U.S. National Design Policy Initiative

USNDPI Holds Round Table on 21st Century Education at IDEAS Conference

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative is ready to hold its first of three round tables at the International Design Education Alliance for Schools Conference on April 13th in Washington D.C. The focus on this round table will be 21st Century Education. Moderated by Caroline Payson of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the round table will include as participants:

1. Caroline Payson, Education Director, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum
2. Dr. Stephanie Clemons, K-12 Design Education Research Specialist, Interior Design Educators Council
3. Jean Linsner,  Vice President of Youth Education, Chicago Architecture Foundation, representing the Architecture + Design Education Network (A+DEN) 
4. Dr. Kendall Starkweather, Executive Director, the International Technology Education Association

Round table topics include the questions: What are the key factors in a successful 21st Century education system for K-12 students, educators, and society? What is the role of design (making and thinking) in enabling this educational success? 

Conference Program

International Design Education Alliance for Schools  (IDEAS)
10:00 AM-4:00 PM
National Building Museum, Washington, DC

10:00AM
Welcome
Scott Kratz, Vice President of Education, National Building Museum

Greetings and overview of the teaching of design in K-12 education for economic improvement and social reform
Robin Vande Zande

IDEAS mission and meeting agenda,
Martin Rayala

11:00 AM
US National Design Policy Initiative Round table discussion on the role of Design in Education for the 21st Century.  

12:30 - 01:30 PM
Lunch and remarks by Bill Moggridge, Director of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and co-founder of IDEO

01:30 - 03:00 PM
Small group sessions: 

    ⁃    PreK-12 Design Education Policy, Standards, and Licensure
    ⁃    Building Worldwide partnerships with design firms, educators, institutions, and business; and resources
    ⁃    Teacher preparation at higher education

03:00 - 04:00PM
Small group reports and decisions on next steps 

Summit 09 Outcomes and thank you's

We want to thank everyone for an inspiring Summit yesterday. Particular thanks goes to:

• ASID for hosting us.
• SEGD and IIDA for feeding us.
• Under Secretary Kappos and Brian Hanlon of USPTO for sharing with us their messages on how the design community can deepen our relationship with them and the issues of protecting intellectual property.
• Maurice Cox for coming to observe, but then participating actively.
• Sarah, Christine, Carlee, and Catie for helping to facilitate.
• Julie Lasky of Change Observer for being our interactive connection to the over 200 individuals who watched and tweeted the Summit via Ustream.tv.

The objectives of the Summit were to:

1. Develop the 2010 strategic priorities for the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative (check)
2. Finalize membership of an “American Design Council” (uncheck, too be completed)
3. Gain a sense of the priorities for design from the Department of Commerce, USPTO (check)
4. Engage the wider design community in national design policy decision making (Check, through the ustream.tv which worked well enough to know we can optimize it for other events)
5. Develop a set of case studies that demonstrate the value of design for publication (check through the sharing, but see below for follow up)

We were successful on all accounts except for number 2, finalize membership of an ADC. Out of the afternoon discussions, three 2010 strategic priorities were set for the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative:

#1 Introduce into K-12 educational curriculum learning modules on design creativity and innovation.

This was the top priority proposal from the wider design community gaining 23% of the 324 votes. There is also a lot of synergy in this area with the work of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, led by Caroline Payson; the Association of Architecture Organizations' A+DEN (Architecture + Design Education Network) which includes AIA, AAF, and Chicago Arch. Foundation; initiatives in AIGA Design Educators Community, and many other initiatives in which the design communities can all work together.

#2 Preparing and publishing cases studies/examples of design's social, economic, and environmental positive impact.

The most inspiring aspect of the day was hearing all of the case studies of the projects that the design community are doing that provide social, economic, and environmental positive impact. The next step is to turn these into a series of publications (print, web, and maybe multimedia) that can use to demonstrate the value of design.

#3 "Round tables" with the design community, government agencies, and stakeholders.

This project is the response to the inherent challenge of the group, which Maurice Cox of the NEA highlighted, our collective mandate in much broader than the various streams of high priority policy conversations happening in D.C., of which design should be a participant. It is proposed that we hold four "round tables" on the topics of (1) Health and Wellness Care, (2) Sustainable Living, (3) Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and (4) Education for the 21st Century. Each "round table" would be curated by a host organization/s, but be required to have a committee consisting of, at the minimum, three professional design organizations, one design education institution, one government agency, and one outside stakeholder group.

To save on resources, the idea would be to build upon existing events and activities. For example, if AIA is already holding a health forum in the Spring, perhaps they can open up participation to other organizations who have health-related design projects and stakeholders. Or AIGA could host the "round table" on Innovation and Entrepreneurship during the "design week" of their 2010 GAIN: Design and Business Conference.

Overall, it was heartening to see all of the amazing activities in which the design community is engaged and the potential for synergy and collaboration going forward. We look forward to the wider design communities support on moving these strategic initiatives from concept to reality in 2010. 

