Pathway Fellowship Councillors

The Fellowship Council is a representative forum for Fellows who support our work and have the time to invest in working with us as part of our community. Fellowship Councillors play a key role in ensuring that Fellows are at the heart of the work the RSA undertakes.

Pathway Fellowship Councillors are appointed by a selection panel of the Trustee Board Chair, CEO and incumbent Fellowship Chair or their representatives. To deliver on the RSA’s ambitions for social change as outlined in our Design for Life strategy, published in May 2022 at the Fellows Festival, we have designed seven impact pathways: Early years for change, Pupils for change, Students for change, Entrepreneurs for change, Places for change, Companies for change, Systems for change. The purpose of a Pathway Fellowship Councillor is therefore three-fold to:

• Act as a key advisor and expert to the pathway delivery group, working as supportive friends during pathway development and delivery
• Provide a key point of reference for Fellows and partners working alongside RSA colleagues, embedding the role of Fellows at the heart of pathways
• Represent Fellows acting as a key consultation forum for the strategy and ideas developed by Trustees and its Executive Team.

In addition to Pathway Fellowship Councillors there are 22 Area Fellowship Councillors who act as a key support for our work in the local areas

Time required for the role

All Fellowship Councillors commit to attending an induction meeting and at least three full Council meetings per year, there may also be additional online meetings to support with specific projects/programmes. Councillors who are absent from two consecutive meetings without good cause may be asked to stand down. All appropriate expenses will be covered.

This is a volunteer role but does require a commitment to dedicated time to be effective. You would be expected to be able to set aside or dedicate at least one day a month to be able to deliver effectively in this role in addition to the commitments outlined above. The term of a Fellowship Councillor is two years, with the opportunity for Pathway Councillors to apply for re-appointment for a second two-year term upon conclusion.

Expectations of the role

• Working closely with RSA staff to co-design the Fellowship engagement plan for pathways
• Having practical, including lived experience, and/or theoretical subject matter expertise to contribute to the pathway area development
• Being an effective advocate and ambassador for the RSA
• Working to embed the voices and experiences of Fellows at the heart of the RSA’s work
• Participating actively in the Fellowship Council’s wider work and governance beyond specific pathways
• Communicating regularly with Fellows about opportunities to participate and be involved in pathways
• Participating in smaller working groups to advance specific projects as best suits your skills and experience

The pathways

• Early years for change: what if all children, from their early years, were given the best start in life as future change agents, transitioning their communities, places and planet to be more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative? For example, through co-creating places and spaces in and around early years settings that nurture the creativity and connection of children to community and nature – such as through a nature-based learning programme for early years children, inspired by Eden’s work.
• Pupils for change: what if all school-aged children were nurtured and supported, through practical exercises in social design, to contribute towards creating more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, through expanding the scale and scope of the RSA’s Pupil Design Awards, building a global movement of schools, and growing the social agency of pupils by creating participatory fora.
• Students for change: what if all tertiary education students across all disciplines were supported and inspired, through practical projects in social design, to initiate the career trajectories necessary for the transition towards more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, through expanding the scale and scope of the RSA’s Student Design Awards to be discipline-agnostic, to include students in all tertiary education settings and to develop apprentice programmes with companies to take forward their joint commitment to people, place and planet.
• Entrepreneurs for change: what if all excluded entrepreneurs-in-the-making were supported and connected to seed and scale the innovations necessary for the transition towards more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, through a new Marie Curie Catalyst incubator and accelerator, focused on otherwise excluded entrepreneurs, offering financial support, learning experience, mentoring and the connections necessary for their innovations to flourish and shape better futures.
• Companies for change: what if all intrapreneurs and business leaders were supported to transform their organisations to lead the transition towards more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, through a new social intrapreneur leadership programme, and the creation of business innovation directories of emerging next practice, that help businesses establish and implement next practice in respect of the often silent S in ESG (environmental, social and governance).
• Places for change: what if all place and community leaders were supported to connect, participate and collaborate for the transition towards more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, through a new Urban Futures Commission providing an audit and action plan for cities and regions, with tailored initiatives that build collaborative and participatory place-based social infrastructure, including supporting place-based lifelong learning through Cities of Learning.
• Systems for change: what if the Design for Life pathways formed a prism of evidence, learning, impact and movement-building that accelerates the whole system’s transition towards resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures? For example, by setting up a Social Impact Observatory that grows collective insight and foresight on system-wide change, from and beyond the pathways. This could be supported by an Open Living Change Playbook, a knowledge commons by and for Fellows and partners, so that social change tools and techniques are widely available as a public good.

