Gillian is Manager of the Spatial Planning – Research & Development team within the Development Plan Group at Glasgow City Council. Gillian a member of the RTPI Scotland Executive Committee, a member of the Partnership and Accreditation Panel, and a member of the RTPI Volunteer Advisory Group.
We all volunteer for different reasons. We might say that we are volunteering because we want to support the work of the RTPI, or we want to make a difference. But for some, what makes us volunteer in the first place can be a reaction to situations that we find ourselves in. These can include:
- Making our own working life feel as if it has meaning and purpose.
- Creating opportunities to influence change in areas that feel broken or uncomfortable.
- Raising your own profile and visibility within the profession
- Being curious about what is being discussed and how decisions are made that impact on our relationship with the RTPI
But you keep volunteering because you quickly realise that you get far more value back than you ever put in. So, yes, I started volunteering because I wanted external validation that my knowledge and experience were worth something, but I keep volunteering because of the opportunities to have amazing conversations with the planners of the future and also those that I have admired from afar, and to challenge thinking and bring in my own lived experience of being a local authority planner.
I think we are at a pivot point where we have a real opportunity to engage with young people about the power of great spatial planning, and how it is a key profession if we want to co-create climate resilient places that provide an equitable opportunity for all of our communities to live well locally.
I’ve learnt so much on my volunteering journey and I also think that I have had opportunities to influence change and challenge existing thinking. I’ve often been described as a positive disrupter, and I think this is a good skill set for volunteers to have. But we also need the introverts’ skills to take a calm approach, listen and take time to think and the extrovert skills to shout from the roof tops about the brilliance of planning.
So, what is my volunteering story and what does it tell you about me?
I originally volunteered for the Partnership and Accreditation Panel. I was curious about how we were training the Planners of the future and whether my training and work experience was still relevant. What were the gaps in my knowledge and what could young planners challenge me to think differently about? That led to being on the Partnership Board for firstly Queen’s University Belfast and now the Technical University Dublin. This also gave me the opportunity to be involved with the Education and Lifelong learning Committee and to try to make visible the issues around Education that were important in the devolved nations and Ireland.
As the Planning landscape shifted within Scotland, the confidence that I had gained through my original volunteering roles led me to put myself forward for the Scottish Executive. I’m in my second year of this role and it’s been interesting to bring both my local policy experience and the learning from the Practice and Accreditation volunteering into the discussions.
I’ve loved challenging myself to articulate what I love about being a Planner, but also what the frustrations and barriers are as well. I’ve learnt that we need a mix of experience and knowledge to ensure that we have great debates about the key issues. That there are no right or wrong answers to the questions that we pose ourselves and that volunteering roles should create a safe space for everyone to grow and evolve as planners.
Find out more
Find out more about volunteering with the RTPI, including our current vacancies in our regions and nations here.
