Back to RSA networks and engagement
The OpenRSA initiative was started in 2007 to support new developments planned for the 250-year-old RSA - the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce.
OpenRSA was particularly active autumn 07- spring 08 around the launch of RSA Networks.
The ideas below were developed in May 2012, since when the idea of relaunching OpenRSA has been put on hold. David Wilcox
Update: the latest discussion on exploring RSA networks development is on the RSAFellowship site here (archive link).
The following proposal may change during our planning and set-up phase - but currently OpenRSA is conceived as an open collaborative exploration over six months, starting in June 2012, around the theme:
How can RSA Fellows contribute to the organisation’s mission - and benefit from the experience in ways that suit their needs as well?
The exploration will be conducted partly online, and also through meetings and workshops.
More here on the background to OpenRSA, and why the time seems right.
In particular, the recent fellowship survey (archive link) and download (archive link)
led to recommendations including:
The survey is being analysed in more detail, and there will be staff-led proposals for development, including a new technology strategy. The OpenRSA exploration is conceived as a Fellow-led initiative to complement and support that work. We aim to work closely with staff throughout.
The OpenRSA exploration will only succeed if it engages the interest of a
range of Fellows, and so we are starting with a series of talking points to begin some conversations.
The first of these turns the theme of the exploration around to focus on the personal:
We are starting with these personal questions because one of the benefits of RSA is the diversity of people involved, and their many interests. Everyone has their own reason for being an FRSA. At the same time, there is no clear statement of the purpose of Fellowship beyond that in the Charter of 2010 which says:
We form a unique combination of committed people and diverse ways of working in our efforts to findinnovative practical solutions to pressing social problems and Wesupport each other by working collaboratively and creating anenlightened space in which to tackle the challenges of the 21st century
It is unclear how far Fellows may mix personal interest with achieve an RSA vision. While the bye-laws say FRSA may not be used for business purposes, some Fellows use the Linkedin and RSAFellowship sites to promote their business interests, and one of the strongest groups is for social entrepreneurs.
For that reason we have to evolve some collaborative purpose from the many interests and motivations of Fellows. One touchstone for success could be how far we can re-engage Fellows who have left or dis-engaged, and how we can help recuit more Fellows. We need to feel confident to answer the questions from our friends:
The exploration is modelled partly on earlier OpenRSA work 2007-09, and
partly on explorations undertaken by social reporters here.
First thoughts on the process also reflected
in the workshops page
This will depend on the pre-workshop and workshop discussions, but we would expect to move forward with some practical action on the Fellow-led ideas.