Collaborating towards a more fully networked RSA

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Peter Churchill on May 27, 2012 at 16:13

Oh dear, is it my fault :)? John that all makes good sense to me (when you say rsafellows.org do you mean this site?). 

John Oakley said:

Well Peter, you started this discussion so say the word and we can continue this discussion in an electronic smoke filled room.

Permalink Reply by John Oakley on May 27, 2012 at 16:21

Well, yes. It is your fault. In the nicest possible way :-)  

It was your vision document that surfaced directly or indirectly all of these issues. I don't see the VCH going away any time soon so I think it might be wise to discuss this in private as I'm sure it will cause unnecessary disquiet.  I'm pretty sure that most of the current VCH functionality and content can be imported into a LinkedIn subgroup as there is a lot of activity out there of Ning users doing exactly that because of the future of Ning uncertainty.

But I don't expect that to happen tomorrow... 

This is the sort of discussion we need to have in private both here and at David's workshops.

Oh and yes, I meant rsafellowship.com   ... 

Peter Churchill said:

Oh dear, is it my fault :)? John that all makes good sense to me (when you say rsafellows.org do you mean this site?). 

John Oakley said:

Well Peter, you started this discussion so say the word and we can continue this discussion in an electronic smoke filled room.

Permalink Reply by Peter Churchill on May 27, 2012 at 16:43

Or just use this site (at least for now), especially as it is RSA branded. It could have an info box added to point to the more private site. And the main RSA site could more explicitly point here for the promotional purposes you identify; but don't forget RSA Comment and Connectors (are they like digital champions, or just local recruiters?).

John Oakley said:

As the current rsafellows.com is open and searchable it's function can be taken by the existing JAS-established LinkedIn group with the addition of a Group rules section ( "No ad hominem attacks" etc.), and a change to the moderation rules. This is what I described as the "This is the RSA" LinkedIn group.

Permalink Reply by Matthew Kálmán Mezey on May 28, 2012 at 17:14

Hi all,

I think we can all agree with David that the current situation certainly is a 'puzzling heap'! ;-)

I've just got my hands too full right now to give this discussion the time it deserves - so haven't commented...

I hope that all our current 'RSA Digital Champions' - or people who are considering becoming champions - all know about the event we have tomorrow (29th), with a speaker from IBM about their 'Blue IQ' digital champions network. People can come to John Adam street, or join us via Google Hangout.

It should be fun :-)

The group exploration that David has been outlining sounds very worthwhile.

We have recently set up a new closed Ning group for the 'RSA Digital Champions' - if you're a digital champion and have not had an invitation, you'll need to contact Dave Briggs, who set up the group.

It sounds like there is another suggestion for a new closed 'RSA Networking' group - which sounds like it could end up overlapping a lot with the new 'Digital Champions' group. Do we need an additional closed space? (There's already a fair bit of overlap with this RSAde group).

The current Linkedin group is Fellow-only, so I'm not quite sure that it makes sense to make that group public, and then try to create a new group on Linkedin to play the exact same Fellow-only role as the group we would have just made public and open to non-Fellows. Though maybe this will turn out to be the best way to do it. As mentioned, I've not digested all the ideas in this thread properly yet...

The issue of finding other Fellows who are nearby, who share similar interests etc - seems to come up in almost every meeting I'm in right now. Even more so if there are Fellows in the meeting ;-)

I'm not quite sure what the best way to get to that is - or whether that comes as part of the first stage of the technology strategy, or the one after, or the one after that. If we could somehow merge the RSA Directory, the RSA Skills Bank info, RSA CRM database motivational statements etc along with Linkedin profiles, Facebook profiles, Ning profiles - then we might be there...! As long as the end result is searchable. (Does anyone know if that kind of cross-channel/cross-database searchability can be enabled in any way?Do you end up needing something hugely expensive like Autonomy?).

Speaking personally, I'd like to be able to set up RSS feeds so that I see when a new Fellow pops up in my area - or with similar interests... Even merge with Four Square - for more real-time tracking. Link to which Fellows are in RSA House at a particular time etc.

