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.

[5][6][7][1] 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".

[8] 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.

[14] 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".

[26] 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,[further explanation needed] 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.

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

The Faculty consists of practitioners from fields as disparate as engineering, graphics, interaction, product, furniture, fashion, interiors, landscape, and urban design.

[34] The RSA's public events programme is a key part of its charitable mission to make world-changing ideas and debate freely available to all.

[36] Events are free and open to the public, and mp3 audio files[37] and videos[38] are made available on the RSA's website and YouTube page.

[39] Speakers on the RSA's stage have included Ken Robinson, Al Gore, Sir David Attenborough, Alain de Botton, Michael Sandel, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Martha Nussbaum, Desmond Tutu, Steven Pinker, Susan Cain, Dan Pink, Dan Ariely, Brene Brown, Slavoj Zizek, David Cameron, Yuval Noah Harari[40] and Dambisa Moyo.

[42] Danish professor Björn Lomborg, was chosen; his latest book, Cool It, suggests that the imminent demise of polar bears is a myth.

As president of the RSA, Prince Philip's first choice of speaker was Ian Plimer, professor of mineral geology at Adelaide University, but this was rejected[by whom?]

[citation needed] Excerpts from the events programme form the basis for the 10-minute whiteboard animations as shown on the theRSAorg YouTube channel.

Projects include Arts and Ecology, Citizen Power, Connected Communities, Design and Society, Education, Public Services, Social Brain, and Technology in a Cold Climate.

[55] Past projects include delivering fresh drinking water to the developing world, rethinking intellectual property from first principles to produce a Charter (published as the Adelphi Charter), investigating schemes to manage international migration and exploring the feasibility of a UK-wide personal carbon trading system.