This paper discusses a comparative study of national business support programmes in design operated by National Design Centres (NDCs) in the UK and South Korea. The research identified the drivers for, and barriers to, implementing national support programmes in design and presents the recommendations for new approaches to the development and implementation of such programmes. The research findings illustrate that while there are some similarities in barriers to implementing such programmes, government support for businesses through NDCs differs in the two countries due to the different content and structure of programme delivery. The research findings also indicate that critical issues influencing national support in design are autonomy and respective organizations’ perspectives and purposes.