It may be that Huddle or Basecamp's project focus will end up being more central that indivivdual profiles - or the project focus of the 'Project Dirt' eco site.

Matthew

Permalink Reply by Dr Graham Wilson on May 28, 2012 at 18:25

Glad to see your comments, Matthew.  I think it is very important for the staff to be engaged in these discussions.  It seems everyone is overwhelmed and has limited time available, and yet, somehow new initiatives keep getting launched.  Perhaps the late John Macdonald was right when he suggested that we "call a halt to mindless change"?

I am far from convinced of the need for more and more closed groups - they discourage participation and fragment solutions, which are the opposite of what we are supposedly trying to encourage.

I'm puzzled that the LinkedIN group is exclsively for Fellows, when the Fellows one has (if my little sample is accurate) only 50% of its membership in Fellowship.  This seems the reverse of what it should be.

I really don't understand the function of these Digital Champions,however, I am a bit puzzled (given their role) that they aren't participating more substantially to this debate?

I keep coming back to this, but it seems to me that only four things need to happen;

1. Bounce anyone who is not a Fellow off the RSA Fellowship forum - which clearly says it is for Fellows.  This is about brand integrity and clearer signposting.
2. Merge and modify the 'skills bank' and 'directory', doing away with one entirely so that there is only one place for a Fellow to put their profile.  Get rid of all the classification boxes which are outrageously antiquated, and replace them with free text fields - though you might want to include a 'quick 50 words' field for people to put their key interests and skills.  There's no need for an "I'm happy to swap skills" area as that's only going to emerge in the course of targeted networking - "I might swap skills with you and your project but I certainly won't with... and theirs."
3. Promote the concept of networking and this single tool approach to facilitate it using all the obvious media used by the RSA generally, especially a few articles in the Journal and a few talks - and provide VERY simple, VERY clear signposting to the official places and jargon.
4. Individually approach the 1000 Fellows who are signed up to the RSA Fellowship area and ask for their help in stimulating dialogue online.

Incidentally, the huddle space on the Ning forum which you mentioned is broken - it has a parsing error.

Cheers, Graham

Permalink Reply by David Wilcox on May 28, 2012 at 18:32

Thanks Matthew ... we have generated a lot of stuff! But then it is a BIG puzzling heap ...:-0

Just to restate that the purpose of this exploration as I see it is not to decide what technology to use, but to start from the other end. What do we want to achieve together, and then what mix of methods might we need. Using the Charter as a starting place, 

How can we collaborate to "find innovative practical solutions to pressing social problems" ... how can we "support each other by working collaboratively and creating an enlightened space in which to tackle the challenges of the 21st century".

So my suggestion is that we look for people around RSA who are trying to do that ... Catalyst, social entrepreneurs, youth link, other interest and regional networks ... and find what they need to do that better online and offline. How, for example, might RSA develop an innovation hub/network using whatever methods are appropriate?

Does that make sense?

David

The Fellowship Charter 

http://www.thersa.org/fellowship/apply/uk

The Fellowship Charter explains what being part of the RSA means in the contemporary world. It sets out how the RSA and the Fellowship aim to work together to achieve the principles in our founding Charter; and re-affirms the central importance of a Fellow's role in achieving them.

‘Undertakings for the Public Good’

We were founded in 1754 for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Today the RSA operates on a local, national, regional and international scale to turn optimistic thinking into positive action. We form a unique combination of committed people and diverse ways of working in our efforts to find innovative practical solutions to pressing social problems.

‘Members from all Ranks, Professions and Trades’

We are a global network of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Recognising that together we are greater than the sum of our parts, we have confidence in our collective ability to effect change. We share a commitment to working in a way that realises both our own untapped potential and that of others, encourages human empathy and a respect for difference, and has ethical consideration for the implications of our actions.

