The results of the European Commission's public consultation on its working document "Design as a driver of user-centred innovation," which provides an analysis of the rationale for making design an integral part of European innovation policy, are now online.

The response was very good. In total, the Commission received 535 online replies - 309 from organisations, 226 from individuals.

91 percent of responding organisations consider that design is very important for the future competitiveness of the EU economy. 96 percent consider that initiatives in support of design should be an integral part of innovation policy in general, 91 percent that initiatives in support of design should be taken at EU level in addition to Member State and regional level.

On this basis, the Commission is now considering its next steps in better integrating design into European innovation policy and support.

For those of you interested in contributing further to EU policy development, the Commission recently launched a similar consultation on the broader question of future innovation policy.