Annual Review 2022

Foreword from the President

Nigel Clifford

It’s my pleasure to introduce the Annual Report for the busy year of progress experienced in 2022.

It’s clear that the appreciation of the value of geography continues to grow, and the ability of location to shine a light on trends, decisions and policies has never been greater. Meeting this demand for geography requires geographical skills to be widely accessible, so it was pleasing to see the continued increase in students taking GCSE and A Level exams in 2022 alongside the growing recognition of the broad range of careers open to geographers. However, we cannot be complacent and, in partnership with others, the Society is encouraging and facilitating diversity within the discipline through the Geography for all programme of activities.

As I indicated in the Annual Report last year, your Trustees have continued to consider the best governance arrangements for a contemporary charity. We are grateful that in October our Fellowship supported changes which include a reduction in the number of Trustees over time to 12, an extension of tenure to four years, and the introduction of places on Council representing our membership and professional users of geography. These changes are starting to take effect in 2023 and build on the changes voted for in 2021.

We were honoured to receive a substantial bequest from the estate of Esmond Bradley Martin in 2019. Esmond was a true pioneer in the field of pachyderm conservation and it is our privilege to act on his behalf to recognise excellence with Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize which will make its first award in 2023.

As you will read in the accounts towards the back of this report, Council and the Finance Committee are taking a medium-term view of our finances.

This means maintaining a tight grip on costs while not ignoring the need for ongoing investment to fulfil our charitable objectives, including supporting our dedicated staff through the current period of economic uncertainty. However, it, rightly, remains our aim to return to being able to cover the costs of running the charity from the income we earn from our membership, RGS Enterprises and other charitable activities. Depending on external factors this will likely take two to three years.

In September, along with the rest of the nation, the Society observed the period of national mourning to mark the death of our former Patron, Queen Elizabeth II. To celebrate the Queen’s long and committed relationship with the Society, we published an online exhibition of materials related to Her Majesty held in the Society’s Collections.

I would like to end with some thanks. Firstly, to our Trustees and committee members - willing volunteers who provide the vital guidance and governance for our Society. Secondly, to those leading and working in the Society who ensure we keep delivering our mission to advance geography. Finally, to you, our Fellows and Members who provide the heartbeat of our Society, thank you for your continuing support.

Image credit: Nigel Clifford © J Tye

Report of Trustees

The Trustees of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) present their annual report for the year ended 31 December 2022. The report presents the Society’s activities, significant achievements and successes in 2022 against plans derived from the current strategy and is set out under the four key strategic aims:

1. Empowering and supporting geographers in the development and sharing of geographical knowledge.
2. Amplifying the contribution that geography makes to understanding the world and how it makes a difference to everyone’s lives.
3. Engaging, serving and developing the Society’s membership.
4. Sustaining the reputational, financial and institutional future of the Society.

Working for the public benefit

We deliver public benefit through a wide range of activities that support the professional development of geographers and those using geographical skills, knowledge and understanding in their work, the production and dissemination of geographical knowledge, and the demonstration of the relevance and value of geography to society. The Trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit, and further confirm that the activities of the Society are carried out for public benefit.

Our activities reinforce our strategic aims and demonstrate our commitment to our charitable objective, as set out in our Royal Charter, to advance geographical science. Membership is open to everyone with an interest in geography. The Society actively pursues the involvement of the public in debates and discussions – through events, publications and resources – on geographical issues that help us understand the world’s people, places and environments and the connections between them. Members of the public can also access our historic geographical Collections, which contain over two million items covering 500 years of geographical discovery and research.

Supporting geography in schools

Both GCSE and A Level entries for geography increased again in 2022. The number of students taking GCSE geography exams hit a 20 year high (up by 2.7% on 2021 to 289,000 entries), and the number sitting A Level was up by 6.2% to 37,443. While the numbers studying geography have increased, two reports published by the Society in 2022 show that many young people don’t recognise the full value of studying geography and don’t have a clear understanding of how geography can meet their aspirations for a well-paid and rewarding career.

