15 Years of Design to Improve Life by The Index Project

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Fæstningens Materialgård, Building B Frederiksholms Kanal 30 1220 Copenhagen K Denmark designtoimprovelife.dk 2016 INDEX: Design to Improve Life® You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. However, you must quote us.

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Table of contents

4-5 We lcom e

6-9 01 Abou t I ND EX : D esign to Improve Life ÂŽ

10-17 02 Su st ai n abi l i t y an d glo ba l c ha llenges

18-27 03 I n spi re

28-35 0 4 Edu cate

36-43 0 5 En gage

44-49 0 6 Leadersh i p

50-51 07 Lesson s l earn ed

52-53 O u t l ook

Welcome INDEX: Design to Improve Life®

What is design? Most people have firm images in mind when hearing the word – pretty home accessories or beautiful furniture. We at INDEX: Design to Improve Life® believe that design is so much more. From being tasked to establish the world’s largest design award some 15 years ago until today, we have undergone an amazing journey. We knew from the start that design could not be just about aesthetics, that it was not enough. But it was the conversations with so many fascinating people from all backgrounds around the world, and the work with our awe-inspiring INDEX: Award winners and finalists, which have truly made us aware of the unlimited potential of design. In collaboration with other industries, design offers tangible solutions for seemingly unsolvable global challenges. It improves people’s lives, sometimes without them even realizing it. And it creates a new vision of the future, one that turns our beliefs upside down. Design has moved to the very core of our lives, but the question that remains is: are we capable of embracing its full potential? INDEX: Design to Improve Life® has been at the tip of new design developments for more than a decade. We are the first organization to offer a holistic approach for improving people’s lives through design. We teach future generations, we recognize and award current generations, and we invest capital to help ensure designs reach their full potential. We Design to Improve Life in full circle. We have had the enormous privilege of working alongside designers, entrepreneurs, academics, scientists, teachers, investors and artists to transform the way we think and handle design. On the next pages, we will show you how INDEX: Design to Improve Life® has evolved with this knowledge and introduce you to our three main program areas. We will not only show you the impact of our work but also the related developments in the world, as we firmly see ourselves as a small part of a large global ecosystem working to address global challenges. We will introduce you to what design can do for products, services, processes and systems. We will show you that everyone has the potential to design. Our mission is to open your eyes and make room for a broader and much more meaningful perception of design. “Design is the human capacity to shape and make our environments in ways that satisfy our needs and give meaning to our lives.” – Professor John Heskett.

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Welco me

01 About INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Who we are INDEX: Design to Improve Life® is a Danish NPO with global reach. We Inspire, Educate and Engage in designing sustainable solutions to global challenges. Vision A world of far better solutions designed to improve life for people. Mission By means of the biggest design award in the world, large-scale public events, education, partnerships and investments, we Inspire, Educate and Engage people, designers and decision makers alike to add the competences of Design to Improve Life to the development of social, environmental and economic sustainable solutions to global, local and regional challenges. Our Patron INDEX: Design to Improve Life® is proud to be under the patronage of:

Job Creation Since 2004, INDEX: Design to Improve Life® has created approximately 250 full-time employees (FTEs). 1 Calculation based on a formula developed by Visit Denmark. 1

Our Jury The INDEX: Award Jury consists of 11 influential men and women from all over the world who, based on their insight and experience from their field of expertise, evaluate the INDEX: Award nominations each award cycle. The jury consists of: Mikal Hallstrup (DK) (Chairman), Arnold Wasserman (US), Anna Valtonen (FI), Camilla Bredholt (DK), Daan Roosegaarde (NL), Katinka von der Lippe (NO), Lim Chee Onn (SG), Paola Antonelli (US), Patrick Frick (CH), Ravi Naidoo (ZA), Simona Rocchi (NL). Our Team The heart of INDEX: Design to Improve Life® is our team:

Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Denmark. Our Governance INDEX: Design to Improve Life® was founded by The Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs and The City of Copenhagen in 2001. Together with the Danish Design Center and Danish Fashion Institute, INDEX: Design to Improve Life® is a subsidiary of the Design Society since 2015. The Design Society was established to strengthen growth in Denmark, promote the nation internationally and contribute to solving societal challenges.

Kigge Hvid (DK), Steen Christian Eriksen (DK), Adam von Haffner (DK), Lars Bøgeskov (DK), Mariano Alesandro (ES/ AR), Sara Møllegaard Flyvbjerg (DK), Sara Gornitzka (DK), Lesley Price (AU), Liza Chong (UK), Mette Sindet Hansen (DK), Vittoria Casanova (IT), Jana Rudnik (UK/SK/DE), Charlotte Høeg Andersen (DK), Lotte Stenlev (DK), Lotte Haag Borg (DK), Simone Søgaard Jacobsen (DK).

Our Board The INDEX: Design to Improve Life® board is responsible for overseeing the overall strategic development and running of INDEX: Design to Improve Life®. The Board consists of: Jens Wittrup Willumsen (DK) (Chairman), Flemming Lindeløv (DK), Felicitas von Peter (DE), Teddy Zebitz (DK), Camilla Bredholt (DK), Pil Ayoe Paltorp (DK), Torben Möger Pedersen (DK). Our Annual Budget DK 14,125,000/USD 2,105,470 (Average from 2004-2015) Financed by (Average) ·· The Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs/Business Authorities: 41% ·· Private funding: 25% ·· International/EU funding: 21% ·· Public funding (not state): 11% ·· Further state funding: < 2%

01 Abo ut IN DEX: Design to Improve Life ®

What we do Milestones in the development of our three program areas: Inspire, Educate and Engage.

2001

2006

2011

2016

Inspire Global research launched

Engage First international city partnership launched

Inspire Permanent collection launched at the Design Museum Denmark

Inspire Big Picture development launced

2007

Educate First international summer school launched in Korea

2002 Inspire Design to Improve Life concept coined

2003 Inspire Inspire events launched

2004 Inspire Inaugural call for nominations for INDEX: Award Educate First education initiative launched

Inspire Global INDEX: Award Exhibition launched Educate International Summer Camp

2008 Educate First international student challenge launched

First summit launched Danish INDEX: Award Exhibition launched Educate School service launched

Inspire Good News concept launced Engage First acceleration Summer School for INDEX: Award finalists launched

2013 2009 Educate Pilot project Design to Improve Life Education

Educate Design to Improve Life Challenge launched Engage Investor Day launched

2005 Inspire INDEX: Award launched

2012

2010 Educate Design to Improve Life Compass launched Engage Design to Improve Life Investment launched

2014 Educate Boost launced

2015 Engage Impact Investment Circle launched

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Engage Investment Fund announced

We have a multi-level, integrated approach to using the competencies of design to solve global challenges. We grow the worldwide demand for solutions to global challenges by sourcing and championing the best sustainable and innovative designs. We secure the future of Design to Improve Life through education: teaching the next generation how to conquer global challenges through sustainable design-based practices. We accelerate the impact of our network by providing knowledge, as well as financial and human capital to the best sustainable solutions.

