The Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) admitted into the 2025 Design Power Index

DBCS and Consulus are pleased to announce that The Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) is admitted into the Design Power Index (DPI) 2025.

The Design Power Index is an economic premise and framework based on three key questions:
1. Does design generate economic value?
2. If yes, what is the value?
3. Is the nominated organisation great at harnessing the power of design to generate economic value and shape societal impact?

This inaugural index is launched by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) in partnership with its global knowledge partner Consulus, a global impact investment and creative change firm, as part of DBCS’s 40th anniversary.

Companies and organisations are first shortlisted from a wide range of industries and then nominated. By accepting the nomination, honorees affirm that design shapes economic value through their business model, products, and services. Acceptance also means they agree to participate in an assessment the following year for the Design Power Index 2026, ensuring a deepening study on the value of design for economic growth. Acceptance of nomination, use of the logo, and participation in next year’s survey are without fee.

As of now, the estimated total market value of the private and listed companies who have accepted the nomination has reached SGD 20 billion. For the non-profit organisations included, their work impacts the lives of Singaporeans.

The Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI)

The Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) transforms healthcare delivery through its pioneering CHI Innovation Cycle framework, where design thinking serves as the catalytic force for systematic innovation across care and process redesign, automation, technology integration, and workforce transformation.

• Transforming healthcare through design

CHI’s design-led approach addresses healthcare challenges at multiple levels. For care and process redesign, CHI has leveraged on design to address wicked problems like improving healthcare workers’ workplace safety, enhancing healthcare workers’ experiences in supporting patients’ return-to-work journeys, and empowering diabetic patients in self-management. The CHI Living Lab – their in-house prototyping and testing lab – works with healthcare workers to create tangible solutions, producing over 30 innovative products including the Face Shield for COVID-19 protection and the Red Dot Award-winning FUSA Chair.

• Building Innovation Capacity

CHI cultivates a sustainable innovation ecosystem by developing design capabilities across the healthcare community. Through hands-on, project-based training programmes, CHI equips healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, and community organisations with design thinking methodologies and prototyping skills. The accessible CHI Living Lab at the Centre’s ground level serves as a walk-in consultation hub, democratising innovation support for healthcare professionals.

• Pioneering Patient-Centred Design Leadership

CHI’s leadership extends beyond institutional boundaries through strategic partnerships with Singapore’s national design ecosystem. Their multi-year participation in Singapore Design Week demonstrates commitment to addressing population health challenges through design. Most notably, CHI’s collaboration with Design Council Singapore (DSG) and the Alliance for Patients Organizations Singapore (APOS) culminated in the inaugural Patient-led National Design Challenge 2025, empowering 10 patient-led teams nationwide to tackle complex healthcare problems through design. This groundbreaking initiative positions patients as co-creators of their healthcare experiences, exemplifying CHI’s vision of sustainable innovation that adds years of healthy life to Singapore’s population.

Through this comprehensive approach, CHI has established itself as a transformative force in healthcare design, creating lasting impact through collaborative innovation that bridges clinical excellence with human-centred design.

About the Design Power Index (DPI)

The Design Power Index (DPI) is the world’s first longitudinal economics index designed to measure and track the economic value generated by companies through the strategic use of design and the creation of design intellectual property (IP). Showcasing 40 companies and 20 organisations recognised for their business growth, market creation, technological innovation, and social impact through design, the inaugural DPI 2025 provides a holistic lens of design’s contribution to the economy.

Developed by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) in partnership with Consulus, the DPI analyses design’s impact across four dimensions:

• Business of Design — Companies who have achieved revenue and growth through creating unique intellectual property by design
• Market of Design — Companies who have harnessed design to create a new business category
• Technology of Design — Companies who have used design to innovate and shape use-behaviour
• Social Impact of Design — Companies/organisations who use design to shape societal change or impact