Taiwan Design Research Institute

Description

Taiwan Design Research Institute, known as TDRI, is Taiwan’s national design research institute, created to make design a practical lever for government, industry, and everyday life. The About experience reflects a clear idea: design is not decoration, it is a way to align people, systems, and policies so progress becomes easier to build and easier to sustain. From the first interaction, the site communicates that TDRI sits at the intersection of public sector strategy and creative capability, acting as a cross disciplinary platform that connects ministries, teams, and partners through shared methods and measurable goals. TDRI’s story is rooted in a modern national mission. Established in 2020, the institute was formed to coordinate resources across government and elevate design into an important public value and national strategy, with the ambition of strengthening Taiwan’s international competitiveness and improving quality of life. That mission shows up in how the organisation defines its role: part service platform, part innovation think tank, and fully focused on integrating design thinking into policy, public services, industrial innovation, and social innovation, while also building global connections through design diplomacy. The narrative style of the About journey is intentionally memorable. The digital experience has been described as starting with two sphere objects, guiding visitors through five core values, Establishment, Drive, Promotion, Coherence, and Spread. It is a simple visual metaphor with a bigger purpose. It signals that TDRI sees design as a system, something you establish, energise, promote, connect across stakeholders, then scale outward so it becomes culture rather than a one off initiative. Those principles map closely to the institute’s focus areas. Design policy work emphasises collaboration mechanisms across departments, so policy communication becomes clearer and implementation becomes more effective. Industrial innovation work brings design into research, technology, and co creation, helping businesses find valuable applications and build design led competitive advantage. Public service design work focuses on understanding citizens’ needs, training government teams in methods and tools, and creating guidelines that raise service quality across the public sector. Social innovation work links local businesses and NPOs or NGOs to address societal and environmental challenges through participation and system level thinking. Design diplomacy extends Taiwan’s voice, building international networks and showcasing cross disciplinary talent on global stages. For anyone searching for Taiwan design policy, public service design in Taiwan, design innovation research, or a national design institute shaping sustainable development, TDRI’s About page is a strong entry point. It presents design as infrastructure for a better future, one that is built through clarity, collaboration, and a commitment to spreading what works.