Mark awarded Honorary RSA Fellowship 13/12/2012
In August 2012, during the Central St Martins Service Design Summer School, Mark was part of a team that carried out a live project for the RSA. Following on from that work he and the other team members were recently invited to RSA House in London to discuss the implementation of their ideas.
The original brief from the RSA was to develop service solutions to increase the number of potential RSA fellows who are attracted to the scheme and retained as subscribing fellows. Mark’s team developed a range of interventions and initiatives to be offered during the first year of fellowship, with particular focus on raising loyalty ahead of end-of-year subscription renewal which is seen as a major ‘pain point’.
Two of the proposed interventions that were particularly well received were:
- ‘Local Social’ an initiative aimed at making the fellowship less ‘London-centric’, proposes social events and activities organised by fellows for fellows in their own regions. Fellows post an offer on the RSA exchange forum inviting other fellows to visit and attend local events or socials, spreading the mission of the RSA network both nationally and globally.
- ‘Speed Dating Mentor’ – new fellows are invited to meet a group of mentors (established fellows) to briefly discuss ideas and gain potential contacts. Rapid interaction on a one-to-one basis provides a dynamic alternative to virtual networking.
The RSA now intend to implement the majority of the ideas developed, and in recognition of their hard work, the four team members were each awarded an Honorary RSA Fellowship.