Our Partners We do not work alone. INDEX: Design to Improve Life® believes in partnerships as one of the core drivers for sustainable design. Our extensive network of partners enables us to integrate their lessons learned and vice versa, creating a common vision and holistic approach to combating global challenges. A A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal · Aalborg Akvavit · Accelerace ·AIGA (US) · American University of Sharjah (UEA) · Annenberg Foundation (US) · Aperol · Art Center College of Design Pasadena, University of California (US) B Bakul Foundation (IN) · Beyond Risør (NO) · Boston Consulting Group (US) · British Council (UK) · Business of Design Week (HK) C Campari ·Chengdu Knowledge City (CN) · Children - Nepal (NP) · Clint Digital · City of Brno (CZ) · City of Budapest (HU) · City of Ljubljana (SI) · City of Luxembourg (LU) · City of Risør (NO) · City of Tallinn (EE) · City of Vilnius (LI) · City of Warszawa (PO) · Cointreau · Continuous Action (EE) D Danisco · Dansk Design Center · Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond · Design Indaba (ZA) · Design Lab Orissa (IN) · Design Museum Danmark · DesignSingapore Council (SG) · Det Obelske Familiefond · DI Dansk Industri · Eco Design Initiative (ZA) E Ello Food Aps · Energi E2 · Erhvervs- og Vækstministeriet · Erhvervsrådet Herning · Erhvervsstyrelsen · Erindringsmønten · Estonian Development Cooperation (EE) · European Regional Development Fund · European Social Fund · European Youth in Action Program F Familien Hede Nielsens Fond · FedEx · Ferrarelle · Fonden Aarhus 2017 · Fritz Hansen A/S G Georg Jensen · Greenside Design Centre (ZA) · Gwangju Design Biennale (KR) H Helsingør Kommune · City of Helsinki (FI) · Hendrick’s · Henning Larsen Architects · HOFOR · Holger Petersens Fond · Homemate I IIT, Industrial Design Center (IN) · Illums Bolighus · INCO · Industriens Arbejdsgivere · Industriens Fond · International Press Initiative · Interreg Europe - European Regional Development Fund · Invest in Denmark J 15. Juni Fonden

K Karl Pedersen og Hustrus Industrifond · Keppel Corporation (SG) · Kickstarter · Kirk Fonden · Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorcks Fond · Konventum · Kronprins Frederiks og Kronprinsesse Marys Fond · Kvadrat · Københavns Kommune · Københavns Lufthavne L Lauritzen Fonden · LO · Lundbeck · Luxembourg Design Biennal (LU) · Løgismose M Malmö Stad (SE) · Markedsføringsfonden for Danmark · Merkur Sparekasse · Mikkeller · Ministry for Children, Education and Gender Equality Denmark · Ministry of Culture Denmark · Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark · Ministry of Higher Education and Science Denmark · Momondo · Mudam Luxembourg (LU) · Museu da Casa Brasileira (BR) N National Design Centre (AUS) · Naturfrisk – Ørbæk Bryggeri · Nordea Fonden · Nordic Lighthouse, Shanghai (CN) · Norsk Design- og Arkitektursenter (NO) · Nykredits Fond · Nørrebro Bryghus O Oticon Fonden · P Politikens Fond · Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, PUC (CL) · Provinsindustriens Arbejdsgivere R Redtory, Guangzhou (CN) · Region Hovedstaden · Region Skåne (SE) · Retap · Royal Copenhagen · Royal Scandinavia S Saelan · Samsung · School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts CAFA (CN) · Seoul (KR) · Singapore (SG) · Sino Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (CN) · SRISHTI school of Art, Design and Technology (IN) · Statens Kunstfond · Supermarco T Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (TW) · Tallinn Design Festival (EST) · The Danish Cultural Institute · The Idea Factory (US/SG) · TrygFonden · Tuborgfondet · Tulip U University of Colorado Denver College of Arts & Media (US) · University of Huddersfield (UK) V Vitamin Well · W Wonderful Copenhagen · World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 (FI) · World’s Best News Y Yonsei University (KR)

01 Abo ut IN DEX: Design to Improve Life ®

02 Sustainability and Global Challenges

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Dear Reader, In 2006, the Danish Design Council held a mock trial with INDEX: Design to Improve Life® as the accused party, charged with tainting the public image of Danish Design. You can imagine this is not something taken lightly in Denmark. A lawyer was assigned to represent us –a real lawyer– as was the case with our opponent, the Danish Design Council. In the days leading up to the fake lawsuit we prepared our case intensely and presented it in an actual courtroom, presided by a Supreme Court judge. We lost. Two judges against one. What had happened? We had soundly justified our view of design as being so much more than just beautiful surfaces of expensive objects. We had intensely fought for our belief that design was not just for the designer, but an overall human capacity to solve global challenges. We had demanded that sustainability, defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, must always be a part of design. How could we have lost the case? This year, we had the immense pleasure of being asked to judge at the Danish Design Awards, the 50-year-old design award honoring the nation’s best designs. The 16 prizes were celebrated under the title ‘The difference design can make’ and all represented sustainable design solutions, created to improve life for people. So looking back at our fake lawsuit 10 years ago, we should mention that although the Danish Design Council had won the court case, they lost the vote of the audience. We were at the tip of the wave that would break in the years to come and the people knew it. Thinking and acting sustainably has now spread all over the world to all industries. Would anyone take us to court today?

02 Sust ainability and global challenges

Looking back at our development The rise of attention on sustainability and global challenges at INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ

Growth in nominations for INDEX: Award

1123 1022 966 720 350 538

Growth in maturity of INDEX: Award finalists and winners

in production

64%

in production

2005

INDEX: Award covers five categories and 32 global challenges, which include all of the SDGs

83%

2015

2005

2015

We asked our INDEX: Award winners which of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals they currently address:

1. No poverty

2. Zero hunger

3. Good health and well-being

4. Quality education

5. Gender equality

6. Clean water and sanitation

7. Affordable and clean energy

8. Decent work and economic growth

9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

10. Reduced inequalities

winners

11. Sustainable cities and communities

12. Responsible consumption and production

13. Climate action

14. Life below water

15. Life on land

16. Peace and justice strong institutions

17. Partnerships for the goals

winners

Looking back at our ecosystem The rise of attention on sustainability and global challenges seen across various sectors worldwide*

1920s

1992

2000

2006

Architecture Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Richard Buckminster Fuller pioneer modernist, sustainable architecture

Global Development Goals Agenda 21

Global Development Goals Millennium Development Goals

Energy Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI) launched in partnership with UNEP

2001

Design Awards Spark Design Award (US)

Climate Legislation United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Design Awards INDEX: Award announced (DK)

1987 1993 Economy “Our Common Future” (Brundtland Report) published by the World Commission on Environment and Development

1989 Fashion Clean Clothes Campaign launched

1991 Fashion People Tree Ltd. pioneer Fair Trade and environmentally sustainable fashion

Architecture “Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future” signed by World Congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA)

1997 Climate Legislation, Kyoto Protocol signed 54 national laws and policies directly related to climate change mitigation adopted in 33 developed and 66 developing countries Food International Conference on Sustainable Urban Food Systems

2002 Architecture World Green Building Council established

2004 Food Sustainable Food Lab established

2005 Energy Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) established

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

2007 Fashion Fashion Takes Action formed Design Awards Good Design Award for Sustainability (AU)

2008 Economy · UNEP launches the “green economy initiative” (GEI) · World Bank launches the “Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change” and introduces World Bank Green Bonds Fashion Nordic Initiative Clean & Ethical formed Design Awards Buckminster Fuller Challenge (US)

*This is a small selection of events we have observed.

