The Design Foundations (DF) competition, funded by Innovate UK and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK Business Connect, was established to help businesses apply design in early-stage innovation projects and access the right expertise to do so. Between 2022 and 2025, six cohorts were awarded grants ranging from £40,000 to £80,000 for collaborative, design-led projects lasting between three and six months.

Harlow Consulting was commissioned to assess the first four cohorts, spanning 122 awarded projects in multiple industry sectors, and across a range of business sizes and regions. The evaluation set out to understand the competition’s contribution to business success and innovation capabilities, and to inform improvements for future design-led initiatives. A mixed-methodology was used, combining desk-based research, online survey data, in-depth interviews, thematic analysis, and light-touch process evaluation.

Design Foundations (DF) participants demonstrated the transformative impact of design and people-centred approach. Despite being early stage, short in duration, and modest in cost, DF projects improved commercial and investment readiness. Businesses reported that early design investments helped de-risk innovation and delivered cost and time savings in later stages. Furthermore, participation in Design Foundations has unlocked additional funding of c.£3.8m during or shortly after the programme that participants would have struggled to access, in the absence of the intervention.