About DesignSmart

The DesignSmart Initiative (DSI) was set up by the Government in 2004 to strengthen our support for design and innovation with a view to turn Hong Kong into a focal point of design excellence in the region. The Initiative consisted of a Design Incubation Programme (DIP) at InnoCentre and a Design Support Programme (DSP) covering four funding schemes – the General Support Scheme (GSS), the Professional Continuing Education Scheme (PCES), the Design Research Scheme (DRS) and the Design-Business Collaboration Scheme (DBCS).

To rationalise funding arrangements for the creative sector and enable resources to be used in a more co-ordinated manner, the DSI and the CreateSmart Initiative (CSI) were consolidated in June 2011. Since 1 June 2011, the GSS, PCES and DRS have ceased operation. Design projects and programmes, except those under the purview of DBCS and DIP listed below, are accepted for funding consideration under the CSI with effect from 1 June 2011 provided they meet the prevailing eligibility and assessment criteria of the CSI. For further details, please Click Here.

The following design-related initiatives will continue to be funded by the residual funding of the DSI, and will not be covered by CSI until further notice –

• initiatives under the purview of the DBCS, which aims to promote the interest and investment of small-and-medium-sized enterprises in relation to utilising design and transforming design activity into tradable deliverables that manifest exploitation and deployment of intellectual property rights; and
  
  
• initiatives under the purview of the DIP at the InnoCentre, which aims to nurture design start-ups with a subsidy package capped at $500,000 each within a two-year incubation period.