SIT STOP – small, but perfectly formed
As you may be aware from previous blogs, we have been having a lot of discussion of late – with staff, with Fellows, and externally – about what constitutes a Fellows’ project. Well, here is a small but perfectly formed example sent to me by one of our Fellows, Wendy Tansey.
SIT STOP grew out of the RSA Coffeehouse Challenge and was a double Challenge award winner. Three local Fellows got together in Richmond and organised a public meeting, to which 30 people came along. They chose a theme for their challenge of ‘accessibility of the borough’ and had a very simple core concept, championed by a small group of voluntary indivuals: providing more seats for people in public places. SIT STOP is solely about getting shops and businesses to make a seat available to anyone who needs it and to display the SIT STOP logo to make the public aware of this resource.
The underlying intent is to make Richmond Borough accessible to as many people as possible. So people who are elderly, pregnant, disabled or just not feeling very good that day can find a seat to rest whilst out and about… without feeling any pressure to purchase or consume. This small but practical and excellent idea has now:
• Been positively supported by Richmond Borough Council which has provided funding to match the RSA’s two awards and also given other support by providing training from their Community Toilets Scheme.
• Been adopted by Starbucks (original sponsors of the Coffeehouse Challenge) who operate the scheme in the all their coffee shops in the Borough.
• Received supported from 34 local businesses, which have been enthusiastic about the scheme, with no significant problems being reported.
• Been taken up beyond the Borough.
• Been endorsed by Boris Johnson, who thinks the scheme should be adopted across London in parallel with the Community Toilets Scheme.
So, what a great result – and what a perfect example of an RSA Fellows’ project: starting small, but coming up with practical solutions to a problem that can be replicated elsewhere. If you want to find out more, and have a go at getting the scheme going in your area, SIT STOP can be contacted via their website.
And, as some of you may have heard at our recent AGM, from the spring we will be setting up a ‘venture fund’ to provide seed funding to Fellows’ projects like this – so do watch out for further announcements.
Finally, thanks again Wendy, for letting us know about this.
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Comments
3 Comments on SIT STOP – small, but perfectly formed
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Caitriona on
Thu, 19th Nov 2009 11:16 pm
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Louis Coiffait on
Sat, 21st Nov 2009 11:26 am
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matthewtaylor on
Wed, 25th Nov 2009 5:02 pm
What a great idea! it’s such a simple thing, but any area that adopts it is making a powerful statement about the kind of place they want to be – welcoming and generous.
Do you have any other examples of Fellows projects like that? I agree with what you describe the RSA’s mission to be – but to have practical examples like this really helps show how an inspiring vision can be brought to life. The fact it’s something within the capability of most of us – however busy with work, etc we might be – makes it all the more encouraging and therefore potentially transformative. I love every-day innovation like this!
I agree this is a simple but powerful idea. When my Aged P’s visited me down in London I took it completely for granted that we could use the tube and wander around town. In fact they needed a sit down, a toilet break or a cup of tea every ten minutes.
As Caitriona says, these practical examples with a simple compelling narrative are great for inspiring others. All the research that I’ve delivered around entrepreneurship in recent years has found that ‘fear of having a go’ is one of the main barriers. Has the RSA connected with Global Entrepreneurship Week at all?
Thanks Louis. No we aren’t connected but maybe it;s something we should look into.
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