RSA survey finds 3/4 UK citizens 'not meeting creative potential'
Around three quarters of UK citizens and other advanced economies feel they are not meeting their creative potential and are unable to generate change or turn their ideas into reality, according to a new survey by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
The Power to Create poll of 2000 adults found that the vast majority of people (96 per cent) do not think the economy, society and politics is changing in a way that will allow them to make a difference for themselves and others.
It also identified five groups of people that have different attitudes towards their own ability to turn their ideas into reality. The groups comprise:
- The Coasters - 30 per cent of people who don’t see creativity as central to their lives but could be encouraged.
- The Held Back - 20 per cent who see creativity as central to their lives but feel unable to turn their ideas into reality.
- The Confident - 11 per cent who see creativity as central to their lives and are turning their ideas into reality.
- The Relaxed - 22 per cent who enjoy a relaxed retirement and perfectly happy with that.
- The Curious - 17 per cent who are using their retirement to turn their ideas into reality.
Published concurrently with the poll today is the Design for Good: Ninety Years of the RSA Student Design Awards to celebrate 90 years of the RSA’s Student Design Awards (SDAs).
In the report, the RSA argues that equipping people with design skills and the confidence to impact change via creativity is imperative to solving the 21st century’s most intractable problems.
Commenting on the report, design fellow Mark Bailey of Northumbria University, said: “The RSA Student Design Awards are always operating at the front edges of the profession - exploring a huge breadth of issues and where design may have influence, and this is really valuable for the next generation.
"For educational institutions the programme is a benchmark and the briefs are always so well-resourced that they provide really rich contextual content for students.”
This year’s competition includes eight design briefs, with each brief focused around a different social or environmental issue.