RSA Spark Idea Submission Form

RSA Spark

RSA Spark welcomes students and recent graduates aged 18+ from across the globe to grow and apply their agency, skills and creativity to real-world briefs that do more good for people, places and the planet. Working individually or in teams, students are invited to apply their creativity to shape and test the best possible idea in response to one of the live briefs.

About this Submission Form:

This submission form is for you to complete to officially enter RSA Spark. The deadline is 30 June 5pm UCT.

There are four sections:

Section 1 asks for basic information about you (and your team) and your studies.
Section 2 is about the idea you are submitting.
Section 3 asks for demographic information about you (and your team). This is to help us understand who is involved in RSA Spark and how we are doing against our inclusion commitments.
Section 4 asks for feedback on your experience of RSA Spark and the impact it has had. This helps us see what is working well and ways in which we could improve.

How to complete:

If you want to see all the questions asked in this form before beginning your submission, please download a read-only version here. You will be able to save your submission and come back to it later. If you would like to do this, click on ‘Save my progress and resume later’ at any time and enter an email address and password. To return to a previously started form, click on ‘Resume a previously saved form’ and enter the same email and password.

How to submit:

Once you are ready to submit, you will need to go through to page 5 (the final page) of this form and click on ‘Submit’. You will then be asked to review the information provided and select ‘Confirm’ if you are happy to proceed. Your submission will not be assessed unless you submit and confirm your entry. Once submitted, you won’t be able to make further edits unless you contact a member of the RSA Spark team for help.

If you need support with your application, or have questions or comments, please contact us at rsaspark@rsa.org.uk

The RSA promises to take great care with your personal data, in accordance with GDPR and our Ethical Research guidance. We commit to protecting any personal information we obtain about you. Our Privacy Policy sets out how and why we obtain, use and protect personal information. Privacy policy - The RSA

Section 1 – You and Your Team

About You

Given Name

Family Name

Email Address

We may email you outside of term time and/or after you have finished your university course. Please use an email address that we can contact you on in the long term, which may be different to your university email.

Best Contact Phone Number

Enter numbers only, e.g. instead of +44 as the area code, write 0044

Are you participating by yourself or in a team?

How many people are there in your team?

What are their names and email addresses?

Please ensure you have consent from your team members to share their contact information and please ask them to supply an email address that they can access after graduation. List each team member on a new line, e.g. Serena Shaw; serena.shaw@gmail.com

Entry Requirements

1. To be considered for the RSA Spark 2025 Showcase, the entrant(s) must upload their submission with any corresponding content (e.g. video, audio, image files) to the RSA Spark online submission link, which opens for submissions on 20 May 2025 and closes 5pm UTC on 30 June 2025.

2. The entrant(s) must be the original creator of the idea and must have obtained the necessary permissions for the inclusion of any copyrighted music, audio and/or images, as well as any content featuring third party participants (e.g. quotes from workshop participants). The submission must not infringe the rights of privacy and publicity, copyright, trademarks or intellectual property rights of any person or organisation.

3. By entering this programme, the entrant(s) agree that the RSA and our brief partners may: (i) showcase their idea (including any extract from the submitted materials) on their websites, as well as any other media in connection with RSA Spark; (ii) use their names, likenesses, photographs, voices, sounds and/or biographical information and films for advertising, publicity, and promotional purposes without additional compensation.

4. Intellectual property rights of all entries submitted to RSA Spark remain with the entrant.

5. The maximum file size for any optional video or audio file is 60MB.

6. The RSA reserves the right to refuse or disqualify at any time any submission in its sole discretion. No entry may contain unlawful or potentially libelous, defamatory, or disparaging material; it may not infringe third party’s copyright; it may not have failed to obtain the necessary consents as set out in these terms & conditions.

7. The decisions of the Review Panel and Brief Partners on the Showcase nominations are final, and no correspondence or discussion to reverse the decision shall be entered into. Feedback can be requested on any entry and will be provided.

8. This is an international programme, open to currently enrolled students and/or recent graduates over 18 years of age from any tertiary education institution. We welcome submissions from anywhere in the world, but all entries must be in English. A transcript is available, and we encourage entrants to use free translation software to assist with their interpretation.

9. The entrant agrees that the RSA shall not be liable for any claims, costs, liabilities, damages, expenses, and losses arising out of (i) the RSA’s use of submitted materials; (ii) the entrant’s participation in RSA Spark; (iii) technical failures of any kind including, but not limited to, problems or delays arising from software or equipment malfunctions or computer viruses; (iv) any events outside the RSA’s reasonable control

I wish to enter RSA Spark and agree to the Entry Requirements.

Yes

About Your Studies

What is your enrolment status?

Name of your College / University

Other - please specify

What country is your College / University in?

Course discipline

Title of your course

Year of Study

Are you doing this project as part of your course or independently?

Part of my courseIndependently

Contact of Course Tutor / Educator

Your eligibility for, and interest in, further RSA Spark opportunities

To be considered for the Anjool Malde Young Innovator Prize, you must be under 30 years of age and EITHER a UK national or studying at a UK university. Do you meet these criteria and want to be considered for the prize?

Would you like to be considered for The RSA Spark Entrepreneurs Award?

