If you are interested in the process of re-inventing the 250-year-old RSA, which is being led by Matthew Taylor, do take a look at the OpenRSA blog where I've posted videos from the Networks event last week.
Some 250 members (Fellows) spent a day in Open Space sessions facilitated by Sean Blair, and in that time came up with scores of projects for the planned civic innovation network that is Matthew's vision for the future.
I thought that the whole thing went extraordinarily well. It had been planned for months by Susan Butler and other staff, and project ideas will now be taken forward by Fellows assisted by network facilitators. There's an online system developed by Saul Albert and Andy Gibson where Fellows can propose projects, discuss, and organise meetings. As you'll see here, Saul and Andy put a lot of effort into prototyping.
There's a lot of issues to be resolved, including how far the online system is open or Fellows-only, (for now registration is open) and how far Fellows will self-organise to move things forward. As Charles Leadbetter reminded us in an opening presentation, there's a lot of social structure needed for effective mass collaboration ... but dealing with those challenges is all part of the collaborative re-invention process, which is funded by NESTA as part of their Connect programme.
It wasn't all serious. As Mick Fealty reports on the official RSA Networks blog:
The plenary last night in the Great Hall was abuzz from start to finish, but last word goes to Angus Stewart who noted that it had been a great day and that everyone was polite and pleasant. "But the one thing that's missing is any disgraceful behaviour. There seems to be an assumption that this place has always been a mausoleum, but when I joined as a young man in the early sixties, it was full of life with politicians and other public figures running about the place. They were people who had been through the war and they knew the value of their own life, and they weren't afraid to say what they meant."
At which point we removed to the vaults for a drink, and some practice. Well, maybe next time. It was a long day.
If you want to join in, here's where to go. If you are just interested in how an old-style membership organisation can use a mix of face-to-face and online social networking tools to re-invent themselves, we will offer a window through OpenRSA blog and wiki. Personally I reckon it is worth a £140 membership fee for a front seat (US readers check in here.)
Previous posts here on re-inventing the RSA (scroll to the bottom to start)
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