RSA elections: 'At Large' candidates

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Comment by Pam Warhurst on July 12, 2012 at 8:48

One final comment to leave you with

Should the RSA reclaim the street?

Is the RSA relevant to the vast majority of people trying to make sense of increasingly difficult lives. Are we talented enough to be called on to make a difference or well meaning people who are pleasant enough in a social gathering but meaningless in a fight. I am afraid I fall into the, let's make a difference camp, and that means action not words.

Empowering fellows so we can make a difference at a local level is vital to realigning The RSA with the vision that we all work towards. I want to make a difference, as I've shown with Incredible Edible.

Whose camp are you in?

Comment by Barbara Anderson on July 10, 2012 at 19:58

Thanks Dave for your helpful notes re systems strategy. Also, thank you John for your comments regarding the Fellowship Council. A thematic basis for networks and projects is clearly key to a clear strategy. I also think it is important that the priorities that are established are communicated clearly and that broad participation is invited where practical and helpful. I think that going forward, teh Chair faces the challenge of simultaneously simplifying and improving the effectiveness of Fellow communications.

Comment by Jemima Gibbons on July 10, 2012 at 16:45

Just a short note to thank everyone for their wonderful contributions to this group and remind you all that there are only three days of voting left!

I suspect the active members of this group have already voted, but if you have any friends who may have forgotten, a quick text or email can work wonders (without spamming, of course)!

Also, I'm sure you're all aware of the in-depth discussion on what it means to be a Fellow taking place ov... (yes, that old chestnut, but especially timely right now)! Please take a moment to have a look if you haven't already done so. It's likely to be a discussion that will run and run post-elections! 

Best of luck to all of you :)

Comment by Steve Coles on July 6, 2012 at 19:52

Thanks all for your comments. I've just been catching up on them with interest having been away at a conference venue this week where I literally had to stand in the middle of a field to get a mobile phone signal...  John, I found your comments both encouraging and interesting - thanks.

Comment by John Elliott on July 6, 2012 at 11:08

 

As a member of the Fellowship Council over the past three years I think it achieved a lot in terms of changing the system of governance at the RSA to give the Fellows greater influence and say in its affairs. Matthew Taylor testified to this at the last FC meeting. The voice of the Fellowship is more difficult to ignore at every level of decision making, although some of us can still point to areas for improvement in this respect, such as the project on the Opening Minds curriculum being confined to a cluster of academies. I had argued that good 'local government' schools engaged with 'Opening Minds' should also be involved, and obtained little evidence of 'minds opening' to this suggestion at the critical levels of decision-making and influence.

The Fellowship Council has also done much to improve the links between the Regions and the Centre. In general It has ensured a solid foundation on which to build Fellow-led projects and thematic networks.

Comment by David Wilcox on July 5, 2012 at 12:34

Thanks Barbara ... and others interested in online systems. There is a technology development strategy, and staff have been very helpful in briefing me and others in the digital engagement group on that. The current focus is on organisational requirements, with Fellowship systems like this one further down the track. This will be, I believe, the fourth attempt since 2007.

Issues that must be on the agenda are whether to close this site, and other regional sites; whether to move everything to Linkedin; whether to have Fellowship-only systems (this one is open to non-FRSAs); whether to integrate with staff communications.

My concerns are two-fold (based on past failures):

• Systems will be designed to meet staff-organisational needs, but not those of Fellows. Or they will be based on assumptions about what Fellows "should" do online.
• As a result of that, we will be consulted late on the day on options that don't meet our needs.

Systems for Fellows will only work if Fellows populate and animate them ... so I think we need a co-design and not just a consultation process. In saying this I'm not being critical in any way of staff involved, who are hugely helpful. We just seem to be stuck in an (old) RSA culture of doing things for Fellows, not with them, and no-one knows how to escape from it for fear of ... not quite sure.

How about London offers to provide a test-bed to explore what's needed in more depth than has been possible so far; run a co-design workshop, and maybe trial some systems?

And/or would any of the other candidates be interested in digging a bit deeper into this issue?

Comment by Barbara Anderson on July 5, 2012 at 11:56

Hi Dave. Thank you. I certainly think Fellows should have input into system design; we are, after all, key stakeholders. I'm not 100% sure what the plan is in this respect although I know there is a project underway and you would imagine that there will be some sort of Fellowship consultation involved. I will try to find out.

Regarding controlling the systems I think under the current operating structure systems are for Matthew and team to sign off on and manage. However, as you point out, if we can influence this and either adopt or amend for our region's communication purposes then that could be helpful. It is also an interesting discussion point, because of course it gets right at the heart of the distinction or otherwise between executive and members. Onwards...!

Comment by Kathy seddon on July 4, 2012 at 18:47

Brilliant Barbara – and thank you!

I completely agree about the need to develop a Regional Strategy to deliver 'Value to Fellows'.

Looking at your thoughts about 'principles and aspirations' to guide actions - we do (as a candidate group) seem to have encouraging agreement? You also make a very sensible point about aligning whatever resources are available to such key aspirations. Prioritising is certainly going to be a challenge

I have just added a blog post about online engagement – indulging my passion for elearning.  I agree though, that building this engagement needs to be part of a wider strategy to look urgently at Fellowship communications - drawing on the expertise of RSA staff and Fellows.

Comment by David Wilcox on July 4, 2012 at 13:57

Hi Barbara - as a London fellow it is good to see you here, and to know you add your support to the "things we can agree on discussion" I started.  Kathy summarised as: 

• Connect Fellows
• Enable Fellows to contribute
• Utilise fellows’ expertise
• Make the RSA offer to Fellows clear 
• Extend Catalyst possibilities.

... and you re-affirmed the need for better communications for Fellows.

At the moment we don't have significant input to the way that new systems are being designed, or any clear role in managing and facilitating existing systems. Should we control our own comms in future - at least for the region? 

Or at least review the feasibility of that? I'll volunteer some time.

Comment by Barbara Anderson on July 4, 2012 at 13:16

Dear all,

I'm an interloper to this discussion board as I'm standing for Regional Chair, but there are a greater volume of comments here than on the Chair hustings sites and it is great to see both the interest level and the energy! Hello to those of you that I have met in person already.

I do feel rather like we are communicating amongst ourselves at present, but going forward, we need to develop a Regional strategies that deliver value to the Fellows and this is a good start. 

I wholeheartedly add my support to "the things we can agree on", including the connecting and engaging and supporting RSA projects points, and I think the newly elected group should, like a formal board, set itself some principles to operate to along these lines, as well as some related aspirations which then become formalised in the regional strategies.At least one of these principles should be on the subject of Fellowship communications, which, as we have seen are somewhat confused and where we could definitely help.

On a more practical level, I know politicians do it all the time, but I personally find it tricky to have "what we should do" discussions in the absence of a budget and understanding of time commitments, as when we talk about RSA support we are basically talking about allocating time and money. The real test in this respect will be how these resources are best focussed in line with the principles and deliver against the strategic aspirations.

Best wishes to all, and thank you Kathy- I'm reading too!

Barbara

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