2009

2012

2015

Energy · EU Renewable Energy Directive · International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) established

Economy International Chamber of Commerce publishes “Green Economy Roadmap”

Energy 2030 Climate and Energy Framework adopted by EU leaders

Fashion · Red Carpet Green Dress launched · Copenhagen Fashion Summit initiated · Ethical Fashion Initiative formed Design Awards Design for Asia Award

2010 Economy Global Green Economy Index™ (GGEI) established

2011 Economy OECD publishes Green Growth Strategy Fashion EcoChic Design Award launched Design Awards Core 77 Design Award (US)

Design Awards · EU Social Innovation Competition (BE) · ICSID: World Design Impact prize (CA)

2013 Design Awards · AIGA Re-Design Award (US) · Red DOT Award (First article on sustainability) (GR)

Design Awards Greening the Future Award (AF)

2016 Design Awards · Danish Design Award (Relaunch) (DK) · MIT Inclusive Innovation Competition (US) · Green Good Design Awards

2014 Climate Legislation 804 laws and policies directly related to climate change mitigation adopted in 33 developed and 66 developing countries Energy 2030 Climate and Energy Framework adopted by EU leaders Design Awards Greening the Future Award (AF)

02 Sust ainability and global challenges

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Looking Forward Standing on the achievements of the last 15 years, the very good news is that the shared effort of millions of people has vastly improved the world around us. By now, less people live in poverty, more kids are in schools, gender equality is improving, child and maternal mortality is declining, cures are found for threatening diseases, environmental issues have the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention, more people have safe drinking water and better sanitation, and even the frightening hole in the ozone layer is shrinking. Additionally, new technology has secured an exponential growth in the distribution of knowledge, which is empowering more and more people all around the world. Adding to this good news, 149 Heads of State agreed on further pushing for positive change â&#x20AC;&#x201C; resulting in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, looking into the future there is obviously a lot more to be done in terms of implementation. Too many people still suffer from the consequences of poverty, political unrest and extreme weather phenomena caused by climate change. Decisions agreed on the upper, international level take too much time to have an actual effect at the bottom of the pyramid. Urgency must therefore be instilled throughout our political systems and also among citizens to change structures and tear down hurdles for implementation. Throughout all of our programs, we at INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ will focus on three overall approaches to support this development. We will inspire by working with designers, businesses, decision makers, investors, teachers and students to grow an in-depth understanding of the full implications of sustainable design and the actions we can all take to solve global challenges. We will educate the next generations by teaching innovative, sustainable design-based approaches to solving problems, thereby instilling positive and constructive thinking and growing the talent of tomorrow. We will engage by creating bottom-up and top-down structures for good solutions, connecting designers and investors, citizens and politicians, children and adults, to continuously remind society that we can solve global challenges together.

02 Sust ainability and global challenges

03 Inspire

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Dear Reader, At one random day in 1940, Helen Barnett Diserens observed the way ink flowed from a ballpoint pen and wondered whether the same would work with other, similar liquids. It would. Helen then invented the roll on deodorant that has become one of the bestselling hygiene products in the world. Stories like Helen’s are the reason why we have created our Inspire initiatives. We want to showcase amazing sustainable designs that address global challenges, and thereby grow the demand for more. We also want to counterweight mainstream news, which too often displays only the negative headlines, by sharing the good news that great solutions are already available. Overall, we want to inspire people to demand and supply sustainable design solutions that address global challenges. All the amazing design solutions that reach us via the INDEX: Award make one message very clear: everyone, regardless of education or experience, has the capacity to make society better. To respond to the demand for new solutions to global challenges, you need two very important things: plenty of inspiration and an appetite for hard work. Consistent hard work is simply the precondition for success, as is mastering the required knowledge and techniques. These are the skills that you can quantify and measure. But inspiration? Inspiration defies measurement and does not quite make sense by normal logic. Nevertheless, you always recognize it! This amazing feeling when all pieces fall into place, the feeling of elevation, the burst of energy, and the sudden awareness of countless possibilities. The moment when inspiration leads you to a sudden new realization, you skip over countless trying efforts and often explore completely new avenues on an exciting new trail to find the ultimate solution. As the world only has a few geniuses –our greatest artists and inventors– who seem to have an internal bottomless pit of inspiration, the rest of us must rely on external stimulants. To create, innovate and develop you need to stumble across that piece of information to kick-start the idea in you. For Helen, it was the ballpoint pen; for George de Mestral, the inventor of Velcro, it was seeing the burs in his dog’s fur while out walking one night.

03 Inspire

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Our INSPIRE initiatives INDEX: Award Worth €500,000, the INDEX: Award is the world’s largest monetary design prize recognizing the best sustainable designs that generate positive impact and add to solving global challenges. The award is run every two years and is split into five categories: Body, Home, Work, Play & Learning and Community. Designs from anywhere in the world can enter the competition for free via our open-source platform - finalists and winners are then selected by an international jury. Since first run in 2005, we have received over 4,700 nominations from over 118 nations. Each cycle provides us with a renewable unique pipeline of investment opportunities, and also serves as key inspiration for our education program. Communication Our communication department as a corporate function is responsible for communicating all our program areas and initiatives, but is also its own program area that grows the global demand and supply of sustainable design solutions. We inspire action by showing the world the tremendous impact design can have when applied to solving global challenges. Our unique ‘good news’ strategy seeks to provide solely inspiring and positive multimedia news, through multiple channels, to offer hope and encourage others to join our Design to Improve Life mission. Some of our notable media partnerships and features include CNN, The New York Times, TEDx and Wired. Big Picture The Big Picture project, currently in concept development stage, will map and visualize the key data from all 4,700 INDEX: Award nominations. It will show how these designs connect, how trends have emerged over time, clarify the key global drivers behind their birth and evolution, and show their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. This data will be transformed into a publicly available resource that will provide key historic insight essential for understanding past, current and future markets. Furthermore, Big Picture will help improve our community’s strategies for driving the growth and development of sustainable design to address global challenges. Exhibition The INDEX: Award Exhibition is a world-touring exhibition showcasing the winning and finalist designs of each award cycle. To date, the INDEX: Award Exhibition has been to 20 different countries and has been seen by more than 14 million people. Displayed in a public space with free access, the exhibition brings the world’s best designs that improve life to the broadest possible global audience. It inspires, educates and engages the public by demonstrating how design can and is used as a key tool to address existing and emerging global challenges.

