Built for Design & Technology's Future

The largest investment in the Association's history is now live, creating a new digital home for D&T teachers, schools and industry.

At the end of August, the Design & Technology Association quietly reached a significant milestone.

After more than three years of planning, development, testing and an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, our completely new digital platform went live.

We deliberately didn't make too much noise about it at the time. Inevitably, with a transformation of this scale, there have been minor issues to identify and resolve. Now, however, we think it is time to tell you a little more about what we have built, why we have built it and why we believe it matters.

The new digital platform represents the largest single investment the Association has ever made in its own infrastructure.

But we don't see it simply as an investment in the D&TA.

It is an investment in the subject, in the teachers who deliver it, and in our ability to support the subject for the years ahead.

Much more than a new website

The most visible change is our completely redesigned website, but that is really only the front door.

Behind it sits an entirely new digital ecosystem, including a new CRM, member and user portal, online shop and our new Health & Safety platform, all carefully designed to work together. For the first time, these systems give us a genuinely integrated digital infrastructure to support teachers, schools, members, partners and industry.

For teachers, that should mean a much better experience: easier access to resources and information, simpler account management, improved purchasing, and a more intuitive route to the support you need.

But what exists today is only the beginning. The real significance of the investment is that we now have a platform on which we can continue to develop new services and new ways of supporting the D&T community.

Why make this investment now?

We haven't made this investment lightly.

The amount invested is a very significant commitment for an Association of our size. It has taken more than three years to reach this point and has involved considerable work from our staff, trustees, suppliers, and the teachers who have helped us test and refine what we have created.

But standing still was not an option.

Our ambitions for design & technology are substantive and growing.

We want to support more teachers and schools. We want to make high-quality resources, professional development and subject expertise more accessible. We want to build stronger regional networks. We want to connect education and industry more effectively. And we want the voice of D&T to be heard more loudly by policymakers, employers and those who make decisions about the education of our young people.

If we are serious about those ambitions, the Association itself needs the infrastructure to support them.

An investment in the subject

Ultimately, this investment isn't about technology. It's about capacity and possibility.

Design & technology continues to face very real challenges. Too many young people still don't have access to the quality D&T education they deserve. Teachers continue to work extraordinarily hard, often with limited resources and increasing pressures, to keep the subject thriving in their schools.

Against that background, we believe the Association must invest in the future of D&T, not manage its decline.

We remain convinced that design & technology has a critical role to play in the education of young people and in developing the designers, engineers, manufacturers, technologists, innovators and creative problem-solvers that our economy and society need.

Our own investment needs to reflect the strength of that belief.

What is live today provides the foundation. What excites us is what we can now build upon it.

Come in and take a look

If you're a D&T teacher, we'd encourage you to log in, explore the new platform, update your details and look around. Explore the resources. Visit the new shop. Familiarise yourself with the new portal and take a look at our new Health & Safety platform.

Most importantly, tell us what you think.

This digital environment has been built for you, but we also want it to develop with you. Tell us what works, what could work better and what you would like us to develop next.

Ultimately, the success of these new digital systems will be measured by what they enable us to do: support more teachers, reach more young people, connect more schools with industry, provide better resources and professional support, and make a stronger case for design & technology nationally.

That's why we believe this is much more than a digital transformation.

It's an investment in the future of the subject we exist to serve.

T. Ryan
Chief Executive Officer