Como objectivos centrais do projecto destacam-se:

. Desenvolver um modelo de avaliação dos impactos do design no negócio das empresas da Indústria Transformadora e posterior implementação em base informática;

. Identificar das relações causais entre Design e impactos económicos;

. Desenvolver metodologias que promovam a adequação estratégica do Design;

. Aumentar a compreensão, por parte de todos os agentes, das diversas estratégicas do Design;

. Promover e consolidar a inserção dos agentes nacionais, universidades, associações e empresas, nas redes de conhecimento a nível mundial.

 A colaboração das Empresas dos diferentes sectores da Indústria Transformadora é de cabal importância para o cumprimento das metas que o De.:SID se propõe atingir. Assim, faz sentido explicitar-se que sendo esta uma investigação conduzida por uma instituição universitária a abordagem feita neste estudo será sempre independente e pautada pelo rigor científico. Assiste-lhe ainda a condição de ser uma intervenção não apenas de diagnóstico mas, que procura a aplicação do conhecimento, de forma pedagógica e, em benefício das empresas da Indústria Transformadora em particular.

This is a Research Project developed under the coordination of Professor Luís Romão, by a multidisciplinary team of 11 researchers, composed by economists, managers, engineers and designers.

As project central goals it presents:

. The development of an evaluation model of the impacts of design in the companies of the Manufacturing Industry business and its implementation as a computational application;
. The identification of the causal relations between Design and its economic impacts;
. The development of methodologies that promote the strategic adequacy of the Design;
. The increase of the understanding, on the part of all the agents, of the strategic Design diversity;
. The promotion and consolidation of the insertion of the national agents, universities, associations and companies, in knowledge nets at a world-wide level.

The contribution of the different sectors of the Manufacturing Industry is of accurate importance for the fulfillment of the goals that De.:SID considers. Thus, we make sensible to explain that being this an inquiry lead for an university institution the boarding made in this study is always independent and will be guided with scientific rigor. It still attends the condition of being an intervention not only of diagnosis but, that looks the application of knowledge in a pedagogical form and in benefit of the companies of the Manufacturing Industry in particular.

In this way we judge to be of the interest of all the companies the participation in this inquiry that integrates in its initial phase the launching of an "on-line" inquiry directed to the companies, that has as central goals the identification of the "drivers", "enablers" and "results" of the Design between years 2003 and 2006.