And so it begins...

Good brisk start to proceedings at the RSA. The day here is to be run mostly along Open Space technology lines which is deliberately designed to allow the Fellows here to follow through the questions that are uppermost in their minds.

Matthew gave an interesting response to a question about the purpose of the day when he note that if this shift in the nature of the relationship between RSA Fellows and Staff will require change that is both bottom up and top down. Today is partly about finding out what fellows might want to do with a new networked approach, but also trying to understand what is required at the centre to facilitate that change.

I'll be posting lightly during the day, but the real meat should begin to become available tomorrow.

Comments

[Mick]

Indeed. And I think the RSA has done its home work on that. There will be a team of social networking experts who will follow this day of discussions up directly with all the fellows who have attended so that it will certainly not all be down as some kind of automated process.

Identifying blocks and, perhaps, identifying some of the ways around them is, I hope, going to be an important part of the day.

I sat with Matthew in one of the tech sessions and he was saying that he thinks all of this is bound to feel strange for all concerned, and even a little unnerving since it is the firs time the RSA has embarked on this kind of adventure.

But, he argues, the key is committment. This is only the first step on a process. Perhaps in five years time we'll look back on this as a 'first foot' into a strange new territory that has somehow become familiar and everyday.

[Matthew]

Thanks Mick. I'm watching closely with interest.

Isn't networking a natural default position for most people (particularly with a record of success like Fellows) and so aren't the barriers to networking as significant as the tools to enable it?