Independence Days
Designing for self-reliant, independent living
Panel
Chair - Janet Morrison
Janet Morrison became Chief Executive of Independent Age in March 2007. Previously she was Deputy Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), an organisation devoted to fostering people’s talent and helping them turn their ideas into commercial success. While at NESTA, Janet led strategy, policy, research and communications. Her achievements included securing £75m additional funding from the government and leading an organisation-wide change programme. Janet has extensive public and voluntary sector experience. She was a senior adviser on UK Policy at the BBC between 1997 and 1999. Before this she worked for seven years at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
Kenneth Grange
After working in architectural offices, Kenneth started his own design practice in 1956. In 1972 he was a founding partner of the multi-disciplined practice Pentagram. Kenneth has designed mass production items for Kodak, Kenwood, B&W Loudspeakers, Parker pens and many others. He designed the exterior of the British Rail HST 125 Intercity train, and the1997 LTI London Black Cab. In 2003/4 he redesigned two versions of the original Anglepoise lamp. He has worked extensively in Japan since 1968. Kenneth is a consultant to major corporations and has been President of the CSD and Chairman of the DBA. He has contributed extensively to design education, and holds five Honorary Doctorates. Awards include ten Design Council Awards, the Chartered Society of Designers Minerva Gold Medal, the Design Effectiveness Award (1996), the 1966 Duke of Edinburgh’s Prize for Elegant Design, and the Prince Philip Designer’s Prize (2001). He was elected a Royal Designer for Industry in 1969, and was Faculty Master from 1985-87. He was awarded the CBE in 1984.
Ian Hosking
Ian has over 20 years of experience of working in Industry with a focus on the effective application of technology through understanding people’s needs. He has been involved in the initiation and development of the Inclusive Design Toolkit (www.inclusivedesigntoolkit.com) which aims to provide resources for designing inclusively. Ian joined the Engineering Design Centre at Cambridge University in 2009 and is responsible for promoting inclusive design in the UK as part of the KT-EQUAL programme. His interests include the convergence of inclusive and sustainable design. He is also a Fellow of the RSA.
Jackie Marshall-Cyrus
To follow
Mark Platt
Mark is Director of Policy & Public Affairs for National Voices (formerly Long-term Conditions Alliance (LTCA)). Prior to this, Mark worked for the CBI for five and a half years, holding a number of senior policy roles covering government, regulatory and EU affairs. Whilst at the CBI, he also served for 3 years as one of the three employers’ representatives on the UK's Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), which advises the Secretary of State on matters relating to the industrial injuries scheme. He is a graduate of Birkbeck College, where he obtained its flagship BSc Honours degree, ‘PPH’ (politics, philosophy and history), as well as an MSc in European politics. Mark also has a background in sexual health promotion work, and more specifically in HIV prevention work, having worked for the first pan-London free condom distribution scheme (Rubberstuffers), being a volunteer with Gay Men Fighting AIDS (GMFA), and a trustee for three years of Streetwise Youth. He is a trustee of the Health Hotel, and a member of the board for the Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), a consortium which successfully bid for the contract to deliver clinical audit in England. During 2009 Mark also represented LTCA and then National Voices on the board of the NHS National Centre for Involvement (NCI), which was established to promote patient and public engagement in the development and delivery of health services.
Jamie Young
Jamie is a senior researcher in the RSA’s Design team, developing the team’s behaviour change work and other technology-related projects. He joined the RSA after studying global environmental change and policy at Imperial College and freelancing in the field of design for sustainable behaviour change. Prior to this, he studied product design at Brunel University and worked as an electronic engineer in the energy sector.