Designing a design research, enterprise and innovation agenda: The role of the design direction initiative in stimulating a community of inquiry, learning & practice

This article discusses the genesis and initiation of a design driven community of inquiry, learning and practice for regeneration. In so doing it focuses on the Design Direction - a University of Ulster based initiative formed to explore the role of design in the emergence of a creative city hub. In describing this case, design is taken up as the switch between creativity and innovation and as the key change agent in addressing complex problems. The article outlines how design is harnessed as a metaskill and articulates a dynamic system for stimulating innovative progress. The paper draws on the author's ongoing research and experience of cultural development to explore how the notion of design as an animating principle of creativity affects socio- economic strategy formation and implementation. Thus it examines the relationship between design management, innovation and enterprise as well as the changing role of design in helping navigate complexity and address the multifaceted issues of our time.