Conveyning and introducing the strand of five debates. 
 
Is it game over for manufacturing in the developed economies or might America stage a comeback? Can there be a rebalancing of production to the west and consumption to the east? Will gas galore provide the cheap energy to fuel that possibility? Does design drive engineering or the other way round? Why do we suffer droughts in wet old Britain? And is file sharing just stealing?

Following the 2010 publication of BIG POTATOES we have focused our analysis and thinking on particular areas, creating workgroups, including on design, with the aim of drafting manifestos in each area.

This invite-only symposium is the first time the Design Manifesto will have had a public airing. Feedback and contribution from participants will be invaluable, helping shape its arguments in time for its launch on an unsuspecting world!

Is the internet just another tool in the activists’ toolbox, accelerating normal protests, or has it brought about fundamental changes?

Is blue-skies thinking just a management cliche or is it something we should pursue, at a time when big thinking seems so out of fashion today?

What are the key trends that small businesses should be aware of and learn from, including advances in technologpy to innovations in how leading retailers promote and develop their services online. 

Is it irresponsible to want design that is radical, experimental, is risky and that can challenge the brief? Or if not, then what is design for? And why does any of this matter?

A government-backed campaign to get the entire UK adult population online threatens to make cyber slaves of us all.

Should design help make cutbacks that target people’s behaviour, or should it be more concerned with advances in science, technology and services that can liberate us from health problems altogether?

Design is the new Big Idea in preventative medicine, but there’s nothing healthy about lifestyle manipulation.