The RSA has invested a lot in the development of Fellowship networks and ways to engage over the last 3 years. We want to know how this has improved your experience as a Fellow and whether you are making the most of your Fellowship in a way that suits you?
Do you find the newsletters provide a snapshot of activity across the wider RSA networks? Are you meeting more Fellows and attending network events? Do you read or participate in RSA online discussions on Facebook, LinkedIn, the Fellowship Council site, Matthew Taylor’s blog, RSA Project blogs, Twitter, RSA Comment? Are you up to speed with new developments such as the Catalyst Fund or do you feel you would benefit from a tune up on all things RSA?
While this list demonstrates lots of good things happening, we know there is still work to do. At a recent Northeast England meeting a Fellow used Google Earth to show where local Fellows are located which proved to be an illuminating exercise. Several Fellows who were present were surprised to find that there were other Fellows living near them, sometimes actually neighbors and colleagues. The new Fellows’ directory will help address the “secret society issue” when it is launched and meanwhile networks managers are working hard to facilitate introductions and connections.
It’s really important that we hear from you as this will help us allocate our limited resources in the best possible way. Fall planning for meetings, workshops and staff visits will be based on regional response levels and feedback. So, how you would complete this sentence: “I would be more involved as a Fellow if ……..”
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
O.K., here goes:
I would be more involved as a Fellow if…
* There were some kind of event welcoming me (and other new Fellows) to the Fellowship (initiation events are meaningful to most people);
* Someone went to the trouble of calling me to welcome me to the Fellowship (form letters and the offer of network links are all very well and good but people appreciate personal contact);
* The Fellowship Directory were available and I could (it’s hard to develop relationships when you don’t know who’s out there, what they’re involved in, and how to reach them).
Thanks Terry – you are absolutely right that we have not been good at welcoming new Fellows! We’ve realized for some time the need for a meet and greet committee and are taking steps to address this as we speak! Although there is no active network in your part of the world yet, I hope you will take advantage of the social media and online resources online social media and resources to connect with other Fellows. Of course the long-awaited directory will make a huge difference in this regard and I can tell you it is very, very close and well worth waiting for. Meanwhile, I will give you a call!
- Live video of events, with a chat interface for live Q&A, would encourage me to engage in events at the House.
I would be more engaged as a fellow if… I knew if there were any more fellows in Pittsburgh! Very straightforward…..
Hilary – The Fellows’ directory will be a tremendous help with making connections within the Fellowship – watch for news of the launch very, very soon! Meanwhile, let’s send out a call to Pittsburgh Fellows! I’ll flag this in the next newsletter.
@Anne Johnson
Hi Anne, we are looking at the various options to improve the live video streaming that is done from the RSA house for some events. In particular we are looking at different streaming options that have in built live chat facilities. At the moment we are using Twitter as a backchannel but appreciate that this is only one platform out of many. If you do want to engage on those events that are live video streamed using twitter the suggested hashtag is displayed on the event detail and on the watch live page.
Kirsti
RSA Events
I think Terry’s points were great – engaging new Fellows from the very start of their RSA experience is important. Having been involved for many years, I think the re-invigorated RSA is doing a much better job of communicating ground-level involvement than it had previously (a big thank-you to those making it happen), but we need to do more. I have appreciated the local meetings where we leave not just informed, but with an action-plan. I think we can engage people by regularly identifying & proposing local RSA projects, and being specific about the associated needs. It gives people an opening to get involved.
I have been disappointed at the total lack of interest I’ve experienced in the organization relative to the development work I have done and am doing around the world. Surely, there must be other Fellows with a similar interest, particularly in Africa. How do you propose to wire us together?
Hi Ceylon – thanks for the comment. When we met in Chattanooga I remember following up with introductions to a couple of other Fellows, one in Washington DC and one in London, who are both working to effect positive change in Africa. I hope you were able to connect? What would you like to have from the network? Depending on how you think Fellows might be able to support your work, perhaps it would be worth checking out the RSA Skills Bank to find out what other Fellows are offering. http://www.thersa.org/fellowship/catalyst-fund
Ceylon, there is at least one other fellow interested in development in Africa (amongst other topics). The issue for me is what we do and how to initiate and maintain a discussion. Complex question.
My answer how things might improve starts with my (probably small minority) experiences to date. When I lived in London I could go to meetings (interesting) listen to discussions in real time (sometimes interesting and stimulating) and do after event conversations with selected attendees.
Now I live in Philly (last 7 years) that has changed for the worse. Meeting attendance involves another city, or state, or country. Live web broadcasts from London (even when I could make them) are waiting list only, or delayed beyond any residual interest (I might just as well read about them in the Journal). Immediacy, participation etc depends on (I assume) starting ones own project and assembling a group somehow somewhere. I’m not moaning and simply point out for information that any other groups or networks I participate in are more user friendly even when they are not as technologically savvy.
So I do go out of my way to attend some of my alumni gatherings (two sources – LBS and Oxford), contribute to blogs and or discussion groups etc.
Again no complaints, but I’ve turned into the worst sort of ‘member’ for RSA, left wondering why I pay the annual subscription for a newsletter and a printed magazine (both high quality reads when i can get to them). C’est la vie nouvelle!
Clive – good to see your comment. I could not agree more that it would be fantastic to get something going in Phillie, where we have a small but good group of long-standing Fellows. There are definitely the makings of an interesting and pleasant “Junto”.
We could get together for coffee or a quick drink after work. It does not have to be complicated. If you could suggest a suitable place, I would be happy to send a note out to your Fellow Philadelphians.
“I would be more involved as a Fellow if ……..” there were more events in Southern California – if the network of people here was some how made transparent that one could connect with people as a group or individually if there were shared interests. I am based at a University and there could be an RSA sponsored program within our Critical Studies Institute for example. I am sure the entire UC system has fellows dotted across it. This in itself would be an interesting network to realize.
Ceylon, You speak of Africa – Hurrah I am working at University of California Irvine and taking a group of students to Ghana this summer. I hope to develop a sustainable project which is interdisciplinary and has results on the ground there with young people – the arts and the revisiting legacy of slavery from the perspective of the African diaspora and its contribution to world culture. The project has caught the interest of some renowned Artists and an application to UNESCO’s call for ’10 ideas for Africa’ is also in toe. At UCI there are a group of engineers that are part of Engineers without Borders, do you know of this group. I am just beginning to engage with them. I don’t know if there are any fellows amongst them however.