Latest thinking

A dangerous mindset: 'One strike and you're out'

Blog

30 Sep 2013

Louise Bamfield

Is there anything wrong with entering ‘bright’ pupils to take certain GCSEs a year early, so that they can concentrate on other, possibly weaker, subjects the following year? Are schools ‘gaming the system’ by entering all pupils in a year group – knowing that they can take the same exam again six months later if they don’t perform well enough (and again after that, if they still haven’t made the grade)?

Micro-business in the UK is now big: it’s time we understood it better

Blog

30 Sep 2013

By Adam Lent, Director of the Action and Research Centre, RSA

Should a social enterprise crowdfund?

Blog

30 Sep 2013

What makes a successful crowdfunding campaign?

How small and micro businesses could reduce inequality

Blog

29 Sep 2013

We seem to be entering the era of clunky.

A revolutionary day for the RSA

Blog

29 Sep 2013

Matthew Taylor

Six years ago, RSA chief executive for only a few months, I was invited to speak to the annual dinner of the Yorkshire region RSA. The event was held in a hotel in Skipton. While it was perfectly enjoyable and people were generally friendly to me, the image projected of the RSA was an establishment organisation of people who primarily enjoyed socialising together. I'm all in favour of Fellows networking and I have no problem with the idea that many Fellows are part of the 'great and good' but I came to the evening with a new message.

"What About Tomorrow?" Launching the RSA Academies student podcasts

Blog

27 Sep 2013

Joe Hallgarten

This is a Guest blog from Fran Plowright FRSA, media and youth engagement producer, who has worked with students from RSA Academies to create a series of podcasts.

Start-up rates among young people double since recession – and they’re here to stay

Blog

27 Sep 2013

Benedict Dellot

By most accounts, life is pretty tough for young people growing up in the UK. Just over 1 million are classed as ‘NEETs’ – not in education, employment or training – and this is having predictable consequences for their health and wellbeing. Research by The Prince’s Trust indicates that 37 per cent of NEET young people are often or nearly always depressed. And even for those who do find work, there is a good chance their jobs will be characterised by zero hour contracts and part-time work.

Smartphones make us dumb

Blog

26 Sep 2013

Jonathan Schifferes

Did you see the one about Apple Maps mistakenly directing people to drive across the runway at an Alaskan Airport? The coverage provides an indication of how much we’ve outsourced our intelligence to our smartphones, and how we are likely to erode our own intelligence as a result.

Delayed reaction

Blog

25 Sep 2013

Matthew Taylor

In a mixed LRB review of Christian Caryl's book 'Strange Rebels: 1979 and the birth of the 21st century', David Runciman makes a point about the circuitous route of change: