GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND DWINDLING NATURAL RESOURCES HAVE EMPHASIZED THE NEED FOR SYSTEM-WIDE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, FROM INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER HABITS TO PRODUCT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING. IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES IN CHILE, THE PRESENT RESEARCH AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE BARRIERS FOR THE IMPLEMENTTATION OF SUSTAIN ABILITY PRACTICES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) IN THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR. A PRELIMINARY STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT USING THE FOLLOWING THREE CORE COMPONENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES ACROSS THE WORLD, AN ANALYSIS OF PRIOR RESEARCH ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION IN CHILE, AND FINALLY, FIELDWORK ON SMES IN THE BIOBIO REGION. THE GENERAL AIM WAS TO IDENTIFY FACTORS DRIVING LOCAL SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION. RESULTS SHOW THAT THE MAIN BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AMONG DOMESTIC SMES INCLUDE THE ROLE OF MARKET DEMAND IN SHAPING PRODUCT MANUFACTURING AND THE FACT THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS DO NOT INFLUENCE CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AND/OR TRENDS.

LA PRESENTE PUBLICACIÓN EXPLORA EL PROCESO METODOLÓGICO DESARROLLADO EN EL MARCO DEL TALLER DENOMINADO DISEÑO E INNOVACIÓN PARA LA COMPETITIVIDAD EMPRESARIAL, LLEVADO A CABO EN EL MARCO DEL PROYECTO PROPUESTA INTERDISCIPLINARIA DE UN MODELO DE GESTIÓN DE LA INNOVACIÓN PARA LA PYME DE LA REGIÓN DEL BIOBÍO, IMPULSADO POR INNOVA BÍO BÍO, LA AGENCIA DE TECNOLOGÍA DE LA REGIÓN DEL BIOBÍO DE CHILE, REFERENCIANDO CONCEPTOS BÁSICOS DE GESTIÓN DEL DISEÑO Y LA INNOVACIÓN, LO QUE SE ARTICULA CON UN EJERCICIO GRUPAL PROYEC-TUAL CENTRADO EN EL DESARROLLO DE SOLUCIONES INNOVADORAS, APORTANDO AL CONOCIMIENTO DEL DISEÑO Y SU IDENTIFICACIÓN COMO UN FACTOR INELUDIBLE PARA QUE LAS PYMES CREZCAN Y SUS PRODUCTOS Y SERVICIOS SINTONICEN CON LAS DEMANDAS Y EXPECTATIVAS DE SUS CLIENTES. EN ESTE SENTIDO, LAS POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS DE LA REGIÓN DEL BIOBÍO SON ASERTIVAS DADO QUE ESTÁN APUN-TANDO A PROMOCIONAR EXPERIENCIAS ACADÉMICO-EMPRESARIALES INSTALANDO CAPACIDADES A NIVEL DE PREGRADO, QUE SERÁN DECIDORAS PARA LOS FUTUROS DESARROLLOS PROFESIONALES EN QUE EL DISEÑO SERÁ PILAR FUNDAMENTAL PARA LA INNOVACIÓN APLICADA.

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST STAGES OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEFINING KEY ASPECTS OF THE FINAL PRODUCT. THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH ADDRESSES THIS STAGE BY USING A DISAGGREGATE MODEL OF PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES AND THEIR CORRESPONDING GEOMETRIES. THIS ULTIMATELY SERVES AS A STARTING POINT FOR EXPLORING CONCEPTUAL PROPOSALS. RESEARCH INTO THE EMERGENCE OF VARIOUS SKETCH TYPOLOGIES SHOWS THAT THEY ARE LABELED ACCORDING TO AIM RATHER THAN TECHNICAL UTILITY. THE PROPOSED SKETCH-BASED MODEL IS INTENDED TO SERVE AS A COMPREHENSIVE VERSION OF THE SYSTEMATIC MODEL FOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN (HERNANDIS & BRIEDE, 2009). SKETCH OUTLINES ARE USED DURING VARIOUS STAGES OF THE MODEL IN ORDER TO ENABLE AND VISUALLY ASSIST WITH COGNITIVE PROCESSES AND DECISION-MAKING DURING THE INITIAL THEORETICAL STAGES, WHICH ARE ABSTRACT AND POORLY DEFINED.