Young people’s views on subject choices, further study and careers was published in March 2022 and showed that many young people hold a relatively narrow view of what career options are open to geographers and have little awareness that geographers experience above average graduate salaries and employment rates. What do young people think about geography? was published in May 2022 and revealed a mixed picture, with many positive responses alongside a perception of geography as a subject that appeals to children of ‘higher-class parents’ or ‘white’ students – reflecting the relative lack of diversity in post-16 education.

Against this background, our work to support geography teachers to improve their subject knowledge through targeted continuing professional development (CPD) sessions and high-quality teaching resources continued. We also initiated the Geography for all project with the objective of increasing the diversity of students studying geography at A Level and beyond.

During 2022, some of the new resources created included a series exploring the complex geographies of the Weddell Sea as part of the Society’s partnership with the Endurance22 expedition that found Shackleton’s Endurance in March 2022. Other new resources included an exploration of geography and farming developed in partnership with the National Farmers Union, a topical review of the geography of the devasting floods in Pakistan, and a series of podcasts discussing the geography of the World Cup in Qatar. We also sustained strong collaborations with the research community, generating school learning resources linked directly to research findings.

Over 2,000 teachers took part in 50 CPD sessions during the year, including a series of sessions supporting the teaching of maths in the geography curriculum, developing skills and expertise in using GIS software in the classroom, and encouraging fieldwork in primary schools. In parallel, we restarted our programme of in-person student events, with over 500 pupils attending the autumn’s School Member lecture and A Level study day.

We also engaged with geography students directly through our competitions. The 2022 Young Geographer of the Year competition attracted 865 entries on the theme of ‘Where, why and how?’. Participants produced posters and StoryMaps to illustrate the geography of where they would like to travel, why, and how they would get there. The 2022 School Essay competition, run in conjunction with the Financial Times, invited contributions from 16- 18 year olds that explored and explained the environmental costs of current consumer trends, behaviours and purchasing decisions.

As schools returned to more normal operations, the Geography Ambassadors programme had a post- COVID emphasis on getting Ambassadors back into schools. By the end of the year, there had been 95 visit requests, and around 200 new Ambassadors had been trained.

The Society continues to collaborate with other geography subject bodies to amplify our aims for improving geography provision in schools. Our focus in 2022 was on demonstrating the value of young people engaging in fieldwork and, in November, we published a joint statement on geographical fieldwork requirements at GCSE and A Level in conjunction with the Geographical Association (GA), the Field Studies Council and Discover the World Education.

In addition, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Africa inquiry about Africa in the curriculum included coverage of the Society’s educational work as an exemplar of good practice. The report’s Chair, Lord Boateng, also wrote a statement for the Society to encourage geography teachers to implement the report’s recommendations.

Image credit: Young Geographer of the Year winners © J Tye

Supporting geography in the workplace

During 2022, the Society’s Chartered Geographer (CGeog) scheme, which recognises the use of geographical knowledge and skills in the workplace, accredited the 1,000th Chartered Geographer. The support on offer to professional geographers through the scheme now includes targeted encouragement to complete applications through CGeog application accelerator webinars and enhanced mentoring, with opportunities to network in-person and online. After a review, the guidance provided to the volunteers who assess applications to the scheme was updated.

In order to encourage the uptake of Chartered Geographer, and membership as Associate Fellows, we visited a series of large employers of geographers including Transport for London, Forestry England, Arcadis, and Mott MacDonald. We also had a presence at relevant industry conferences including those organised by Esri UK, Government Geography Profession, GeoPlace and the Spatial Data Science Conference.

In May, to highlight the range of careers available to geographers and facilitate access to the opportunities available, we launched a new register for geographical work experience, aimed at students at school and university, with the help of employers across a broad range of sectors.

