The para-disciplinary role of Design transforming innovation in organisations

The research addresses the role of Design creating value at the intersections of disciplines in organisations. It presents a revision to the discourse on the nature of and relationship between Design and other disciplines. This paper advocates a new para-disciplinary term for the post-disciplinary state of Design in its contemporary practices, acting as the ‘inter-discipline’ within organisations that are intent on the strategic development of their innovation capacity and potential. The work is based on the synthesis of findings from a longitudinal range of practice based design research projects undertaken across industry and the third sector over the last four years. Case studies of these projects demonstrate that the involvement of Design has resulted in successive levels of influence leading to the radical transformation of the organisations’ innovation strategies. The implication for the generic aspect of these findings is discussed in terms of inter-disciplinary discourses.