The RSA

Brief

Established in 1783, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA) is an independent think tank and Fellowship committed to practical social change. Its Market Towns Initiative was a Fellowship-led project asking where rural and market towns fit within the UK’s Northern regeneration agenda, using case study towns and stakeholder roundtables to develop practical recommendations for enhancing communities and regions. Separately, the RSA Heritage Index, developed with the Heritage Lottery Fund, maps heritage assets across the UK, helping local leaders understand and make the most of their heritage.

Activity

• Produced a series of short documentary films supporting the RSA’s Market Towns Initiative report and its recommendations for regional development
• These films were made with local students, including those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, with support from a Santander scheme.
• Filming took place across the Northwest at stakeholder roundtable meetings and with communities in Northumbria, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Manchester. Vox-pop contributions were collected from random community members, dedicated volunteers, business owners, and cultural leaders in the case study towns.
• The films featured local music, with the permission of the celebrated Northern band ‘The Fall’, to highlight the North’s world-famous cultural offering.
• MD Alastair Simmons served as an RSA Heritage Index ambassador, promoting the tool and its applications to local business and culture leaders

Outcomes

• Films supported the publication and dissemination of the Market Towns Initiative report, which set out practical directions for rural and peri-urban regeneration.
• Heritage Index ambassadorship helped raise awareness of the tool’s potential for local heritage strategy and planning. The Index has since been used successfully to target heritage investment, shape local strategies, and spark community action to reimagine underused and at-risk assets.