The RSA Blog

'Partnership? No thanks, I'll stick to my mates'

Blog

11 Sep 2012

Matthew Taylor

Perhaps no six words have done as much damage to sensible policy making as these: ‘beer and sandwiches at Number Ten’. Not only does the phrase encapsulate an idea of social partnership as a cosy labour movement cabal, but as it was coined in the seventies (ironically, as an attack by Labour’s Harold Wilson on Downing Street meetings hosted by Conservative PM Edward Heath) it is also linked to a time of trade unions overreaching their legitimacy and ultimately creating the context for Margaret Thatcher to hasten their long decline.

RSA Action and Research Centre is Launched

Blog

11 Sep 2012

It's a big day in a big week for the RSA. Today we launch the RSA's Action and Research Centre which, as its name suggests, will bring together the RSA's practical innovations with our research and analysis.

A short post from a distracted man

Blog

10 Sep 2012

Matthew Taylor

This is a very busy week for the RSA what with the President's lecture tonight by Richard Florida, the launch of our new Action and Research Centre, the launch of a pamphlet by my colleague Adam Lent on the millennials and their aspirations and my annual lecture. So the purpose of this tiny post is only to draw your attention to my piece in the Observer yesterday summarising part of the argument in my annual lecture which – were you so inclined you could watch live on Wednesday at 6.00.

The university of hard knocks?

Blog

06 Sep 2012

Matthew Taylor

Usefully, for me at least, two of my current interests have converged. On the one hand, there is my annual lecture with its thesis that the three major sources of social power - hierarchical authority, social solidarity and individual aspiration – have become unbalanced.  On the other hand, there is the case Patricia Kaszynska and I have been building for a much more critical look at the political consensus behind social mobility as the primary route to address injustice.

The Cabinet Reshuffle - Much Ado About Nothing

Blog

06 Sep 2012

The political equivalent of football’s transfer deadline day, David Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle at the start of the new season excited political anoraks everywhere, even those who admitted they should know better by now than to expect substantive political change arising from minor cast adjustments. The age of twitter has only served to enhance the inherent tacky glamour of the day, politicians followed in cars and hounded for information like third rate celebrities on a catwalk by a succession of scrap hungry journalists, determined to out scoop each other.

New paid intern opportunities at the RSA

Blog

04 Sep 2012

Benedict Dellot

Two new intern opportunities have arisen within the RSA Projects team. Each of these is paid at the London Living Wage and will last for 12 weeks:

The fortnight in Fellowship: impact, showcasing RSA, annual meeting marathon...

Blog

04 Sep 2012

Here at the RSA and across the 101 countries where we have Fellows there is always something interesting going on…

Values, attitudes and behaviours: Which box would you tick?

Blog

03 Sep 2012

Jonathan Rowson

Here is an important and rather difficult multiple choice question for people interested in behaviour change. Which of the following best represents your understanding of what makes people change how they think and act?

Out of Our Comfort Zones

Blog

03 Sep 2012

This Guest Blog is from Parveen Nawab, a Teach First participant who teaches in a secondary school in West London. Parveen is on a Summer placement with the RSA education team.