DEED was created through the merger of the committees of GRADE and NA3DDE. Both associations had long and credible histories, representing their constituent disciplines at national and international level, while providing information and development facilities for members. They have been constantly involved in research and the formulation of educational policy in response to national initiatives, advising such agencies as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Council for Higher Education in Art & Design (CHEAD).
Through their conferences the two associations have dealt with such topics as: ‘Design for Life’, ‘Learning through Practice,’ ‘Quality and Quantity’, ‘Graduateness’, the Research Assessment Exercise criteria and ‘Preparing for Subject Review’. Later joint conferences reflected, as in the world of design practice, their increasingly common concerns and methods and led to the creation and launch of DEED in 1999 at the Design Council.