03 Inspire

Looking back at our development The INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Inspire Program

Our geographic reach

4719 nominations from 118 nations Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Angola · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belgium · Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Cameroon · Canada · Chile · China · Colombia · Costa Rica · Côte d’Ivoire · Croatia · Cuba · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Gambia · Germany · Ghana · Greece · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kuwait · Laos · Latvia · Lebanon · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macedonia · Madagascar · Malaysia · Mexico · Monaco · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · Norway · Pakistan · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Republic of Korea (South Korea) · Republic of Moldova · Romania · Russia · Rwanda · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Africa · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sweden · Switzerland · Syria · Thailand · Togo · Tunisia · Turkey · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom · United States of America · Venezuela · Vietnam · Zimbabwe 27 jury members from 16 nations Australia · Chile · Denmark · England · Finland · France · Germany · Hong Kong · Italy · Netherlands · Norway · South Africa · Sweden · Switzerland · Singapore · United States of America

INDEX: Award in numbers

Media reach of INDEX: Design to Improve Life® 2001-2015

Worldwide

5,4 K

Total winning sum

€3,000,000 6 4719 450 30 6

articles worldwide Worldwide

Award cycles

2,4 B

estimated via radio, tv Nominations

Total reach of our web/social media in 2014/2015

0+ 350wers on

Finalists

o foll er tt twi

Award winners Denmark

People’s Choice Award winners

4,3 M

estimated via radio, tv

Exhibitions displayed in:

INDEX: Award Exhibition seen by:

followers on Facebook

14 million+ people

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® events attended by:

39,300+ people

978,000 unique web users

200 videos

The development of our INDEX: Award winners Over the past 15 years a broad variety of Design to Improve Life solutions has reached us. To witness their continuous growth and evolution is what inspires, educates and engages us in our everyday work.

From product design to systemic design – sustainability takes center-stage INDEX: Award 2005 Winner Life Straw created a safe and user-friendly tool that enables everyone to sip clean water from any source. LifeStraw™ can prevent waterborne diseases like diphtheria, cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea, which kill millions each year. INDEX: Award 2015 Winner Ocean Clean Up Array is the first system to sustainably clean up plastic pollution from the world’s oceans using the natural rotating currents to its’ advantage. Designed for large-magnitude deployment, covering millions of square kilometres, the solution is a collection of huge floating barriers designed to be placed in center of the world’s largest circular currents –called gyres– and passively collect the plastic. From cars to batteries – inspiration in full circle INDEX: Award 2007 Winner the Tesla Roadster is an entirely electric vehicle with zero emissions and zeroto-100 km per hour acceleration in just four seconds. The beautifully designed Roadster was the first electric vehicle to incorporate a 350+ km range per charge with a fuel efficiency equivalent of almost 60 km per liter. INDEX: Award 2015 Winner Tesla Power Wall is a rechargeable battery that aims to revolutionize energy generation, smooth out energy consumption and allow users to cut down on their energy bills, as well as their carbon footprint. The solar-powered, lithium-ion batteries store energy generated during the day for use at night, allowing users to avoid buying electricity from utility providers at peak rates. This will lead to increased independence from the power grid, as well as a backup solution in case of a power outage.

From toolkit to app – education reloaded INDEX: Award 2011 Winner Design for Change developed a simple design process that enables children to become drivers of change. The process encourages children to feel (any issue that bothered them), imagine (a way to make it better), do (implement the act of change) and share (make it visible). Created as a toolkit and translated into 15 languages including Braille, it is the most inclusive movement of change to date. The toolkit includes guidelines, teacher tips, an example of a “change story” and inspiration. INDEX: Award 2015 Winner: Duolingo offers a free top-quality language education to anyone with Internet access. Named iPhone App of the Year, TechCrunch’s Best Education Startup, and Google’s Best of the Best two years running, Duolingo is the world’s most popular language platform with 120 million registered users. In addition, the online program not only engages those eager to broaden their communications skills, but also acts a crowdsourced text translation platform to slowly translate the entire web. From small businesses to city planning – sustainable investments take flight INDEX: Award 2009 Winner KIVA is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website. It empowers people to lend money directly to small entrepreneurs in many parts of the world. As of 2016, over US $887 million has been loaned by 1 million lenders to 2.1 million borrowers. A KIVA loan is funded every two minutes and the repayment rate is at 97.2%. INDEX: Award 2013 Winner the Danish capital city of Copenhagen introduced an innovative Climate Adaptation Plan based on public-private partnerships. The plan provides a unique and robust framework for a massive influx of sustainable design solutions in the future, and ensures that investments can be made in partnership with external investors.

Please visit our website to explore all of our amazing INDEX: Award Winners.

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

03 Inspire

Looking back at our ecosystem Here are some examples of the thousands of people that inspire us every year

Al Gore – politician, environmentalist and 45th Vice President of the US. Gore is a Nobel Prize winner celebrated for his influential climate change activism. / Malala Yousafzai – renowned human rights, education and women’s rights activist in Pakistan who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. / Joe Gebbia – designer, entrepreneur and one of the leaders behind the sharing-economy. Most known for establishing innovative business AirBnb. / Queen Rania of Jordan – progressive female voice in the Arab World, powerful advocate for reform in education and public health, youth empowerment and cross-cultural dialogue between the West and the Arab world and outspoken opponent of the traditional practice of “honor killings”. / Muhammad Yunus – a Bangladeshi banker, economist, social entrepreneur and civil society leader. Yunus is best known for pioneering the concepts of micro-credit, micro-finance and social business. / Michelle Obama – currently First Lady of the United States, a strong voice for female rights and youth empowerment, and a huge inspiration for the next generation of problem solvers. / Stefano Mancuso – Italian plant neurobiologist and founder of a study researching the intelligence of plants. Mancuso discovered that plants have 20 different senses, as well as progressive communication and problem-solving capabilities. / C.K. Prahalad – influential global business thinker who drove innovative investment practices by examining how businesses might pursue sustainable growth while playing a role in alleviating poverty. / Paul Farmer – an anthropologist dedicated to improving health care for the world’s poorest. Farmer co-founded the international social justice and health organization Partners in Health (PIH). / Jimmy Wales – co-founder and promoter of Wikipedia, the online non-profit encyclopedia with more than 39 million articles in 300 languages. To this day, the site remains accessible to all and free of charge. / Pamela Hartigan – a shining beckon within social entrepreneurship, former Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and founding partner of Volans Ventures / INDEX: Award winners and finalists / INDEX: Award Jury / INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Board

