Inclusive Business RCA

Inclusive Business RCA is an applied research programme that aims to raise design standards in products and services that include the needs of disabled people. It seeks to encourage innovation by giving them an active voice in the design process.

Central to its mission is the transfer of knowledge about inclusive design, and its potential as a tool for innovation, to the business and design communities.

Inclusive Business RCA works with a range of partners from industry, in tandem with the design, voluntary and academic sectors, to help them identify, enhance or establish ways to increase their ability to respond to new demographic and market challenges.

It achieves this through:

strategic partnerships
demonstration projects such as the DBA Inclusive Design Challenge
knowledge transfer through presentations, events, targeted workshops and seminars, exhibitions and publications.

Inclusive Business RCA aims to create a ‘virtuous circle’ of interaction that will deliver:

inclusive products and services to market
research outputs based upon them
knowledge transfer back to the core constituencies.

Background

Inclusive Business RCA builds directly on the five-year track record of its predecessor, the Small Business Programme.

Its starting point is that technology, products, services and media developed for the disability market are high in innovative potential and functionality but often fail to meet the aspirations of their users. Such products are engineered rather than designed, they occupy a ‘special needs’ market niche and are costly as a result. Their lack of mainstream design appeal means that they can stigmatise rather than socially integrate.

Inclusive Business RCA aims to tackle this longstanding status quo, developing more appealing new products, services, environments and communications, so that the user’s quality of life can be enhanced and innovation through inclusive design becomes a driver for business opportunity.

What can we deliver?

expertise in inclusive design management
user involvement to catalyse and test innovative ideas
benchmark exemplar products and services
new strategic partnerships
input tailored to specific needs
research outputs and dissemination.

If you are interested in developing expertise in inclusive design or the organisation of an event related to inclusive design, contact Julia Cassim