Pictures, Under Secretary Kappos' welcome video, and other materials from the Summit will be available in a couple of days, once we all get some much needed rest.

Summit 09: Watch it live at 9:30am EST

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV Online video chat by Ustream

Summit 09: Tomorrow at 9:30am EST

Join in via http://www.ustream.tv/channel/us-design-policy. Tomorrow from 9:30am - 3:30pm EST.

Summit 09 Updates: Your Participation

The Summit is two weeks away. We want/need you to participate in Summit 09 in two ways:

01
You can watch and interact with the Summit live on December 1st, from 9:30am-3:3pm EST via www.ustream.tv/channel/us-design-policy. The social stream will be connected to our Facebook page, Twitter account @usdesignpolicy, and YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/USDesignPolicy.

02
During the breaks in the Summit, we will answer your comments and questions on the social stream about what you have seen and heard at the People's Q&A, moderated by Change Observer's Brad McKee.

Program

09:00am–09:30am    
Breakfast reception  (Sponsored by IIDA and SEGD)

09:30am–10:15am    
Greetings, introductions, overview of 2009 accomplishments

10:15am–10:45am    
Guest speaker via video, David Kappos, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a policy adviser

10:45am–11:45am    
Design policy activities assessment exercise

11:45am–01:00pm    
Lunch and the People’s design policy Q&A (Sponsored by IIDA and SEGD)

01:00pm–02:00pm    
2010 Design policy activities prioritization exercise

02:00pm–02:15pm    
Break and the People’s design policy Q&A

02:15pm–03:15pm   
Sharing of triple bottom line design case studies

03:15pm–03:30pm    
the People’s design policy Q&A

03:30pm–04:30pm    
Discussion of activities stewardship and commitments (Closed session)

So sign up at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/us-design-policy. We hope to see you at Summit 09.

Summit 09 Updates: Program and attendees

The program has been set. The attendees have been confirmed.

Program

09:00am–09:30am    Breakfast reception  (Sponsored by IIDA and SEGD)
09:30am–10:15am    Greetings, introductions, overview of 2009 accomplishments
10:15am–10:45am    Guest speaker via video, David Kappos, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
                               and in person, Brian Hanlon, Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration
10:45am–11:45am    Design policy activities assessment exercise
11:45am–01:00pm    Lunch and the People’s design policy Q&A (Sponsored by IIDA and SEGD)
01:00pm–02:00pm    2010 Design policy activities prioritization exercise
02:00pm–03:00pm    Break and the People’s design policy Q&A
02:15pm–03:15pm    Sharing of triple bottom line design case studies
03:15pm–03:30pm    the People’s design policy Q&A
03:30pm–04:30pm    Discussion of activities stewardship and commitments (Closed session)

Attendees

Host, Dori Tunstall, U.S. National Design Policy Initiative

From professional design associations

AIGA, the professional association for design  
Richard Grefé, Executive Director

American Architectural Foundation (AAF)   
Ron Bogle, Executive Director

American Institute of Architects (AIA)   
George Miller, President   
Paul Mendelsohn, Vice President, Government and Community Relations

American Society of Landscape Architects
Nancy C. Somerville, Executive Vice President/CEO

American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)   
Chris Salp, Director of Government and Public Affairs

Design Management Institute (DMI)   
Patricia Olshan, Program Manager

Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)   
Clive Roux, Executive Director

Interaction Designers Association (IxDA)   
Janna Hicks DeVylder, President

International Interior Design Association (IIDA)   
Allison Levy, Managing Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs
Steve McCollom, Board Member, V.P. Communications

Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD)   
Leslie Gallery Dilworth, Executive Director

From design education and accreditation institutions

Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)   
Michael Monti, PhD., Executive Director

Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD)   
Ray Allen, Provost, Maryland Institute College of Art and Design

Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC)   
Catherine Anderson, Board Member

National Association for Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)   
Samuel Hope, Executive Director

From U.S. Federal government agencies

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum   
Caroline Payson, Director of Education

National Park Service (NPS)   
Robert H. Clark, Design Program Director, Harpers Ferry Center

U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
Leslie Shepard, Chief Architect
Frank Giblin, Director of Urban Development Program
Casey Jones, Head of Design Excellence Program

U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) 
Janice Sterling, Director of Creative Services
Ron Keeney, Assistant Director of Creative Services

State-based design policy initiatives

Design Industry Group of Massachusetts (DIGMA)   
Beate Becker, Founder and director

New Kind (working for the creation of the North Carolina Innovation Council)   
Matt Muñoz, Principal

Facilitators

Change Observer - Design Observer   
Julie Lasky, Editor

Corcoran College of Art and Design
Carlee Cardwell, MFA Student   
Sarah Reed, MFA Student
Suzanne Humphries, MFA Student
Christine Cannon, MFA Student   

Summit 09 Updates: Vote for your top design policy proposal

In preparation for Summit 09, the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative wants you, the People, to have an opportunity to help shape our priorities for 2010. From now until December 1, 2009, you can go to the Summit 09 poll and vote for which proposal should be our top priority.

