The RSA

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, social progress, and sustainable development. Through its extensive network of changemakers, thought leadership, and projects, the RSA seeks to drive transformative change, enabling “people, places, and the planet to thrive in harmony.” Committed to social change and creating progress, the RSA embodies a philosophy that values the intersection of arts, industry, and societal well-being to address contemporary challenges and enrich communities worldwide.

From its "beginnings in a coffee house in the mid-eighteenth century", the RSA, which began as a UK institution, is now an international society for the improvement of "everything and anything". An "ambitious" organisation, the RSA has "evolved and adapted, constantly reinventing itself to keep in step with changing times". This journey reflects its commitment to "social reform and competing visions of a better world".

Notable Fellows (before 1914, Members) include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela, David Attenborough, Judi Dench, William Hogarth, John Diefenbaker, and Tim Berners-Lee. Today, the RSA has fellows elected from 80 countries worldwide.

History

Founded in 1754 by William Shipley as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1847, and the right to use the term "Royal" in its name by King Edward VII in 1908. Members of the society became known as 'Fellows' from 1914.

In the nineteenth century, The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was organised by Prince Albert, Henry Cole, Francis Henry, George Wallis, Charles Dilke and other members of the society as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design.

In September 2023, RSA workers voted to strike for the first time in the organisation's 270 year history, saying management had entered into pay negotiations in "bad faith".

Leadership

The RSA's patron is Anne, Princess Royal (who had replaced her father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as President in 2011), its chairman is Tim Eyles, and its chief executive since September 2021 is former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane.

Presidents

Fellowship

Fellowship is granted to applicants "who are aligned with the RSA's vision and share in our values." Some prospective fellows are approached by the RSA and invited to join in recognition of their work; some are nominated or "fast-tracked" by existing fellows and RSA staff, or by partner organisations such as the Churchill Fellowship; others make their own applications with accompanied references, which are reviewed by a formal admissions panel consisting of RSA trustees and fellowship councillors.

Fellows of the RSA are entitled to use the post-nominal letters FRSA. They also gain access to the RSA Library and to other premises in central London. Fellows pay an annual charitable subscription to the RSA. Alongside this, all new Fellows pay a one-off registration fee.

Prizes

Originally modelled on the Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufacturers and other Useful Arts, the RSA, from its foundation, offered ''prizes'' through a Premium Award Scheme that continued for 100 years. Medals and, in some cases, money were awarded to individuals who achieved success in published challenges within the categories of Agriculture, Polite Arts, Manufacture, Colonies and Trade, Chemistry and Mechanics. Successful submission included agricultural improvements in the cultivation of crops and reforestation, devising new forms of machinery, including an extendable ladder to aid firefighting that has remained in use relatively unchanged, and artistic skill, through submissions by young students, many of whom developed into famous artists such as Edwin Landseer who at the age of 10 was awarded a silver medal for his drawing of a dog.

The RSA originally specifically precluded premiums for patented solutions. Today the RSA continues to offer premiums.

In 1823, Augustus Siebe won the Vulcan medal from the Royal Society of Arts for an improved screw threading tool.

The RSA awards three medals – the Albert Medal, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, and the Bicentenary Medal. Medal winners have included Nelson Mandela, Sir Frank Whittle, and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Royal Designers for Industry

In 1936, the RSA awarded the first distinctions of Royal Designers for Industry (RDI or HonRDI), reserved for "those very few who in the judgment of their peers have achieved 'sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry.

In 1937, "The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry" was established as an association with the object of "furthering excellence in design and its application to industrial purposes": membership of the Faculty is automatic for (and exclusive to) all RDIs and HonRDIs. The Faculty currently has 120 Royal Designers (RDI) and 45 Honorary Royal Designers (non-British citizens who are awarded the accolade of HonRDI): the number of designers who may hold the distinction of RDI at any one time is strictly limited.

The Faculty consists of practitioners from fields as disparate as engineering, graphics, interaction, product, furniture, fashion, interiors, landscape, and urban design. Past and present members include Eric Gill, Enid Marx, Sir Frank Whittle, Sir Jonathan Ive, Dame Vivienne Westwood, Sir James Dyson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Manolo Blahnik, Naoto Fukasawa, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Dieter Rams, Sergio Pininfarina