The Turkish Design Advisory Council ("Council") has announced the Design Strategy and Action Plan for 2018 to 2020 ("Plan"). The Plan aims to establish a global profile for Turkish designs and addresses recent trends in the sector. It aims to improve the local design sector's quantity and quality, meet development needs, increase the effectiveness of government supports, support the public's use of design, transform design education, as well as increase the Council's effectiveness.

In this context, the Plan outlines objectives, as well as specific actions to support each objective.

Objective 1: Improve the public and private sector's capacity for design management, production, and use, via the following actions:

  • Establish a Design Valley where businesses can access information, data, research and consulting services related to designs.
  • Increase the Council's effectiveness.
  • Organise educational and informative activities on effective management of design processes.
  • Provide training programs for design, development and management processes, taught by professional designers at R&D and Design Centers.

Objective 2: Increase the effectiveness of governmental design support and entrepreneurship related to designs, via the following actions:

  • Analyse existing government support for designs and develop recommendations for improvement.
  • Include industrial design as an evaluation criterion for R&D, product development and commercialization support.
  • Include design academics or professionals in R&D selection and evaluation boards, as well as product development projects which requires design.

Objective 3: Increase HR capacity and quality related to design, via the following actions:

  • Increase the design-related professional competence of "Technology and Design" teachers.
  • Ensure name consistency between undergraduate and postgraduate education programs.
  • Take measures to increase the quality of design education at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Objective 4: Increase the existence and awareness of Turkish design at a national and international level, via the following actions:

  • Determine and implement a communication strategy for international promotion of Turkish design.
  • Organise a Turkish World Design Forum.
  • Prepare written and visual materials to increase design awareness.
  • Introduce Turkish designers at a national and international level.
  • Organise joint activities with international design institutions and councils.
  • Arrange design awareness-raising activities in science centers.
  • Establish a design museum.

Objective 5: Support and guide decision-making processes by developing information and data capacity for designs, via the following activities:

  • Determine data sets for design and create a design inventory database.
  • Record the elements of Turkish design culture and local knowledge.
  • Conduct a sectoral analysis of the design activities in Turkey.

The actions noted above have been assigned to various government and private institutions, including:

  • The relevant ministries.
  • The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The Undersecretariat of Treasury.
  • The Council's member institutions.

The Council's committees are responsible for following up and monitoring these activities.

The Plan was published in Official Gazette number 30462 on 28 June 2016. Please see this link for the full text of the Plan (only available in Turkish).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.