The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on July 30 that it will newly launch the "Public Design Innovation Support" project in cooperation with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF).
The Public Design Innovation Support project has been established to strengthen the capacity to respond to social changes and address public issues through public design.
The Ministry and KCDF stated that, in order to enhance understanding of this project and provide guidance on how to apply, they will hold an online information session at 2:00 p.m. on August 12. Those wishing to attend can apply through the Public Design Integrated Information System by August 8. After the information session, from August 25 to September 5, the Ministry and KCDF will accept applications for consulting needs assessments and for project support proposals.
The Ministry and KCDF have consistently supported public design projects. They have provided public design consulting to central administrative agencies and public institutions, and have identified local public design needs based on regional conditions for local governments, supporting everything from consulting to pilot implementation. However, given the recent expansion of the social role of public design, they explained that this year's project has been completely reorganized to establish an integrated support system that encompasses diagnosis, planning, and execution.
First, the Ministry and KCDF have expanded the scope of public design innovation consulting from central administrative agencies and public institutions to include local governments, and have subdivided the support content according to demand. Applicants can select the consulting stage required according to the nature of their needs, such as ▲research and analysis, ▲planning, ▲design and engineering, ▲production and installation plans, and ▲operation and management plans. The consulting fields are divided into "designated" and "open" categories. Additional points will be awarded in the selection process for projects such as ▲improving transportation guidance systems and nearby public spaces, ▲improving the operational systems and surrounding environments of industrial complexes, and ▲meeting public design needs for digitally vulnerable groups. Each project can receive support ranging from 50 million to 200 million KRW.
The Ministry will also newly launch a pilot project to support the development and demonstration of novel and practical public design ideas so that they can be widely implemented. Public design specialist companies, related businesses, associations, and organizations are invited to submit ideas and implementation plans for ▲public facilities, ▲public visual images, ▲public goods, and ▲public service improvements. Outstanding projects that demonstrate effectiveness after development and demonstration will be selected as nationwide expansion projects and receive additional support. Stakeholder consultation is mandatory for pilot implementation, and each project can receive support ranging from 50 million to 400 million KRW.
A policy official from the Ministry stated, "Public design is an important policy area that can solve social problems in a flexible and practical way," and added, "We will actively support the spread of dignified and sustainable public design."
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