Partner Article

North East BIC partners with Design Council

The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Ltd has partnered with the Design Council to deliver a programme to help forward thinking businesses stay ahead of the competition.

The Design Leadership Programme, developed by the Design Council and supported by the government, provides businesses with access to expert design support, helping them to develop and grow.

The programme includes a tailored package of high calibre design-led support which introduces design as a framework for innovation as well as access to Design Council tools and techniques; which can then be used to help identify and exploit opportunities for maximum effect.

To demonstrate how the initiative can benefit business, the BIC held an introductory workshop in conjunction with NBSL and design associates Nick Devitt and Robert Bewick.

Also present was Eddie Czestochowski, managing director of battery specialists Cell Pack Solutions Ltd, who’d previously tapped into the programme to help streamline service activity to improve internal processes.

Eddie Czestochowski said: “Having moved from three small individual business units in a managed business centre, into our own purpose built manufacturing building, we had gone through a fairly traumatic change in our culture and working practices.

“The Design Leadership programme has helped to relook at our service offering and has helped to remind us what we were good at, and importantly where the gaps are.

“It really encouraged us to take apart and develop new communication and reportingchannels.

“As a result we’ve rationalised our activity, spotted trends and enhanced our internal processes which has paid huge dividends for the business.”

Innovation manager at North East BIC, Elizabeth Shaw, said: “For many businesses design relates solely to the shaping and styling of products but used effectively it can be so much more and in many instances it has helped to transform the way businesses think and work.”

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