April 2, 2019
The flat white economy is now the most important sector in the UK
According to a new study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think tank, the so-called ‘flat white sector’ is now the most important driver of the UK economy. Consisting of the digital and creative businesses that cluster around areas like Silicon Roundabout in north-east London, the term has been coined by Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman at the CEBR to reflect the way startups can apparently save on property costs by working out of coffee shops. McWilliams claims that the flat white economy contributed 14.4 per cent of gross value added (GVA) to the UK in 2018, making it more important than traditional sectors such as manufacturing, mining and utilities on that measure. More →
March 29, 2019
Co-design is an old idea, but it belongs to the 21st Century like never before
by Jonathan Hindle • Comment, Workplace design
As with so many apparently new ideas that resonate in a contemporary context, co-design has a long history. Originally referred to as cooperative or participatory design, it was first applied in Scandinavia in the 1960s and 70s, especially as a way of engaging stakeholders in the public sector in the design and development of IT projects, healthcare and workplaces. Arguably, our modern understanding of the idea was first set out by C.K. Prahalad and Venkatram Ramaswamy in a 2000 Harvard Business Review article called Co-opting Customer Competence and a subsequent book by the authors on the subject. They argue that there is a growing trend for firms to actively seek the insight and competence of customers to offer them better solutions, tailored to their own needs. More →