The aim of the public consultation on design and innovation is to find out what could be done at EU level to further support the use of design innovation.

“The European Commission is currently assessing the EU innovation strategy, with a view to launching a new European innovation plan by 2010, as requested by the European Council of December 2008. There is general political agreement that all forms of innovation need to be supported and that the progressive shift in emphasis of the broad-based innovation strategy from exclusive reliance on ‘technology push’ to more demand-and user-driven innovation must continue.”

This is tremendously good news for all user-centred design practitioners in Europe.

The consultation is open open for organisations and private persons, and runs until 26 June 2009.

(via Giselle Raulik Murphy of Design Wales)

Read also Nicolas Nova’s reflection on the matter.

(By the way, the top banner of the European commission website looks surprisingly like a crop of the standard Mac OSX desktop image).