ForrestBrown have helped secure over £4.5 million in R&D tax credits for DBA members. It’s been fantastic to hear about the positive impact this has had on members’ businesses, and to see those who hadn’t considered themselves eligible for R&D tax credits benefiting from this member service.

There have been recent reforms to R&D tax relief, which ForrestBrown have been helping members understand and navigate so they can capture the full value of their innovation and protect their business from risk. 

Following the announcement of the Chancellor’s Spring Budget on further changes to the UK’s R&D tax relief scheme, Jenny Tragner, Director and Head of Policy at ForrestBrown shared her thoughts on the Budget, highlighting that it “was peppered with positive policies to encourage innovation but lacked a coherent narrative to help businesses navigate an increasingly complex tax landscape.”

Tragner continued: “The Chancellor set out his stall to harness British ingenuity, so it is fitting he has taken an inventive approach to reforming R&D tax relief. However, while enhanced support for SMEs is welcome, the qualifying criteria introduces further complexity for businesses already struggling to make sense of the raft of reforms announced at previous fiscal events and set to come into force this April.” Tragner goes into further detail on what the Spring Budget means for UK innovation in this article. 

R&D tax credits

Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a valuable government tax incentive that rewards UK companies for investing in innovation. If a project meets the government’s definition of R&D, you can recoup a percentage of your innovation costs.

Many of our members aren’t aware they can benefit from R&D tax credits, haven’t heard of the incentives, or if they have, don’t think they are eligible.

ForrestBrown, the largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy in the UK, have delivered over £4.5 million in R&D tax credits to DBA members and can show you:

• how your business can qualify

• how much R&D tax incentives can be worth to your business 

• the positive impact of claiming, with real-world examples from your fellow members

Contact Adam Fennelow at the DBA, who can set up an initial discussion with ForrestBrown to see if you are eligible.

The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise projects that demonstrate design’s tangible effect on business, society and people’s lives. From positively impacting gross margin to the creation of new markets, from improved recruitment to increased loyalty, from reduction in production costs to job creation, the achievements of the shortlisted winners are significant and wide-ranging and demonstrate that no matter the size of the business or budget, design creates competitive advantage.

Congratulations to the 23 winning agency and client partnerships and thank you to our fantastic judges who brought their insight and experience to rigorously judge the entries. View the full list of judges here and browse the 2023 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards shortlisted winners below. 

Join us to celebrate the power of design

On Thursday 29 June from 3:30pm BST, our 2023 winners will find out if they’ve won Gold, Silver or Bronze at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2023 winners announcement.

Says DBA CEO, Deborah Dawton: “I’d really recommend joining us for the free, online event. The complexity of challenges faced by companies, societies and the planet today provide unparalleled opportunities for design. To capitalise on these, we should all be enhancing our ability to articulate the value design can add, and the event is a great way to do just that. It’s a lively, fascinating, celebratory look at the wide-ranging impact of design – do join us and soak it all up.” 

Tune into the live broadcast to celebrate the power of design and toast the success of our 2023 winners. Register here.

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2023: Winners Shortlist

For more information about the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards head here.

• What’s good for individuals, the business, and creativity might be different, and at odds with each other.
• One member was particularly struck by the ambient learning that younger recruits don’t get when people aren’t in the studio. 
• They talked about creative ideas needing persistence, and the nuances you pick up in body language that come from bouncing off each other in-person. They were concerned that as an industry selling people and ideas, could fully remote work have a negative effect on the work we create, and wondered if we were losing ideas that will take us from being just a good agency to being an outstanding one. 
• For another member, they found their creative directors struggling with working online in the long-term, and what they really needed was time together in-person. Rather than making certain days in the office compulsory, they worked to create an experience that people wanted to come in for. Adding kitchen staples to their weekly shop, the team enjoy lunches together, and for people experiencing financial pressures that makes a difference.
• There was a discussion around the importance of leadership teams showing up and setting a positive example and mindset. 
• In-studio experiences also included agency-wide training – Laughology were recommended for all-team in-person training sessions on positivity and adopting a growth mindset.
• We covered the importance of connection and how shared stories build community and purpose where people feel they belong – something that appears to remain important to us all no matter what age – I recommended this show to watch – purpose and community are among the things that will keep us alive for longer.
• One member has purposely recruited high-energy individuals who thrive on social connection, one of whom has become a cheerleader for being in the studio and that’s helped the whole team see the importance of this.
• There were suggestions around creating a studio space that is welcoming and well designed – this is especially important for those who might not have the space at home to comfortably work. 
• Yet another member is working almost exclusively remotely with colleagues and feels more connected to their team than they ever have before – note the team is six people and all are senior.

Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

Our next Members’ Forum will be taking place on Monday 3 April at 4pm BST.

Exploring the power of design in turbulent times, the conference will examine how Design and Innovation Management are helping organisations large and small make fundamental changes in the way they deliver value.