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Looking Forward In 2050, it will take more than five million years to watch a monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth of videos crossing the global IP networks. Figures like these point to the imminent global challenge of creating an overview of the massive amounts of data including text, figures, images, videos and sound. Of course, the sheer number of stories all of us have been able to share through data networks have opened up unprecedented opportunities for inspiration. They have brought the world closer together, enabling a better understanding and knowledge of global challenges and of opportunities to combat them together. However, the explosion of data we have witnessed in the past years has made it abundantly clear that if shared systems are not developed to sort and make sense of all the available knowledge, the sheer amount will become an excruciating burden. At INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ we are working on a small contribution to organize and clarify our data, which will be used to inspire and enable knowledge-based action. Our vehicle is Big Picture, an online big data initiative that will be made publicly available. Like a modern encyclopedia for investors, designers, academia, businesses and civic society; Big Picture will encompass information on all INDEX: Award nominations and will enable users to understand the history, the current state and the future trends of sustainable design. It will connect the dots, provide in-depth knowledge of individual designs, show relations between groups of designs and identify how these design solutions feed into the Sustainable Development Goals. Most importantly, it will show how and why key global drivers were responsible for the emergence of specific design trends. In the future, Big Picture will provide a clear overview of Design to Improve Life data and will serve as an essential guide for early identification of new drivers, trends and areas in need of sustainable design solutions.

03 Inspire

04 Educate

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Dear Reader, At the World Economic Forums’ Summit in Davos in 2007, Queen Rania talked about the importance of profoundly changing the way we educate our next generations. Not only did she speak on the subject of education in the great plenary hall, she made it a central topic in two sessions in the very hall where all international decision-makers come together. In the previous years, the dominant focus in the sessions had been on innovation. How to do it, who failed, who managed, the costs, and the gains. But, all of a sudden, the focus had apparently shifted to education. And the subject had become so dominant that it merited center stage. Maybe the industries had realized that innovation was impossible if the talent was not available, and that it has to be nurtured from the very early years? At that time, we at INDEX: Design to Improve Life® had already started our work in the field of innovative education. Our thinking was relatively simple: we wanted to spread the knowledge on how design could be instrumental in creating sustainable solutions to global challenges – so why not start with the kids? Kids are the center of many ecosystems and if we can reach them, we also reach their friends, parents and grandparents at the same time. Our mission is to create a talent pool that can feed into private and public sectors alike, so that in the end, our entire society is aware of the social and green power of design. This year, a suitcase was exhibited at New York City Design Week. The designers? A class of first-graders, aged six to eight, from Elsinore in Denmark. The suitcase was their answer to Elsinore’s Design to Improve Life Challenge posed by the city council to the entire city’s school system: “How do we help refugees turn into citizens?” The first graders identified language as the key tool for inclusion and bonding. Their empathy-driven design was a simple suitcase containing handmade games, folding books and puppets for role-play – all made to help refugee children learn the local language in a fun and interactive way.

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15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Our EDUCATE initiatives Design to Improve Life Education Design to Improve Life Education fosters the next generation of changemakers. We teach educators, students, designers and decision makers how to Design to Improve Life using our certified framework, developed by education experts, process facilitators and designers. The heart of our framework is the Design to Improve Life Compass: a structured four-step guide to design-based sustainable innovation. BOOST â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Innovative School in Elsinore Boost is a large-scale education program that integrates a unique model of sustainability and design-thinking into the city of Elsinore. Run in collaboration with our partners, the Municipality of Elsinore and Metropol University College, the three-year-long program equips the entire school system with the Design to Improve Life Education tools. The program brings kids, teachers, pedagogues, local politicians, school leaders, companies and organizations together to solve the local implications of global challenges (e.g. the refugee crisis or climate change). As part of the Danish school system reform, Boost incorporates innovation and entrepreneurship into everyday life to enhance sustainable local growth. Design to Improve Life Challenge The Design to Improve Life Challenge is an educational competition that teaches youth how to use design processes to address real-life, relevant challenges in society, such as tackling the problem of food waste or making cities greener to meet climate goals. The initiative typically engages whole municipalities or regions, with challenges identified by the respective local decision makers. The finale of the Challenge is run similarly to the INDEX: Award, projects are submitted, finalists are selected, and winners are chosen after a large Battle event. Post-Education programs Our post-education programs run in collaboration with municipalities, educational institutions and businesses, teach participants how to facilitate the process of Design to Improve Life. The programs come in a variety of lengths and intensities depending on the client, and can range anywhere between a short one-hour workshop, to a three-month course. All kinds of professionals can participate, such as project managers, leaders, entrepreneurs and teachers.

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Looking back at our development The Design to Improve Life Education frameworks

Design to Improve Life Education is the first to combine:

The Design to Improve Life Compass You can learn more about the Compass on our website

Didactics

Process facilitation

Sustainability

Design

Kids, teachers and trainers educated in Design to Improve Life Education:

40,600+ kids 5300+ teachers 20+ trainers

Design to Improve Life Education used in:

INDEX: Award finalists who address education:

60 out of 450 finalists

Number of kids who have participated in the Design to Improve Life Challenge:

Kids solve challenges like: · · · · · ·

Food waste and supply Transportation Refugee integration Health Climate change Municipality development

Looking back at our ecosystem The development of innovative education frameworks

1992

2008

2011

2015

World Agenda 21 / UN

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Pilot Project Design to Improve Life Education

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Summer School with Yonsei University – Seoul, South Korea/Global

World Sustainable Development Goals adopted

1987 World “Our Common Future” (Brundtland Report) published

2002 World Partnership for 21st Century skills

2003 World Global Education Initiative (GEI) launched in Jordan, Rajasthan, Egypt and the Palestinian Territory

2005 INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Future Scenarios – Global

2007 INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Summer Camp – Global

2009 2012 World · Design for Change launched in India · World Conference for Education in Sustainable Development (UNESCO Initiative) Denmark Ministry of Education strategy for how the Danish education sector can contribute to the realization of the MDG INDEX: Design to Improve Life® · Student Challenge with World Economic Forum and AIGA – Global · Design to Improve Life Education development start

Denmark New National Innovation Strategy INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Design to Improve Life Partnership – Guangzhou, China Partnership – Risør, Norway

2013

Denmark The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation proposes aligning all programs to SDGs INDEX: Design to Improve Life® · Partnership – Taiwan state, Taiwan · Partnership launched with University of Colorado –Denver, US · Partnership launched with the Municipality of Helsingør and University College Metropol – Denmark

Denmark Reform of public schools 2016 INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Design to Improve Life Challenge launched

2010

2014

World Common Core State Standards Initiative, calls for the integration of 21st century skills (K-12) across the US.

