Capabilities for Life
Change starts with supporting people to learn and lead. At the heart of Design for Life is the commitment to build the skills, connections and confidence people need to fulfil their potential.
Design for Life
Design for Life Our mission
Economic, social and environmental crises have placed our world in a fragile, unbalanced and degenerative state.
Our mission is to enable people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony.
Our vision is for a world where everyone can fulfil their potential and contribute to more resilient, rebalanced and regenerative futures.
How are we achieving this?
We believe everyone has the potential and creativity to effect change.
We work with people throughout their lives, and across society, to achieve regenerative impact; from children and young people to entrepreneurs, businesses and communities.
Our approach to change involves many different disciplines and perspectives.
Our work focuses on three areas. These are:
Prosperous Places
Every person deserves to live in a vibrant community, with opportunities to thrive in a flourishing natural environment.
Social Infrastructure
We are aiming for systemic, long-term change. Design for Life develops and influences the conditions needed to enable people, communities and organisations to regenerate our world.
Discover more about our Design for Life mission by reading this blog series
Why us?
We are unique. We don’t just generate ideas; we act on them. The RSA has been turning world-leading ideas into world-changing actions since 1754. Our research and innovation has changed the hearts and minds of generations of people. Central to all our work are our mission-aligned Fellows; a global network of innovators and changemakers.
Explore our Circle community to engage with our work.
Engage with our Design for Life mission
Are you a Fellow? Be part of our Circle community and help us shape a world where everyone can fulfil their potential and contribute to more resilient, rebalanced, and regenerative futures.
RSA Fellowship
The RSA Fellowship is a global network of changemakers enabling people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony. RSA Fellows have been at the forefront of significant social impact since 1754. We invite you to be part of this change.
Take a deeper dive into our Design for Life work
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RSA kickstarts Playful Green Planet: connecting children to nature and community
Press release
The RSA announced that it will kickstart a pilot of its radical Playful Green Planet intervention, supported by The National Lottery’s Community Fund.
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A century of innovation
Feature
Joanna Choukeir
From its ‘Industrial Designs’ competition in 1924 to the Student Design Awards of 2024, the RSA has long celebrated innovative solutions to social and environmental challenges. Now enter RSA Spark.
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The play’s the thing
Feature
Catherine Pineo Eirini Zormpa
Could the RSA’s Playful Green Planet intervention help create a world where every child has access to nature-based play spaces?