The RSA Spark Entrepreneur Awards will be given to 8 of the most promising ideas (2 per brief). This Award is designed to help you explore your idea further and potentially launch it as a business or charity. Those offered this Award will receive £1,000 in grant funding and a place on the 4-month peer-led online learning journey from September 2026 to January 2027. The time commitment would be around 2 days a week for 14 weeks.

Would you like to join the RSA Spark mailing list to receive updates about the RSA Spark programme including invites to future workshops, invites to the showcase event and information on new briefs launching in September 2025?

Section 2 – The Idea

1. Which RSA Spark Brief is your submission for?

2. Hero image: Please include 1 ‘hero image’ – a single ‘poster image’ that conveys your idea.

(JPEG or PDF, sized: 1280 x 720 pixels)

3. Idea Title:

max 5 words

4. Idea description: Please give a short description of your idea that pitches its potential as clearly as possible.

max 100 words

5. About you: Tell us a bit about yourself (and your team) in terms of what has inspired you to take positive action on this Brief.

max 100 words

6. The question you are addressing: What is the 'point of possibility' you have explored / what question have you been answering?

max 20 words

7. Rigour: What research did you undertake to define your audience and understand their goals and needs?

max 100 words

8. Impact: How will your idea have positive economic, social and environmental impact?

max 100 words

9. Desirability: How have you tested your idea and what feedback has it received?

max 100 words

10. Feasibility: How could your idea be practically delivered in the real-world?

max 100 words

11. Viability: How could your idea be financially viable and sustainable long-term?

max 100 words

12. Learning: What has been your learning from participating in RSA Spark? You might like to think about the skills and capabilities you’ve developed during the process.

max 100 words

13. Next steps: How likely are you to continue with this idea beyond your participation in RSA Spark?

13 A. What support would help you continue your idea?

max 100 words

14. Who have you made new connections with because of participating in RSA Spark?

Other new connection:

14 A. Can you please give an estimate of how many new connections you have formed as a result of RSA Spark?

Please enter a numer.

Optional Attachments

[Optional] Upload up to 3 additional images that bring your process and/or idea to life.

(JPEG or PDF, sized: 1280 x 720 pixels each)

[Optional] Upload a 1-minute video/audio summary of your creative process and/or idea

Section 3 – Demographic Data

The following questions are optional. To monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, and that RSA Spark is reaching, as intended, a diverse range of people through open and accessible opportunities, we would like to know more about our participants. We consider this to be particularly important owing to the low level of representation of certain groups in the creative and innovation sectors, including those from the global ethnic majority, disabled people, and those facing social and economic barriers.

The data gathered will be anonymised and used for the purposes of improving inclusiveness and diversity through informed programme planning. Please note the information you supply in this section may be used to inform a decision regarding your application.

Please read our privacy policy for more detail on how we use your data and personal information: Privacy policy - The RSA

Questions about you

What is your sex?

Sex:

Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?

Gender Identity:

Disability – Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?

YesNoPrefer not to say

Do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out activities related to RSA Spark?

Did you ask for any adjustments or support for participating in your University course / RSA Spark?

How would you describe your ethnicity? (Please note these categories have been based on the UK Office for National Statistics categories)

How would you describe your ethnicity?

(Please note these categories have been based on the UK Office for National Statistics categories.)

Other Ethnicity:

Ethnic Group

What country do you consider your home country?

Financial situation – Have you received and/or are you continuing to receive financial assistance for your education? This can be in the form of entitlement to free school meals, other government benefits, loans, bursaries or scholarships.

Familial Education – Are you the first generation in your family to go to university?

Questions about your team

At RSA Spark, we are committed to supporting students from all backgrounds and especially those from the global majority, those who have needed financial assistance for education, those with disabilities, and first-generation university students to take part. Is there any additional information about the backgrounds and experiences of your team members that you would like to add here?

Section 4 - Feedback to help us improve RSA Spark

The following questions are optional. We would value any feedback you share so we can improve how RSA Spark supports you and other students. The data gathered will be anonymised and used for the purposes of improving the RSA Spark programme, as well as helping us track the impact of our work. Please note the information you supply in this section will NOT be used to inform any decisions regarding your application.

How useful did you find the RSA Spark briefs?

Is there anything more we could have done to help you feel confident about responding to the Brief(s)?

Max 100 words

Did you attend or play back any of the workshops? Select all that apply

	Attended	Played Back	Neither
Workshop 1 - Discover Your Purpose
Workshop 2 - Explore Diverse Perspectives
Workshop 3 - Envision Futures
Workshop 4 - Test Your Impact
Workshop 5 - Explore Entrepreneurship

How useful did you find the workshops you attended or played back?

Is there anything we should do in future to make the workshops better?

Max 100 words

Why did you not attend the workshops?

Other - please say more

Where did you hear about RSA Spark?

Hold SHIFT to select all that apply

Other - please specify

What benefits of RSA Spark encouraged you to apply?

Hold SHIFT to select all that apply

Other - please specify

Has participating in RSA Spark made you think differently about your purpose and/or future career?

Can you please share more about how this has changed your perspective and/or how else we can help you explore careers?

Max 100 words

How easy was it to complete this RSA Spark submission form?

Are there any other comments or ideas for improvement that you would like to share about the RSA Spark process? This could be about the workshops, briefs, or your overall experience. Let us know here.

Max 100 words