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® · Partnership with University of Huddersfield – Huddersfield, UK · Design to Improve Life Education – Orissa, India/ Global

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Design to Improve Life Challenge named semifinalist for the European Social Innovation Competition

Looking forward In 2015, primary school net enrolment in developing regions was 91% - up from 83% in 2000. The number of primaryschool-aged children not in school has also fallen by almost half, to an estimated 57 million in 2015 worldwide. Likewise, the gender equality in education has improved significantly. Slowly, the world is succeeding in ensuring an imperative basic education for children worldwide. But, will the current teaching curriculums meet the needs of the future? The type of school systems and curriculums that our children are educated in are stuck in the time of colonization and remain as one of the main barriers for innovation-based education. Worldwide, the school systems work in silos, with rigid curriculums, ill-fitting measurements, a limited focus on motivation, and regulatory barriers that are not compatible with future requirements. What will INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ do to live up to our role in the global ecosystem? We will share our vast knowledge, experiences and evaluations from the Boost initiative where, with the city of Elsinore and the Metropolitan University College, we have implemented design-based, sustainable innovation teaching into an entire school system. We will establish more local and international partnerships with decision makers, businesses, educators and civic society, to work on a unified vision of systemic change. Following the successful results from our current initiatives, we will further distribute the Design to Improve Life Challenge throughout Europe and beyond. Lastly, as education does not stop at the classroom door, we will develop our Design to Improve Life Education Compass to specifically benefit decision makers, businesses and investors.

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05 Engage

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Dear Reader, John Maeda was the 16th President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the catalyst behind the significant movement to transform STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to STEAM, to include art and design. In June 2013, news reached us that Maeda was leaving his position. He was moving on to become Design Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the Silicon Valley. A designer working at a venture capital firm! It was a puzzling development. Around the same time, we were seeing more and more companies founded by designers such as Airbnb, Pinterest, Twitter, Storehouse, Instagram and Kickstarter. We were also seeing many start-ups co-founded by designers being acquired by large companies like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Adobe. Something had changed in the perception of design. Designers were suddenly moving from studios to board and executive positions. Had businesses finally realized the economic value of design? We established the Design to Improve Life Investment program in 2010. Taking the next step from awarding backwards to investing forwards, we wanted to work more closely with the amazing market-ready solutions that reach us through the INDEX: Award. These solutions could combat a multitude of global challenges, yet it became clear to us that many of them struggle to become established and stay afloat. Every entrepreneur faces immense challenges in getting their projects off the ground, but designers have always had the additional hurdle of not only having to fight for investment, but to simply gain recognition. When we recently asked our INDEX: Award winners what would most help their companies to succeed in the future, visibility was seen as the most important aspect. Finance came in second. Our Investment program wants to fill this gap by connecting designers and investors. In sync with our partners the Boston Consulting Group (Global) and Accelerace, we want to profile our winners, but also provide them with business advice, pitch training and powerful networking opportunities. At the same time, we engage investors, introducing them to innovative investment opportunities and impact investment concepts that consider the social and environmental value equally to the economic. Now that it appears that we have finally arrived at the point where design is considered more than just something to be put on a shelf or in a museum, we must work even harder to drive it forward. Or as John Maeda put it: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not only is Silicon Valley taking design more seriously, but design will actually take overâ&#x20AC;?.

0 5 Engage

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Our ENGAGE initiatives Summer School Our Summer School is a unique program developed with our partners to help the best early-stage business cases and design entrepreneurs, from the INDEX: Award Finalist pool, take their life-improving solutions to the next level. Business consultants from the Boston Consulting Group (Global) work in-country with selected candidates, helping them develop a preliminary business model. Design entrepreneurs then attend a Summer School in Copenhagen where Scandinaviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading business accelerators, Accelerace, provide further development to strengthen business models, drive customer and sales development, as well as prepare candidates for pitching their ideas to investors. Investor Day The Investor Day is all about sharing great Design to Improve Life solutions, gaining support and taking the first steps towards commercializing them. Upon completing the Summer School program in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (Global) and Accelerace, design entrepreneurs are prepared for Investor Day where they have the opportunity to pitch their businesses to invited investors, impact investors and foundations from around the world. Through facilitating this event, designers are able to gain funding, business guidance and mentorship, and investors can contribute to improving the lives of others through design while creating economic return on investment. VC Fund The INDEX: Design to Improve Life venture capital fund aims to realize sustainable design solutions that will create positive impact in the world. The mission is to combine the power of capital with the innovation of design to nurture and develop sustainable purposeful design solutions to improve life for people globally, while generating positive returns for our investors. The fund will identify, evaluate and invest solely in design-focused scalable businesses from a pipeline derived from the INDEX: Award nominations. Impact Investment Circle The aim of the Danish Impact Investment Circle is to build a community of impact investors in Denmark to contribute to the global dialogue on impact investment. The Circle brings together interested Danish foundations, high-net-worth individuals, philanthropists, private investors, institutions and business angel networks. We provide an informal platform for learning and knowledge exchange and provide participants with the tools for investing in projects with social, environmental and economic impact.

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Looking back at our development The Design to Improve Life Investment Program

Investment program timeline

We asked our INDEX: Award winners2 …

2016

Has your business model changed since winning the INDEX: Award? 68% said it had remained the same What is the current status of your company? 90% said their company is meeting or exceeding expectations

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2010 Launch of the Investment Program · 2011 Market research and network building · 2012 Partnerships established with Accelerace · 2013 In-country business advice and training with selected INDEX: Award finalists · Investment pitch-training in Copenhagen · Investor Day · 2014 Development of Investment program initiatives · Global Summer School preparations · 2015 Partnership established with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (Global) · In-country business advice in partnership with BCG and training with selected INDEX: Award finalists · Investment Summer School in Copenhagen with Accelerace and other partners · Investor Day · Launch of Danish Impact Investment Circle · Impact Investment Circle events · Development of process tool for sustainable business acceleration · 2016 Announcement of venture capital fund · Impact Investment Circle event · Development of venture fund structure · Development of design-based acceleration program

What is the growth rate of your company, on average, over the past 3 years? 20% said very high growth (<20%) 35% said medium or high growth (5-20%) How is your company currently financed? 44% said business financing 22% said grants and donations 34% said a mix of grants and donations and business financing How do you rate the partnerships the company has made? 50% had made several and strong partnerships 35% had made several partnerships with potential to mature What are the biggest challenges the company has faced?* 42% said the lack of access to finance 32% said the lack of appropriately trained people 26% said business management skills 26% said regulatory barriers What would be most helpful for the company’s future success?* 50% said visibility 40% said finance 40% said partnerships 30% said networks What aspects of our support were most important to you?* 65% said communications and profiling 45% said financing 30% said network

Survey conducted in 2016; 60% of the INDEX: Award winners responded. 2

*Multiple answers possible

Company breakdown analysis of our INDEX: Award winners and finalists

INDEX: Award winners and finalists from 2005-2015

For profit

Not publicly listed, still existing and for profit

Still existing and for profit

Publicly listed company, still existing and for profit

Acquistion

Already public when they were nominated for INDEX: Award

Small-medium sized company

Not public when they were nominated for INDEX: Award

Received investment

Corporate – privately held company

Partnerships

Went to IPO due to acquisition – e.g. Skype and Nest

Went to IPO due to company’s growth – e.g. Tesla and Hövding

No public info

Crowd-funded via Indiegogo or Kickstarter

Looking back at our ecosystem The rise of attention on social, economic and environmental investment