‘Discoveries, Inventions and Improvements’

We inspire innovative thinking by promoting new ideas, and being open-minded and creative in our approach. We enable positive change by leading, contributing or encouraging pioneering initiatives and being generous in sharing resources and skills. We support each other by working collaboratively and creating an enlightened space in which to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

Permalink Reply by Dr Graham Wilson on May 28, 2012 at 19:08

David: "So my suggestion is that we look for people around RSA who are trying to do that ... Catalyst, social entrepreneurs, youth link, other interest and regional networks ... and find what they need to do that better online and offline. How, for example, might RSA develop an innovation hub/network using whatever methods are appropriate?"

Up to a point, David, but while the ones who are doing it already may be valuable case studies, mentors, or role models, they are by definition, already doing it regardless of what the RSA might do to facilitate others to do it.

There's a danger that we over complicate these things - there are plenty of excellent examples of global collaboration out there*. They happen because a group of people whether previously connnected or not have a passion to do something about a particular problem.  Not because a group of people say, "Oooh - you're nice, I like you, why don't we do something together?  Let's agree how we're going to do it so that everyone else can do the same thing, and then decide on what it is we're going to do."

Cheers, Graham

* There's a massive open source database of climate change data available to researchers and contributed to by agencies all round the world.

* The major open source software ventures, like "Open Office".

* The Rotarians support for the eradication of polio.

Permalink Reply by David Wilcox on May 28, 2012 at 19:55

Thanks Graham - just to restate the purpose here from my first post:

"The exploration will provide a way to try some small-scale experiments, research experience elsewhere, and develop an optimistic view of opportunities for the future. In practice the explorers may:

• highlight existing good network building within RSA
• find out from Fellows what greater networking they would welcome
• report on what is planned by RSA staff and build on existing collaborations with staff
• look at examples elsewhere
• help build a core network of digital champions and network builders
• map some networks to find the existing strong connections, and gaps
• Start experimenting"

I think the Charter provides a good context, and the groups I mentioned are in line with my first point.

I should add that I offer this invitation to an exploration on a personal basis: this isn't an official project. I am looking for ways forward that could be adopted by Fellows, ideally with staff support, but not necessarily needing that scarce resource.

Your suggestions are interesting, but cannot be implemented by Fellows. I think they are a different type of proposal, perhaps worthy of a new forum post, initiated by you?

Permalink Reply by Jemima Gibbons on May 28, 2012 at 20:22

Hi Graham,

Thanks for joining the discussion and sorry to hear that you haven't yet been to a new fellows' evening - I'll pass your details onto Michael Ambjorn (at JAS) who I'm sure you invite you to the next.

Best wishes,

Jemima

Permalink Reply by David Wilcox on May 29, 2012 at 21:04

I'm conscious that in this discussion I've been pushing back at contributions that promote the (very real) need for improvements in our online spaces (sorry Graham), and instead suggesting we focus more on small-scale experiments and network building ... without offering much of a framework. 

I think Tessy Britton - former chair of Fellowship Council - may offer us a framework in some posts she has done on ways of developing citizen-led action in communities.

In a post on Shareable Tessy asks:

"Is there a new creative and collaborative way that regular citizens are participating in society, and if so, how do we recognise, understand and promote these innovative and transformative ways of investing in society?

"We have a number of well-established routes to participating in society. We participate through being consumers, supporting the economy, circulating money while trying to provide valuable livelihoods for ourselves and others. We participate through generosity, giving or sharing what we can spare and volunteering to help others, both at home and abroad."

Tessy then goes on to examine four paradigms underlying these various ways of participating ... and I think they make sense if we think RSA Fellow for citizen.

• We consume service from the RSA
• We act as charitable donors through our fees (because it is that, rather than a subscription)
• We are represented through the Fellowship Council
• And we may challenge the organisation ...

... but none of these, in my view, offers us effective participation on their own or together.

 

Tessy is promoting the Creative/Collaborative paradigm based on many visits to local communities, and workshops, and a wealth of stories being developed into Community Lovers Guides.