To benefit from a 10% DBA member discount to attend the conference from 28 to 30 March 2023, DBA Members can login in here for more details and to access a special booking code.

Further details about the conference can be found here. 

How did some of the world’s best designers, strategists, and agency leads, get into design? How did they know it was even a thing they could form a career around? With episodes landing each week on Thursdays, the ‘My Life in Design’ Podcast answers these questions and more. 

A collaboration between Red Setter and the DBA, the newly launched second season speaks to another group of design leaders about their journeys, unlocking their secrets and sharing their learnings to building a career in design, from education, to internships, to first jobs, to failures and success. Crucially offering actionable advice to the next generation of how to make design a successful career. 

Hosted by Claire Blyth, co-founder of the Design Community Hub and founder of Red Setter, a brand design PR specialist, her previous guests have included Gush Mundae of Bulletproof, Max Ottignon of Ragged Edge and Kathryn and Kirsty of Mother Design.

The new series kicks off with guests Baxter & Bailey, with future guests including: Aporva Baxi of DixonBaxi, Dave Palmer of LOVE, Liza Enebeis of Studio Dumbar, Craig Oldham of Office of Craig Oldham, and Vince Frost (amongst others).

Speaking of the new collaboration, the DBA’s chief executive Deborah Dawton says: “The DBA is delighted to be partnering Red Setter on the ‘My Life in Design’ podcast. Featuring industry role models, the series will explore their fascinating, wide-ranging journeys into a life in design.”

“I’ve always loved the opportunities in the design sector,” says Blyth. “There are so many different ways into it. There are so many different careers to be found in it. And it’s packed full of people with fascinating stories to tell. That’s what I want to shine a light onto with this podcast.”

In the first ten episodes, listeners heard the founder of the world’s largest independent branding firm tell the story of how graffiti first sparked his love of typography. Another explored the links between branding and religion. And the head of global brand experience at a leading consumer goods corporate talked about how design gives him a glimpse into the future.

This series we hear Liza from Studio Dumbar talk about her pancake analogy for roles within an agency, how Aporva from DixonBaxi created hand made portfolios in boxes that he took along to his favourite studios, and how comics and Bauhaus influenced Matt & Dom from Baxter & Bailey.

“Whether you’re looking for your first break in the industry, or you’re looking for your latest inspiration, I think these conversations have something to offer everyone,” says Blyth. With the DBA committed to helping the industry attract future talent from diverse backgrounds into the sector, adds Dawton: “By celebrating how differences are valuable, I’m excited to see the podcast help inspire this positive change.”

Series Two, Episode One: available now

The first episode of series two, featuring powerhouse duo Baxter & Bailey, is now available, with new episodes landing each week. 

Speaking with Claire Blyth in the first episode, Matt Baxter, creative director, and Dom Bailey, strategic director at Baxter & Bailey, share their journey from school, to starting their careers, and launching their own brand design agency. Picking up a bucket load of awards along the way and consistently delivering design excellence. You’ll also hear: 

• How Matt linked his love for music and comics to an eventual career in the design industry 
• How the discovery of Bauhaus lit a fire in Dom 
• How the need for diversity is a key issue for both of them and what they are doing to create change.

Listen in on iTunes, Spotify and other leading podcast platforms and watch this space as more episodes follow this year!  

• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink was recommended as an insight into meaningful work, in summary you can watch his TED talk here.
• Both of our speakers are B-Corps, a movement that is growing in popularity in our sector as a group of businesses that want to be a positive force for good; to create inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic systems for all people and the planet; and there was a lot of advice about working through their framework. Get in touch if you’d like us to connect you with other DBA members who have been through the process; and you can watch our previous webinar on the subject here. 
• Uniting their teams under a common purpose was a key theme that our speakers felt led to the undertaking of meaningful work. Knowing the core values of the business and working with them always in mind makes for a more cohesive team and easier decision-making when working with clients. Using clear channels of communication from the outset to get their teams on board was very important.
• Clear values have also helped our speakers to decide which clients to work with and which to say no to. Both acknowledged that saying no is a privilege and having clients that are a good fit with their purpose generates more meaning from that work for the team. Occasionally the meaning comes from a great budget but both speakers also used pro-bono work to expand on their impact in their local communities, with projects that interest them to not only raise their profile but also to challenge their teams and develop their skillset beyond their fee paying work. 
• While it might not be possible to directly attribute new business from the pro-bono work that stretches the team and enables people to work on their passions within their working life, it’s raising their profile as a values-driven-business. 
• Challenging clients to reform is also important to create more meaning from their work – from the use of materials through to manufacture and beyond, being able to make small changes along the way will ultimately add up to a much larger impact than only working with clients that 100% align with their values. 
• Comments from the group touched upon AI, the B-Corp process and client respect – join us next time to be part of the discussions.

Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

Our next members forum will be taking place on Monday 6 March at 4pm GMT.