The Society also progressed our work to support the development of the new and emerging skills landscape, and in particular on location data apprenticeships which are linked to the green skills agenda. In addition, we were part of broader discussions with the Ministry of Defence, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Geospatial Commission on pathways for students and employers through the changing geospatial training and skills landscape.

The Society’s Disaster Risk Management Professional Practice Group had an active year connecting geographers who work in disaster risk management through a series of sector-based webinars.

Image credit: Mapping visual privacy and desirable passive surveillance © Environment Agency

While the Society had restarted in-person events in September 2021, due to continuing high rates of COVID-19 into the first half of 2022, attendance at public events and our Monday night lectures remained below pre-pandemic levels for much of the year. The largest audience of the year was reserved for Sir Michael Palin’s Monday night lecture on his travels to Iraq, with a fully booked Ondaatje Theatre.

All Monday night lectures, and many of our public events, were live streamed as standard to enable members to access to them from wherever they are. Over the course of the year, viewings of event recordings increased, showing the appetite to watch them on demand and when convenient to members.

In March, we participated in a meeting of 30 of the world’s geographical societies ahead of COP15 – the 2022 meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The Society, in collaboration with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS), International Geographical Union (IGU) and Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), convened the meeting as an opportunity to explore what geographers can do, individually and collectively, to address the biodiversity crisis.

In June, we recognised our medals and awards recipients as part of our Annual General Meeting for the first time since 2019.

The day also saw the return of our Annual Reception, which was welcomed by Fellows and Members as an opportunity to socialise and celebrate with each other after a difficult few years.

With competition partners, Forestry England and Parker Harris, we successfully promoted the Earth Photo competition, securing exclusive coverage in New Scientist magazine both in print and online featuring a gallery of the shortlisted images for 2022. Over 2,000 photographs and films were submitted for the competition, which was judged by a panel chaired by award-winning photojournalist Marissa Roth. An exhibition of the shortlisted images and films was on display in our Pavilion over the summer, and subsequently toured to a selection of Forestry England sites.

In October, Everest through the lens, the Society’s exhibition marking the centenary of the first western expeditions to climb Mount Everest opened. The exhibition explored some of the less well-known stories from the 1922 and 1924 expeditions, and brought the role of local intermediaries to the fore through the use of Captain John Noel’s expeditionary films.

Our autumn programme of public events took Everest as a theme. Events included a panel discussion on the ethics of climbing Everest today, how historical expeditions were recorded on film, and a screening of clips from the Society’s digitised archive of expeditionary films. Other public events during the year included the annual microlectures where emerging speakers discuss their geographical journeys, a panel discussion on the security of global food systems as part of International GeoNight, and a series of book club discussions that explored nature writing. In total, over 6,000 people attended our public events either in person or watched them online.

During the year we published five online exhibitions, including digital versions of two of the Society’s physical exhibitions – Shackleton’s legacy and the power of early Antarctic photography, and Everest through the lens – and two exhibitions that shared the outputs from research projects – Lost lands and The Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928-1929.

Image credit: Medal and award recipients 2022 © J Tye

In April, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) published a new edition of the Subject Benchmark Statement for geography – the document which defines the standards expected of geography graduates in the UK. The new statement included significant additions on the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), mental health and justice agendas, as well as on sustainability and enterprise. New wording was also included on fieldwork, underpinning the principles agreed by Heads of Geography Departments across UK universities, and supported by the Society, in 2021.

To support the adoption of the new statement, the Society produced a series of new resources, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which looked at issues of EDI in relation to what is taught and how, the places of geographical learning, such as in the field, the laboratory or the classroom, and the range of staff involved.

In addition, the work of the Research and Higher Education team had a sustained focus on under-represented groups (in terms of ethnicity, disability, and economic background), including the hosting and co-funding of a second cohort of student interns with a Black heritage. These students received supported sessions at the Annual Conference and organised their own Black Futures event at the University of Birmingham.