Want design education for K-12?  Or a National Design Assembly?  Then vote for your design policy priority! If you cannot find your design policy priority listed in the policy proposals or Summit report, feel free to contribute your own.

U.S. NDPI plans for Summit '09

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative is planning for Summit 09. The official long name is the 2009 U.S. National Design Policy Summit.

To be held on December 1, 2009, the American Society for Interior Designers (ASID) will host the meeting at the headquarters in Washington D.C.  The SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) and IIDA (International Interior Design Association) have agreed to sponsor this years meals. Last year, AIGA, AIA, IDSA, and UIC were the major supporters of the event.

We are working on getting special guests to share "words of inspiration" such as Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Dennis Hightower (Secretary Locke has another engagement), and Michigan Senator Carl Levin.

We are working on ways to get you involved in helping to set priorities for 2010, and through Change Observer, gaining digital access to ask questions and make comments during the Summit proceedings. Thus, we've been pretty busy.

Stay turned as the agenda is set, speakers are confirmed, guest list is finalized, and your participation secured. Keep December 1st semi-open to participate in what is going to be an exciting event.

U.S. NDPI supports the launch of DIGMA, Design Industry Group of Massachusetts

On June 10, 2009,  Dori Tunstall, organizer of the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative, participated in the launch of DIGMA, the Design Industry Group of Massachusetts. DIGMA is the first of what the Initiative hopes to be more State-level design industry, government, and education collaborative policy groups. 

During the event, DIGMA launched their new website, www.digma.us, and announced their upcoming programs including the Massachusetts Design Festival in September 2009. Founding director, Beate Becker, asked Dori Tunstall along with Greg Bialecki, Secretary of Housing & Economic Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to speak about the importance of design policy at the Federal and State levels.

Secretary Bialecki highlighted the importance of design to Massachusetts' economy and the State's responsiveness to designers' cries for design excellence in government design. Dori emphasized how U.S. governance operates at both the Federal and State levels. Thus, the wide adoption of design policy will only take place when their are "design councils" at both levels.  Dori's presentation is available for download. DIGMA launch prez_final (PDF 3.1. MB). It provides a great overview of what the U.S. has already been doing regarding design policy for economic competitiveness and democratic governance.

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative is really proud of what DIGMA has accomplished since forming in 2007. They represent a model for the other 50 States.

Report on Meeting with the USPTO

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative met with the staff of the USPTO including:

• John Doll, Acting Under Secretary of IP and Acting Director USPTO;
• Jasemeen Chambers, Director of Technology Center 2900;
• Mary Critharis, Karin Ferriter, and Tom Hinckey, Advisers in Office of IP Policy and Enforcement;
• Nicole Dretar, Legal Advisor, Office of Latent Legal Administration;
• Joel Sincavage, Design Practice Specialist, Tech Center 2900;
• Elizabeth Dougherty and Brian Hanlon, Sr. Advisers to Acting the Undersecretary and Director.

The desired outcomes of the meeting were to:

1. Get a clear POV on the USPTO's willingness and feasibility of supporting an American Design Council and Assist. Secretary of Design and Innovation position
2. Develop a set of well defined next steps/conversations for the Initiative and other design policy proposals.

The outcomes of the meeting were productive and we left with the following understandings:

1. the USPTO believes that an American Design Council is a good idea
2. our mandate is broader that USPTO, thus we need to find an appropriate home for the American Design Council within Commerce but at a higher level, the Office of Science and Technology in the White House, or even a Presidential Advisory Council
3. the concept of an Assistant Secretary of Design and Innovation position within Commerce is a "heavy lift" and probably infeasible
4. the design communities need to work closer with the USPTO regarding issues of Intellectual Property. Our advice and recommendations would be welcomed and we can do more to share with the design communities the resources that the USPTO provides.

We left the meeting with a great ally in Eleanor Meltzer, Chief of Staff for the USPTO. We are now working with her to elevate our message with Secretary Locke and other incoming Under Secretaries in the Department of Commerce.

In attendance from the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative were:

• Dr. Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall, Organizer, U.S. National Design Policy Initiative
• Mr. Paul Mendelsohn, V.P. Government and Community Relations, American Institute of Architects
• Mr. Andrew Goldberg, Senior Director of Federal Relations, American Institute of Architects
• Mr. William O. Barrett, Executive Director, Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design
• Mr. Brian Vogel, Interim Executive Director, Industrial Designers Society of America

U.S. NDPI to meet with U.S. Dept. of Commerce

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative will meet on May 26th with Acting Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office John Doll.

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss possible USPTO "sponsorship" for an American Design Council and the establishment of an Assistant Secretary of Design and Innovation position within Dept. of Commerce.

This is an exciting first step in bringing closer to reality Policy Proposal #1 Formalize an American Design Council to partner with the U.S. Government and Policy Proposal #4 Create an Assistant Secretary for Design and Innovation position within the Department of Commerce to promote design.

Look for the report of the meeting on this website.