The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Design Museum have launched a £25M fund to bring businesses and design researchers together to tackle the climate and environmental crises.
image: for illustration – Open Government Licence v3.0
… largest publicly funded design research and innovation (R&I) programme in the UK…
UK Research and innovation writes (5 July 2022):
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Design Museum today launch a £25 million fund.
The programme brings together UK researchers, universities and businesses to use the power of design to catalyse the transition to net zero and a green economy.
The £25 million Future Observatory: design the green transition programme will run over the next three years.
It will be delivered in partnership with the Design Museum and will ensure a sustainable and inclusive response to the climate crisis.
The investment will directly fund and benefit over 100 higher education institutions and 75 industry and local authority partners across the nation.
It is the largest publicly funded design research and innovation (R&I) programme in the UK.
Design to support net zero targets
The programme will be dedicated to finding new ways to shift our dependence on fossil fuels through innovative design.
It will fund vital design research that supports the British government’s commitment to decarbonise the economy and reach net zero by 2050.
Boosting the profile of British researchers and providing them with commercial experience, the programme will also offer UK industry access to cutting-edge academic research tools and methodologies.
Maximising the UK’s world-leading design expertise
The UK is a centre of design excellence, with the second-largest commercial design sector in the world and the world’s top two design schools.
This programme will bring together a diverse, national talent pool and provide a place for it to focus on meeting one of the biggest challenges of our time.
This multi-million-pound investment follows a hugely successful pilot year of Future Observatory at the Design Museum, in partnership with AHRC.
Future Observatory is a new programme for design research supporting the UK’s response to the climate crisis. The pilot year programme championed AHRC funded research, including 15 Design Exchange Partnerships, and featured:
- exhibitions
- displays
- symposia
- roundtables
- the museum’s Design Researchers in Residence.
Four main strands of investment
There will be four main funding strands for Future Observatory: design the green transition:
- three-year Future Observatory programme at the Design Museum
- four Green Transition Ecosystems
- 75 Design Exchange Partnerships
- 50 Design Accelerators.
Each component of the programme will address distinct net zero themes or climate challenges faced by UK society and economy.
Further information on each part of the programme can be found below.
The vital role of the arts and humanities
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of AHRC, said:
“Innovation in design is vital to the mission of decarbonising our economy and society by 2050, and it is outstanding design thinking which will bring research and development together.
Our collaboration with the Design Museum once again proves the vital role the arts and humanities can play in solving the most urgent contemporary challenges, such as climate change.
A modern, sustainable and inclusive economy fit for the twenty-first century requires a human focussed approach to designing a better world.
Redefining what a museum can be
Justin McGuirk, Director of Future Observatory and Chief Curator at the Design Museum, said:
“As a museum whose primary purpose is to reflect the material and technological developments of our time, the Design Museum is ideally placed to champion design’s crucial role in the green transition.
Indeed, Future Observatory redefines what a museum can be: a place not solely focused on the past or the present but one that can help shape the future.
We are delighted to be partnering with the AHRC on this mission to support the UK in achieving its climate goals.