In schools, the Society’s work on the EDI agenda was progressed significantly by the start of the Geography for all project, which aims to increase the diversity of students choosing geography at A Level and into further study, with a focus on under-representation by income and ethnicity. The project has been informed by the Society’s previous research on who is and isn’t studying geography, young people’s views on their subject choices and careers, and the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic geography teacher trainees and early career teachers.

By the end of 2022, the project had created a thriving network of over 420 geography teachers and had provided a series of free CPD sessions to support early career and trainee geography teachers as they seek to address these issues in their teaching practice. In addition, Geography Mentors had started working directly with pupils in seven pilot schools. The project is being closely monitored and evaluated, and learning will be shared with the wider geography community.

In March, the new membership categories of Associate Fellow and Student Member (replacing Young Geographer), which had been voted for in the Special General Meeting held in September 2021, were introduced. These changes allowed the Society to better target membership benefits and offer tailored support to new graduates, including the introduction of Professional insights and Postgraduate insights webinars to provide professional development for Associate Fellows.

In January, a membership rejoin campaign was undertaken and all Fellows and Members who had lapsed during 2020 and 2021 were contacted with news about the Society and encouraged to rejoin with a 15 months for 12 subscription offer. Of the members who took up the offer, many were Members who were keen to restart attending Monday night lectures and other in-person events at the Society.

In October we ran a member-get-member campaign to build on the fact that the majority of our members join on the recommendation of a friend, colleague or relative. Again, using a 15 months for the price of 12 offer, all members in the South East of England were sent a campaign pack through the post and members in the rest of the UK were sent an email about the campaign. In total, 50 new members were recruited through the campaign, and the learning from this will be used to improve the efficacy of similar campaigns in the future.

In September, a member satisfaction survey was sent to all Fellows and Members for whom we had an email address. The survey revealed that our membership has high levels of satisfaction and commitment to the Society, but it also included some good suggestions and indications as to where improvements can be made, such as being clearer about the membership benefits that are available, including the ability to watch Monday night lectures live online and to watch lecture recordings on demand via the website.

Image credit: Earth Photo exhibition courtesy of Forestry England

In October, the Society’s Fellows voted at a Special General Meeting to introduce changes to the Bye Laws that enabled a change to the size and structure of Council. This latest step in the governance review that has taken place over the last few years will see the number of Council members reduced to 12, with the option to co-opt four further members, and the introduction of Council roles that represent the membership and geographers in professional practice.

In November, a new human resources tool, Youmanage, was introduced to improve HR processes, better manage and track absences due to sickness and annual leave, and provide better visibility across the organisation of when and where staff are working. The new system was used during the annual appraisals, highlighting how it can also enable clearer links between the Society’s organisational strategy and individual performance objectives.

Remedial and repair work on the building continued during the year, with the chillers that provide climate control in the Ondaatje Theatre being replaced over the summer months. The heating was also overhauled during this period, with the aim of improving the reliability and efficiency of the system and reducing costs and carbon emissions.

Our long-standing Corporate Benefactor, Rolex, renewed their support for the conservation of the Society’s Collections and our work to increase public access to them. Silversea, our Corporate Business Member, also renewed their support for the Society. In addition, a £20,000 donation was secured to support young people’s engagement with Earth Photo, which resulted in the creation of the David Wolf Kaye Future Potential Awards.

Throughout 2022, work on the project to find a replacement for the Society’s membership database was ongoing with a full scoping exercise of current and potential future needs being undertaken. The project team also surveyed the market for software that could meet our identified needs and a shortlist of potential replacements was drawn up. After considerable testing by database users across the Society, a preferred product had been identified by the end of the year.

In parallel, it became clear mid-year that the Society’s web platform would also need replacing in the next two years. Given the level of integration between the website and the database to manage event bookings, enable member-only access to content and many other elements of functionality, it was decided to combine the replacement of the website with the project to replace the database. In December’s meeting of Council this approach was agreed, along with the go ahead to appoint the preferred partners and platforms for both elements of the project.

Image credit: Live streaming of events from the Ondaatje Theatre © RGS-IBG