Massachusetts is one of the leading states in terms of the number of design professionals and innovative design firms. However, many companies in the Commonwealth are unaware both of the breadth and depth of design talent and of the importance of design to competitiveness. To address these challenges, The Design Industry Group of Massachusetts (DIGMA) was created in 2006 as an initiative of the statewide design industries (http://digma.us/). DIGMA has completed preliminary research on the design cluster in the state and the value proposition that design affords other sectors of the Massachusetts economy.
As part of its effort DIGMA, in partnership with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Mass MEP), is now seeking to better understand how Massachusetts manufacturers think about design and what challenges they face in better utilizing design capacity to improve their competitiveness.
To further this work, WE ARE ASKING MANUFACTURERS TO COMPETE A SHORT SURVEY. Similar surveys have been completed across the world – throughout Scandinavia, in the UK, in Eastern Europe, and in Singapore and South Korea. A review of the international work found growing consensus that design is critical to all aspects of product innovation—market research, concept development and validation, aesthetic design, production, and, ultimately, marketing and sales. With your help, this survey will allow us to benchmark Massachusetts companies relative to its global competition.
Please take 20 minutes of your time to help add to our understanding. Click on the following link to complete the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6V2CQ9. And. please forward this survey to any manufacturers you know in the Commonwealth. If you have any questions about the survey, please email Beth Siegel at [email protected].
