How can creativity, technology and teamwork fix a city? At the RSA Brighton Fellows Festival, changemakers tackled tough local challenges with bold, mission-led ideas. Fellowship Councillor Ann Longley reports.
For most of us, achieving global impact is difficult. Local impact feels more ‘doable’. On 16 May, leaders in placemaking gathered as part of the RSA’s Brighton Fellows Festival to tackle local challenges for regional prosperity.
Our aim was to unite leaders across sectors with a mission-based approach, collaborating and cross-pollinating ideas for ventures that will help everyone thrive. This article summarises the key discussion points, event activities and outputs, and recommendations for next steps.
We designed our event around the RSA’s Prosperous Places initiative, which calls for a systemic approach to economic growth that it is good for all people and the planet. And throughout we related our ideas to the festival’s overall theme: the power of connection.
RSA Chief of Staff Tom Stratton explained how the RSA catalysed ‘One Creative North’, a coalition of the combined authority mayors and other partners working together to create an innovation corridor for the creative industries in the North of England.
Such joined up approaches, herald a way forward for us in the South.
The diagram below shows the RSA’s Prosperous Placemaking applied to Brighton & Hove’s unique context drawing from the city’s economic plan.
Figure 1 shows how prosperous placemaking might be delivered in the South East by coordinating activities across nested systems (designed by Ann Longley)
By convening RSA Fellows, business leaders, technologists, environmentalists and culture-shapers, we hoped to yield net-positive results that ensure the overlapping areas of each system are addressed and everyone benefits.
Participating organisations included: Class Divide, Future Creators, Culture Alliance, Sussex Bay, Transition Town Hastings, Hastings Commons, Sussex Dolphin Project, Brighton AI, Silicon Brighton and the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership. Fellows and other guests in attendance represented many more.
Richard Freeman, FRSA, CEO of Always Possible and Brighton Paradox Podcaster, set the scene for the day. He highlighted what we have in Sussex ‘right here, right now’ that is unique:
And yet against this backdrop, significant deprivation and restricted social mobility exists. According to the Sutton Trust, the national average of children from low socio-economic backgrounds (indicated by receiving free school meals) completing a degree by age 22 is just over 13%. In the Hove & Portslade constituency, the figure is 15%. However, in Brighton Pavillion it is just under 7%. In Kemptown and Peacehaven it is 4%, lower than anywhere else in the country.
Jacob Taylor, Deputy Brighton and Hove Council Leader, expressed his concern over the situation and highlighted the area’s affordability challenge and lack of adequate social housing: “The city is looking shabby, families can’t afford to stay, and signs of homelessness are evident. We’ve got some of the worst social mobility outcomes in the country that we need to improve,” he said.
We are a popular tourist destination, and our digital creative sector is ambitious and growing. Taylor highlighted how tech could be a leading growth engine for the city, attracting talent and powering how people discover and experience what the city has to offer.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Economic Plan sets some bold ambitions, but is unclear in practice how we encourage job creation and reduce inequality? Taylor highlighted the need to create a coalition of leading forces to solve these challenges.
This requirement is underscored by campaign group Class Divide’s recent call for Brighton & Hove Council to commission an independent public review of the systemic causes of inequality highlighted in the Sutton Trust report.
The city is looking shabby, families can’t afford to stay, and signs of homelessness are evident. We’ve got some of the worst social mobility outcomes in the country that we need to improve.
Dr Cara Courage, FRSA, a culture, community and place consultant, told attendees “we need resilience, not just reputation”. She raised several pertinent and important questions:
These are critical queries we will return to at the end of this article.
Lloyd Gofton, Sussex Dolphin Project Director, treated us to videos of dolphin and whale sightings just off our coast, raising the concern that “many young people never make it to the beach”. The project’s aim is to engage the public in marine conservation through research and education.
Guest speakers from the Coastal Catalyst programme, including Maddie Lock, Zac Thorlby and Emma Staples, demonstrated the value of involving young people from marginalised backgrounds in the creative industries. Their fresh insights and energy are inspiring.
We will see great returns by supporting them to get involved in civic life to become future leadersincultural placemaking. With that aim in mind, we then set out to explore three key local challenges.
Building on economist Mariana Mazzucato’s Mission Economy (inspired by the 1960s space race) and design sprints (commonly used in the tech world that can be applied to any scenario), we undertook time-bound, problem-solving activities to accelerate innovation.
Participants were asked to work in groups based on their interests to answer these challenges:
In just over an hour, the six teams came up with six transformative urban solutions comprising: an AI-powered career transition platform; a city intelligence system; a ‘human library’ mobile mentoring scheme; a learning programme to break down opportunity barriers; a city discovery app; and an experiential platform that gamifies environmental engagement.
These six initiatives when combined and streamlined may create powerful synergies that include: data integration; enhanced career pathways; cultural bridges; and economic development. Read the key takeaways across all workshops here.
Based on the feedback we received, we know people felt energised to be involved in designing solutions and we know the city needs joined-up solutions.
We are committed to building momentum around these missions through strategic action, but we need to do more.
Cara Courage challenged us to make space for those not yet at the table in Brighton’s creative future and to demonstrate how we truly value creativity, “ensuring culture and technology regenerate our places – not just develop or brand them”.
Moving forward, we will aim to ensure a wider range of stakeholders are involved in future problem-solving activities.
The missions have demonstrated what can be achieved quickly with the right methods, and the urgency is clear: the council faces immediate pressure to reduce deprivation, improve social mobility, provide social housing, grow the economy and regenerate the environment.
Our next steps involve further developing and blending the mission ideas into actionable strategies. We invite you to signal your interest in joining us as we work to make this region a prosperous place for everyone.
Ann Longley is a digital transformation specialist and is the RSA Fellowship Councillor for the South East.