1981

2007

2012

Freer Spreckley first articulated the ‘triple bottom line’ measuring social, environmental and financial performance

Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) established

DFID Impact Programme launched with the aim to provide over £100m to foster market development for impact investment in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

2009 1990s Jed Emerson coins the term ‘blended value’

GIIN launches IRIS – a catalogue of generally accepted performance metrics for the impact investing industry

Impact Invest Scandinavia founded – the first impact investor membership network in Scandinavia

2010

2013

Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus published

Social Impact Investment Taskforce (SIIT) launched by the G8

1994 John Elkington established the ‘triple bottom line’ concept

1998 Robert J. Rubinstein establishes the Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) Group

“Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class” published by J.P. Morgan Global Research as a result of collaboration between J.P. Morgan, The Rockefeller Foundation and GIIN

2015 Global Social Impact Investment Steering Group (GSG) supersedes SIIT, its members include 13 countries plus the EU

2005 The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits by C.K. Prahalad published

Estimates predict the impact investment market to reach between $300 and $500 billion by 2020 The Danish Ministry of Business and Growth starts to develop a national Impact Investing Policy

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Looking forward The Paris Agreement in 2015 marked a significant step in establishing a common ground for combating climate change globally. Even more so, it displayed something that had been slowly developing in recent years: financial markets addressing climate change. These new developments nurture hopes that thinking about revenue not only in financial, but also in social and environmental terms â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the triple bottom line â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is slowly entering the global mindset. But, the aged structures we have operated in for the largest part of the last century are changing too slowly. Policy frameworks have to be redesigned and implemented much faster and social investing has to become the new normal. At INDEX: Design to Improve LifeÂŽ, we have always believed that Design to Improve Life is one of the most attractive business opportunities. Through our Summer School Program, Impact Investment Circle and Investor Day we will continue to build bridges between designers and investors, and work to create promising opportunities for both. As we continue to extend our support, we have also launched a venture capital fund that will identify, evaluate and invest solely in design-focused businesses from a pipeline derived from the INDEX: Award.

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06 Leadership

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Dear Reader, After a worldwide search and a thousand global conversations in 2001 and 2002, we coined our concept of Design to Improve Life. We then came back to Denmark and, just two people standing in front of a flip chart, we began trying to envision our new organization. Google was new at that time and when we searched for ‘organizational design’ only square and triangular drawings came up. If advanced, they had communication lines running from top to bottom and bottom to top, if not, then only top to bottom. We knew that this structure would not work if we wanted to create a global network organization aiming at changing the perception of design. One that would focus on sustainability and global challenges, and attempt to do things that nobody had ever done before. In the end we opted for a very different model of fluid and flexible leadership called the Power Flower. It allows constant growth and pruning where necessary, close networks to be placed in central petals, and looser networks or short-term projects to be placed in new shoots. Most of all, it allows fluid leadership related to tasks. The entire organization can, at any time, face towards the individual or team leading an initiative or our development We then looked at the values of other companies. We realized that 90% of all the words used were the same, based on responsibility, accountability, openness, professionalism and transparency. Most of the words were self-evident and did not add to the understanding of the company. We chose organizational ‘mottos’ that are different from normal values and describe the attitudes that are important to us. ·· ‘Always look for the stars of tomorrow’ – we aim to grow new global leadership, which means always keeping our eyes open. ·· ‘Listen to others but decide for yourself’ – working in an international network means listening to many differing opinions, but you must also be able to set the direction. ·· ‘Always find the human’ – we talk to all kinds of people, including those highest in the global hierarchy. To avoid feeling intimidated, remember, they are just people. ·· ‘Be more professional than they expect’ – working in an entirely new field often comes with the risk of being dubbed as an airhead, but we always deliver beyond expectations on all levels. ·· Last but certainly not least: ‘Keep out the assholes’ – there is always one person that can ruin everything for hundreds of others. We pride ourselves on being an organization that goes the longest way to work with all kinds of people, but if impossible, we enable all team members to say: “You are not a nice person, we will not work with you – go work with someone else.” ·· Finally, we run an organization where we prioritize trust over control and delivering over reporting on actions and deliveries. These are the basic organizational outsets of how we grew INDEX: Design to Improve Life® to what it is today.

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Looking back at our development The INDEX: Design to Improve Life® organization

Our flexible leadership model – The Power Flower

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

How we work

1. We trust – Zero controlling, zero discussions on overtime, time registration, holidays –> approximately €1.5 million saved if we count 1 hour/week/team member not spent on controlling · 2. We grow – Employees 2001: 2 –> 2015: 16 · 3. We diversify – Gender diversity of Team and Board: Male 35%; Female 65% (something we need to work on!) · 4. We age – Age range of Team and Board: 24 - 68 · 5. We globalize – Nationalities of Team and Board: American, Argentinian, Australian, British, Danish, German, Italian, Slovak, Spanish and Thai · 6. We learn – Educational background of Team: Journalism, Physics in micro and nano technology, Public International Law, Ethnology, Design, Architecture, Political Science, Business Studies, Business & Psychology, Service Design, Industrial Design, Music, Systems Analysis & Computer Languages, History and our CEO without a formal education · 7. We succeed – 2006: Honorary Doctorate, Art Centre College of Design, University of California; 2009; Design Leadership Award from Hong Kong SAR Government and Hong Kong Design Centre; 2012; Grundfos Travel Grant from Danish Design Council; 2014: One Wish Award from Innovation Pioneers, Sweden; 2016: Honorary Doctorate (to be announced), Nomination for Tällberg Foundation Global Leadership Prize · 8. We inspire – Weekly Inspirational Talks at Team meeting · 9. We develop – INDEX: Design to Improve Life® Strategy Development by whole team · 10. We create – “Green Corner” to relax and be creative – every time a team member has accomplished something, we add a plant · 11. We cycle – because we live in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Looking back at our ecosystem New leadership structures developing in businesses worldwide

Google Alphabet (US)

Facebook (US)

Spotify (SE)

Twitter and Square (US)

Named No. 1 by FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work for 7 years in a row

Try to preserve strippeddown, collaborative atmosphere of a startup e.g. employees are encouraged to write on walls what inspires them and Everyone works at tables in open spaces, including the CEO

You think in teams? Think again. Spotify has tribes, squads, chapters and guilds – organized in flat management structures.

·· Jack Dorsey, CoFounder of Twitter and Founder of Square, offered these five leadership lessons:

Squad – fully autonomous, direct contact with their stakeholders, works like a mini-start-up.