"People are rediscovering the pleasures and benefits of common activity: neither as passive consumers, nor as needy recipients of charity, but as active makers and designers of the social, economic and physical infrastructure of where they live. There is a new sense of agency emerging, of optimism and of control, and it is revealing itself through positive activity on a human scale."

I recommend Tessy's post, and the other links that she offers to work in Social Spaces, as a possible inspiration to the way we might think about Fellow-led action.

In an earlier comment here I posed the challenge offered by the Fellowship Charter:

"How can we collaborate to "find innovative practical solutions to pressing social problems" ... how can we "support each other by working collaboratively and creating an enlightened space in which to tackle the challenges of the 21st century".

Adding:

"So my suggestion is that we look for people around RSA who are trying to do that ... Catalyst, social entrepreneurs, youth link, other interest and regional networks ... and find what they need to do that better online and offline. How, for example, might RSA develop an innovation hub/network using whatever methods are appropriate?"

I think Social Spaces and the Creative/Collaborative Paradigm can give us some inspiration ... and maybe some ideas on how to run the workshops we are thinking about.

Permalink Reply by Dr Graham Wilson on May 30, 2012 at 0:42

Thanks David.  I will follow up her link - it sounds fascinating.  I think you may have misinterpreted my posts - perhaps because I haven't tended to repeat the main point too often, but tried to build on it.

So for the record, and this isn't meant negatively, though I fear from your comment earlier you felt I was being... 

I was making the point that effective networking is individually focused (as it is based on individuals trusting one another) and that it therefore depends on OFFLINE meetings (and transactional exchanges to truly build trust).

I am NOT proposing simply a change in the ONLINE structures.

What I was suggesting was that to achieve a better networked RSA, all that is necessary is to  rationalise and simplify those online TOOLS, then promote the whole concept of networking to Fellows.  To seed a growth in networking, I would then (indeed have already started with 6 invitations already out) approach individuals with a view to a face-to-face or Skype meeting to 'swap credentials'.

What I was also suggesting was that a realistic expectation for Fellow networking needed to be established, and my finger in the air was that getting as many as 10% would be unlikely and that this is roughly double the number currently registered on the RSA Fellowship forum.

Given this relatively small number, I question the point of organising meetings, having elaborate project plans, and conducting experiments. 

I hope that makes my points a bit clearer.  And, in the interest of better networking, are you around in London at all for a coffee one day?  I tend to be in on Thursdays and some Wednesdays.

Cheers, Graham

Permalink Reply by David Wilcox on May 30, 2012 at 11:36

Thanks Graham - that's very helpful in clarifying your point, and for the discussion in general.

As I understand it, you are talking about personal networking to build your network of contacts, for business or social purposes. I agree that usually needs to end up face to face, and the online tools should help to get you there and maybe follow through. 

I'm mainly talking about network building, or network weaving ... which is the process of facilitating connections between different individuals and groups in order to promote and support exchanges that may lead to projects. This Anatomy of an Asset Based Community Builder profiles that activity in a neighbourhood setting. RSA is developing a Changemaker network in Peterborough.

I'm suggesting that we need network building in order to address the challenge of the Fellowship Charter:

"How can we collaborate to "find innovative practical solutions to pressing social problems" ... how can we "support each other by working collaboratively and creating an enlightened space in which to tackle the challenges of the 21st century".

It comes back to purpose. As I understand it, while RSA inevitably enables personal networking, it isn't (as I understand it) what RSA Fellowship is for. We are making a charitable donation to support the organisation, and then as the FAQ says:

"Fellows are encouraged and supported through the Fellowship Network to develop and collaborate on local and issue-based initiatives".

So any development - including technology - is focussed on enabling discussion and collaborative activity for social purpose ... not for personal networking. That's why we need the meetings, project plans, experiments etc ...and why FRSA should not be jused for business purposes.

I'm just interpreting - we could do with some authoritative statements

Delighted to meet up. June 13 or 14 any good?

• Fellowship FAQs
• Fellowship Charter discussion
• Fellowship Charter

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