Every person deserves to live in a vibrant community, with opportunities to thrive in a flourishing natural environment. These are Prosperous Places.

Too often, however, where you were born determines where you end up, the trust you have that things can improve, and your ability to make changes.

Prosperous Places is a practical suite of programmes to respond to the unique ambitions and challenges of places.

Our programmes are not intended to provide solutions to every local problem. Rather, they are a set of innovative, targeted approaches designed to achieve three specific aims:

1. Formulating local strategies and plans
2. Nurturing local learning and skills
3. Improving local social cohesion and connectivity

Each of these programmes is unique to the RSA, distinctive to place and designed in partnership with local leaders and residents.

We do this through our multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers and delivery specialists and by drawing on our network of over 31,000 global Fellows.

Our distinctive ‘nested systems’ philosophy means the approach is comprehensive, incorporating a combination of economic, social and natural perspectives.

Get in touch at partnerships@rsa.org.uk to explore how to unlock the potential in your community.

Our Prosperous Places interventions cover three areas.

Local strategies and plans

The new UK government has asked all local places to draw up Local Growth Plans. The RSA has a framework for doing so that is at the frontier of best practice.

Local Prosperity Plans

Local Prosperity Plans are single, long-term, integrated strategic plans which, uniquely, deliver economic, social and environmental prosperity in a single package.

They use a blend of quantitative, qualitative and participatory research, subject matter expertise and community involvement, all while bringing investors to the table to provide funding.

Innovation Corridors

Local plans can be super-charged if pursued pan-regionally through ‘Innovation Corridors’ – the connection of places through shared strategies, institutions and initiatives.

An example is One Creative North – an RSA-initiated partnership to super-charge the creative industries across the North of England.

As a neutral partner with centuries of history in bringing together government, business and civil society, the RSA is uniquely positioned to identify and nurture the Innovation Corridors of the future.

Education and skills

Our education and learning systems are failing. Their approach to learning is not fit for the 21st century, leaving many millions of young people and adults excluded.

We have developed a new system of learning pathways, from early years to entrepreneurs, which offer a new approach to learning – practical, experiential, creative – to nurture 21st century skills and re-engage those furthest from learning on a lifelong basis.

Playful Green Planet

Playful Green Planet seeks to transform how children foster a connection to their community and surroundings through outdoor creative play.

Enabled and co-created by a movement of local citizens and coalitions, Playful Green Planet transforms unused green spaces into ecologically thriving outdoor playrooms and classrooms that grow children’s capabilities for climate action and social engagement.

RSA Spark

RSA Spark is a social entrepreneurship learning programme for pupils, students and early-stage entrepreneurs, developed in partnership with the Duke and Edinburgh Awards scheme. It builds on a century of experience at the RSA.

It welcomes pupils from across the globe aged 11–18, students 18+ and entrepreneurs of all ages – the only requirement is being passionate about enabling people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony.

Through real-world missions set by businesses, public institutions and civil society, participants grow transferable life skills through practical, team-based experiential learning.

Participating organisations, meanwhile, can source bold new ideas to address pressing challenges, working alongside some of the brightest undiscovered talent in the world.

Regions of Learning

For post-16 learners who have not thrived in traditional settings, our Regions of Learning programme tackles head-on the challenges of economic inactivity, unemployment and skills shortages.

We work with local authorities and regions to accredit hidden capabilities and develop new skills tailored to the needs of local labour markets. Regions of Learning has already been successfully trialled in seven places.

The approach achieves results by connecting fragmented local learning strategies, a modular approach to learning with national partnerships, and awarding digital badges in recognition for skills development.

Social cohesion and connectivity

Many places suffer problems of lack of social cohesion and connectivity, hindering the life chances of citizens and eroding trust in the community.

Connected Places

Connected Places is a practical approach to understanding and rebuilding social cohesion and connection in places.

It does so by using a unique, data-led approach to mapping an area’s social capital. Then, alongside residents, designing new social infrastructures to build greater cohesion and connectivity – repairing a frayed social fabric and improving life chances.

More information about this evolved intervention will be shared shortly. In the meantime, visit our Social Connections work for background behind this new intervention.