·· Be a leader, not a decider ·· Empower employees, and hold them accountable ·· Admit your weaknesses, and then overcome them ·· Foster transparency ·· Test everything, then test it again

Why? Pipeline for ideas and innovation is open bottom to top Google offers: Google Cafés, Google Moderator, Direct emails to CEO, “20 percent” , Google Universal Ticketing Systems, FixIts, regular surveys conducted on managers, coaching, support, parental leave policies, retirement savings plans, volunteer opportunities, wellness and healthcare services and more benefits for Googlers “My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they’re having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society (…)”. – Larry Page, CEO of Google Alphabet

“I think largely the reason that the Facebook culture scaled is that no single person owns it (…) It’s distributed across the entire organization. If we have 10,000 people who work at Facebook, you would have 10,000 people tell you that they own the culture. We hire people who are like that. We express it to them during the hiring process and the recruiting process. We talk about it on their first day and their first week.” – Lori Goler, Vice President of People

Tribe – like a start-up incubator, also operates autonomously Chapters and Guilds – collaboration and communication between tribes and squads

Duolingo (GU/US) Management – no team managers but line managers look after all people with the same skillset across the squads. “We just want to work in a way that fits our culture and environment really well. Autonomy is one of our guiding principles.” – Henrik Kniberg, Agile/ Lean Coach at Spotify and Lego

“It’s kind of a cliché at this point, but design is definitely a widely valued part of our business. It certainly helps that our CEO and most of the leadership really do value design, and I think that was made clear from the start. Designers are embedded in pretty much every team we have — equal seat at the table. (…) Designers aren’t just creating a series of icons or mocking up static screens, designers are creating ecosystems.” – Sean Chin, Product Designer at Duolingo

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Looking forward As Leigh Buchanon writes in Meet the Millennials: â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the characteristics of millennials, besides the fact that they are masters of digital communication, is that they are primed to do well by doing good. Almost 70 percent say that giving back and being civically engaged are their highest priorities.â&#x20AC;? We also know that many millennials like to work in teams, they prioritize work content over wages, they crave responsibilities and they demand employers they can be proud of. These are the people companies now have to fight for. And this means that companies will have to move much faster than they have in the past 15 years to change their organizational structures and cultures to be able to attract the needed workforce. To keep fuelling our own organization with young talent, we will fight to keep our attractive work culture in spite of our organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s age. We will also strive to show our impact in the world to prove to millennials that we are a workplace to be proud of. Quite a few of the organizations around the world who, like us, are working in the fields of sustainability, global challenges and design have already moved to change their organizational structures according to their tasks and the demands from their current and future employees. And many of them, like us, are faced with the challenge of having to show their impact through traditional impact measurement systems that do not fit with new organizational structures. In the future, our goal is to establish a partnership of global for-profit and nonprofit organizations to rethink the traditional impact measurement methods. Together, we believe we can co-create stronger, more trustworthy and much more innovative systems.

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07 Lessons Learned

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

1. Ask, Talk, Listen and Learn Admitting to not knowing something distinguishes a smart individual. Ask questions, talk about your ideas, listen to what others have to say and learn from their experiences. The further you move out of your comfort zone, the better. 2. Walk together As the African proverb says: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone, if you want to walk far, walk together”. Global challenges cannot be solved by one actor alone; we are all part of an ecosystem and can only be successful when we work within strong partnerships and acknowledge the achievements of others. 3. Be patient Everything takes time. If your project hasn’t taken off yet, if you’re waiting for an investment to pay off, or if you simply think that a good cause isn’t moving fast enough - stick to your guns, it will pay off. 4. Invest in human capital Monetary investments are key to getting early-stage entrepreneurs and businesses on their feet. But, high visibility, a great team, strong partnerships, active networks and a good business model will keep them standing. 5. Aim for the tip of the wave Beware of becoming complacent. If you achieve your ultimate goal – go out and set another one. Your vision should always be expanding and evolving.

07 Lessons lear ned

6. Practice sustainable design in full cycle Sustainable design is not just about using eco-friendly materials. Look for the triple bottom line – economic as well as environmental and social outpu t– in all of your work. Take the full lifecycle of a product or service into account, and make sure it’s sustainable from production right through to waste management. 7. Challenge the status quo The enemy is fear. Gandhi said it, Yoda said it, and now we’re saying it. Working innovatively means to often challenge the status quo and to therefore risk failure. Without it, none of the great innovations of today would have been born. 8. Believe in the next generations Working for sustainability by definition means to care about making the world better for the next generations. We believe it should start by making it with the next generations. Children and youth have an amazing capacity to learn, be creative, and they are more than ready to take on big challenges if given the chance. We have a responsibility to give them the right tools, step back and allow them to teach us. 9. Seek out the good news There are many global challenges facing the world at the moment. Listening, watching, and reading mainstream news can often be disheartening, but it’s never the whole picture. There are countless inspirational causes, people and stories out there, seek them out! 10. Measure your work, don’t work to measure It’s without question that you have to document your work to prove that you’re more than just hot air. But, the more you grow, the more you will be forced into restrictive and sometimes elusive measuring systems. Try to fulfil them without losing sight of your own goals.

Outlook

Looking back at when we started in 2001 to where we are today gives us tremendous hope. We now see sustainability coming to the center of global focus, and a steady increase in collective action to address global challenges. We are proud to look back on our small contribution to this global movement, and are in awe of the efforts of others. Within the field of design we have been first-movers paving the way for sustainable thinking to become a mainstay in the design world. In all three of our program areas, Inspire, Educate and Engage, we have repeatedly challenged the status quo and pushed for a change in mindset. Most importantly, we have shown how these approaches can significantly contribute to solving global challenges. But, while it is encouraging to see the world slowly join the movement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we must move faster. The humanitarian tragedy of migration erupting in recent years has created a whole new complex of problems in need of quick and far-reaching solutions. The implications of climate change have become increasingly visible and dire, calling for faster implementation of international policies and a radical change in consumer attitudes. We have outlined what we consider to be the specific future challenges in each chapter, we have identified the actions needed from global policy-makers, and we have determined how we can contribute to future development. One visibly reoccurring theme in all discussions is the pressing need for implementation. Innovative education, climate change and impact investing have emerged at the top of many agendas across the international community. But to date, the implementation of concrete solutions is still too slow. In the coming years, we will significantly scale-up our existing strategies to help emerging entrepreneurs gain access to resources and capital. We simply must get more solutions on to the market to ensure they reach the corners of the globe where they are desperately needed. At the same time, we will work on changing outdated structures, not only in the investment industry but also in the education sector, to ensure innovation will be truly valued and prioritized as an essential part of societal development. While we are proud to be part of a global ecosystem, we are also dedicated to maintaining our position at the tip of the wave. We have turned to our proven strategy development method by, once again, talking to hundreds of thinkers and do-ers from all around the world to help us clarify what challenges, industries and opportunities require our attention and support. With this crucial data and our impact assessment encompassing the past 15 years, we will strengthen our strategies and explore new opportunities. We will continue to actively change mindsets, we will push to break down barriers, and we will broaden our efforts to ensure the longevity and growth of Design to Improve Life to solve global challenges.

15 Years of Design to Improve Life

Outlo o k