Pathway specific skills and experience that we are looking for

RSA staff have been working over the summer months to design the initial propositions for social change and impact that will sit at the heart of each Pathway. As a result, Pathway teams have identified the types of skills and experience that would be most beneficial from the involvement of Fellows as Pathway Councillors – helping us drive forward pathway engagement, development, and impact. These are outlined in the following table:

Early years for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Early years and primary education
• Childhood development
• Family learning
• Education innovation
• Diversity, equity and inclusion in education and learning
• UK and worldwide knowledge of good practice
• Children’s engagement with nature, creativity and social action

Relevant skills

• Early years/cross-sector partnership building
• Government/policy influencing
• Sector practice influencing
• Fundraising
• Research
• Front-line/classroom delivery experience an advantage

Pupils for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Secondary education
• Curriculum development
• Children and young people’s health and wellbeing
• School and community connections
• Design and/or creativity in education
• Education innovation
• Diversity, equity and inclusion in education and learning
• UK and worldwide knowledge of good practice

Relevant skills

• Education/cross-sector partnership building
• Government/policy influencing
• Sector practice influencing
• Fundraising
• Research
• Front-line/classroom delivery experience is an advantage

Students for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Tertiary education sector
• Design and innovation / social impact
• Inclusive engagement
• Digital marketing

Relevant skills

• Knowledge and understanding of innovative educational approaches
• Commercial and business skills
• Design and systems thinking
• Equitable and inclusive practices
• Marketing and communications

Entrepreneurs for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Experience setting up a social impact business
• Experience of participating/mentoring in accelerators
• Diversity and inclusion experience

Relevant skills

• Thinking through future funding models
• Social impact evaluation
• Regenerative business practices

Companies for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Global workforce challenges
• Business reporting frameworks
• Inclusive engagement

Relevant skills

• Workforce skills development
• Reporting framework development
• Commercial and business skills

Places for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Place-based working
• Local government or third sector leadership
• Participatory democracy

Relevant skills

• Participation in research and/or local decision-making
• Community stakeholder engagement
• Local skills development

Systems for change pathway

Subject matter expertise

• Social change methodologies
• Understanding systemic and complex challenges
• Knowledge of regenerative practice, place-based inequality and economic models, knowledge sharing and/or commons approaches

Relevant skills

• Research or evaluation expertise including outcome frameworks
• Social change methodologies and systems thinking
• Participatory practice including in research and policy

Why join the Fellowship Council?

• To put your skills and experience to use to make a lasting difference to an organisation you care about
• Help us realise our mission together of a more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative future
• Support other Fellows to make an impact through their projects, practices, skills and organisations
• Lead stimulating and rewarding events and activities locally/relating to a specific pathway
• Contribute to what’s happening in your geographic area or area of knowledge
• Learn more about the RSA and the work we do
• Be part of a core community of Fellows who influence RSA Fellowship activities and engagement
• Work and network with interesting people from diverse backgrounds

We are asking for a short statement explaining the experience you bring to the pathway you are applying for. A shortlist of applicants will proceed to interview, based on suitability for the role – these applicants will then have an interview with the Selection Panel.
Following this process, up to seven Pathway Fellowship Councillors will be appointed, with a maximum of one candidate per pathway. These appointments will be announced to the wider Fellowship in mid-October 2022.

Questions

If you have any questions about the role or the selection process, please contact Jamie Cooke, Head of Fellowship Engagement (Nations and Regions) via networks@rsa.org.uk