.“ (VCUQ Design Report)

The challenges to create a sustainable creative economy in Qatar are substantial. In emerging economies such as Qatar, the value of design, innovation and creativity is not widely known. There are very few preexisting structures to support creativity, innovation and design. There is also no immediate economic threat which might drive the need to leverage creative capacity, and often learning and management structures (rote learning, hierarchical structures) do not fundamentally support creativity.

Following problems have been identified:

• The role of design and its contribution to the quality of life and economic well- being is not widely understood


• The designers’ contribution to success is not recognized


• Design is not seen as a strategy for growth


• Design is seen as a ‘jobbing’ commodity 


• Design is not used to make products, services and environments user-centered


• Design is not harnessed as a strategy to grow export markets for Qatar companies and entrepreneurs


• Design is commissioned as delivery and not viewed as a strategic research, envisioning and thinking process

There are 2 basic impacts to be accomplished: design for economic impact, and design for socio-cultural impact.

Design for economic impact

This includes design for economic well-being, design as a tool for business growth and developing export markets, and design as strategic resource. Support for this could be accomplished through a direct link to the goal of diversifying the national economy.

In this context, it is useful to have a look at international company attitudes toward design: In a 2005 DTI study, data show that 21 per cent of firms serving international markets have some spending on design, compared to only 2.5 per cent for firms serving local markets. Design use is different in different sectors and, among all sectors, highest in advertising and corporate communications, followed by product development, packaging, R&D, marketing, and service delivery. Spending on design is highest in mid-sized companies (between 500 and 999 employees) and lowest in small companies (between 10 and 49 employees). Also, the impact of design on company performance is stronger in industry segments where design use is less common than in industries where design is routinely used. In conclusion, the attitude and spending on design and innovation depends on factors such as market orientation, company size, and overall use of design in an industry segment. For possible support activities of a national design organization, the profile of mid-sized companies serving an international market, in industries where design use is less common, might be a good target. When entering cooperation, enabling factors should be clearly articulated and supported.

Design for socio-cultural impact

This could be achieved more effectively through structures based on entrepreneurial dynamics and exposure to changing trends and markets than linear models which might lack motivational effects and thus tend to be less effective.

Tasks would then be to:

► Create design awareness in society and for companies

► Demonstrate the positive social and economic impact of design

► Develop design as a cultural and economic resource



STRATEGIES TO GROW THE SECTOR

Initial Actions

● Incentives to foster and encourage the design sector, to advance businesses, and to build design consciousness in society 


● Activities to inspire and inform the general public (experience-based spaces, micro-environments, symposia, workshops, courses, exhibitions)


● Demonstrating the beneficial impact of design through real-life projects


● Incubating creative startups to grow and leverage the sector

Successful design support activities must be designed to advance the economic and cultural environment. Design development needs to foster and encourage the design sector and must lead to visible change, first on a local level, then to global recognition. Socio-cultural impact could be achieved effectively through structures based on entrepreneurial dynamics and exposure to changing trends and markets.

Incubation

It is proposed to foster design-driven companies and organizations in Qatar through a design incubation strategy utilizing networked incubation and angel investors with connections to existing businesses. These companies could then evolve, attract attention in the region and on a global level, and as such become trailblazers for other companies to follow. The positive social impact of design could be demonstrated by real-life projects with the goal of positively reinforcing national identity, history and quality of life.


The Government as Catalyst

Government bodies can stimulate demand on at least two fundamental levels:
● by commissioning and supporting design in public services, infrastructure, buildings and spaces
● by introducing creativity, innovation and design into all levels of education.

Real-life Projects

The positive social impact of design is best demonstrated by real-life projects with the goal of positively reinforcing national identity and history, life quality and intellectual enrichment such as: rediscovering traditional crafts, improving workspaces, design for learning environments, design for community centers, sustainable urban planning and housing projects for community-building.

Project example: The Design Dhow
Combine local tradition and design to create a contemporary Dhow: A solar-driven, hand-crafted luxury boat for high-quality slow cruising.

Project example: Design Zone Simaisma
Develop a local 'ideal community' to attract creative and knowledge workers: walkable, zero-carbon, sustainable, with a high-quality architectural design and a masterplan inspired by the building traditions of the region.

Business Participation

Instead of relying on piecemeal interventions to motivate businesses, it might be preferable to offer local corporations models for participation in design projects for the public good, providing both a better incentive and a more reliable positive outcome in the form of an improved image for the participating companies. Additionally, corporations could benefit from:

• Knowledge transfer through executive workshops
• Access to tools and knowledge: Arabic design language, eco-design, eco-architecture
• Investment opportunities in projects and start-ups
• Design service offerings, for example workspace design
• Learning by participating in managed projects
• Creative patronage - direct sponsoring
• Preferred access to design innovations (Studio sponsorship)

Prizes

• Creating motivators such as a Royal design and innovation prize and quality marks for design, culture and innovation together with the appropriate media coverage.
• Creating a professional design accreditation programme.
• Creating a long-term information and promotion campaign for design and innovation as tools for building the future of Qatar by bringing a better quality of life, benefitting the economy and positively reinforcing local culture.

Linking Cultures


“Parachuting” foreign designers can only be useful as a first incentive to kick-start a development. In order to create a sustainable basis, this has to be positively linked. One proposal would be a special apprenticeship program to hook up foreign designers with local creative people in sponsored projects.

Enabling family-based Businesses by Design

Traditional crafts are well-regarded and provide a common shared identity. Most businesses in Qatar are family-based and could be the common basis for “auteur” design companies.

The main driver for a national design culture will be a working connection between creatives, businesses, and the culture of a country, ultimately resulting in design and innovation becoming a part of national identity. The realizing agents for a national design culture must be companies and designers in successful cooperations. 





ORGANISATIONAL SETUP

In order to accelerate the building of local linkages, the organization is not envisioned as a traditional line organization, but as a distributed system of interrelated units, possibly hosted and co-managed by partners such as organizations and universities already under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation (TAMU, CMU, VCU, QSTP), other local universities (Qatar University) and local government bodies.

En example of an organizational system is shown below, linking the goals of diversifying the economy with an improvement of life quality, and clients (local consumers and businesses) with projects (eco-design, public parks, public transport, systems for public services). In this example, activities include an incubator for creatives, the provision of design services and the provision of lifestyle services (through a corporate spinoff for luxury hospitality).