From breathing new life into old buildings, to supporting young people to develop the skills to succeed in an ever-changing world, RIO innovates to deliver real and lasting social change.
By creating a change ecology – one where we influence policy, shape places, deliver strategic programmes and support and develop people – we can unlock potential and opportunities to create a fairer world; one that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
Business Support
Drawing on our extensive experience of setting up and running our own social enterprises, we provide practical, no-nonsense support for people interested in exploring social enterprise as a business model
Arts and Culture
We work intensively with the cultural sector in the south west, supporting organisations to become more sustainable as well as providing focussed support to deliver excellence in Cultural Education
Education, Skills and Training
We design and deliver exciting and innovative challenge-based learning programmes in a variety of schools and youth settings, whilst also supporting business managers to use social enterprise to help balance the budget.
Housing
We provide strategic support for Housing Associations and Developers, as well as offering practical ways to connect and consult more effectively with communities.
Local Government
Building on our proven track record of working with local authorities to devolve assets and generate revenue to mitigate budget cuts, we have developed a bespoke package of training and support for Councils exploring a Commercialisation agenda.
Regeneration
We love breathing new life into redundant buildings to bring them into productive community use. We have managed several redevelopments ourselves and from that experience we provide support and advice for other organisations and community groups working to do the same.
Read more about our clients and what we’ve achieved
Our Impact
In the last 12 months…
102
organisations have received direct support from RIO to grow and develop.
99
of people enjoyed working with us (we're not sure on what we did to upset the other 1% but we're working on it!).
1,151
young people have engaged with real, purposeful and creative learning by working with RIO.
What They’re Saying
News
Plymouth City Council has granted planning permission for the £7million redevelopment of the Market Hall in Devonport, which will see the derelict Grade II listed building transformed into a cutting-edge space for digital skills, research, learning and entertainment. The Market Hall development is being led by RIO – the Real Ideas Organisation – in partnership with Plymouth City Council, i-DAT at Plymouth…
