Small Planning Consultancy of the Year
Overview
This award celebrates outstanding Small Planning Consultancies. We're looking for exceptional work in areas such as:
- What has your team achieved in the last 12 months that merits an award for excellence?
- What project(s)/services have been delivered and why these were exceptional?
- How were projects or services shaped to meet the needs of the community or client?
- What challenges were faced by your team and how these were overcome?
- How have you worked in challenging or complex stakeholder environments?
- How happy/satisfied client/applicant/partners were with the level of service?
- How have you collaborated effectively with Local Planning Authorities?
All submissions will need to show how your team goes above and beyond good practice: why does it deserve an award for excellence? What best practice could other teams take and adopt elsewhere?
Important: All entries must provide specific examples and measurable results. We accept both quantitative metrics and qualitative evidence, including:
- Statistical data
- Qualitative assessments and testimonials
- Survey results
- Visual documentation
- Testimonials
Eligibility
Organisations entering this category must have between one and four RTPI members, one of which must be a Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI or FRTPI). They should demonstrate high levels of service, commitment to sustainable development and support for the planning profession.
Entries should be submitted based on your geographical location unless the majority of your work takes place elsewhere.
Judging criteria
The following questions include prompts to help you answer. These are to provide a guide, and you only need to address the prompts that are relevant to your team.
Where possible, please link your answers to the UN sustainable development goals.
Assessment areas
1. Team Excellence
Please use this section to sing the praise of your team of planners who have created/delivered excellence over the last 12 months. Please remember that whilst we do want to hear about some of the amazing success that you have had in this section, what we really want to hear about are the people who have made it possible and what it is about them that makes the team excellent.
Please describe how practitioners in your team influenced or led a project to conclusion and provide evidence of effective collaboration, partnership working and mediation, as well as providing a value-for-money service for clients and tangible benefits to communities.
2. Innovation and Problem Solving
Explain how your team has developed and applied creative approaches and techniques to achieve high-quality planning solutions.
- What challenges did you face?
- What problem-solving techniques or tools did you use?
- What actions did you take?
- What was the outcome?
3. Client and Stakeholder Satisfaction
Provide evidence of service quality through client and stakeholder feedback. Include testimonials that answer the following. How satisfied were your clients/applicants/partners with the service provided? What was exceptional about the team’s performance? This might include:
- Timeliness
- Flexibility
- Ability to respond imaginatively to a brief
- Presentation and communication
- Responsiveness to ideas and feedback
4. Community Engagement
Describe your team’s approach to community engagement, highlighting:
- Innovation and reach
- Evidence of the scope and success of the engagement
- Approaches/methods used to ensure the engagement is accessible and inclusive
- How community feedback and responses have shaped projects and initiatives
- Promotion of the planning profession
For assessment areas 3 and 4, please include relevant statistics and references on how the team responded to feedback.
5. Inclusive Planning
Detail how your team addresses barriers and delivers inclusive places in what you do e.g.:
- Creating safe and accessible spaces for all users
- Promoting community health, well-being and cohesion
- Reducing poverty and promoting equity
- Improving access to jobs, economic opportunities and/or homes
6. Climate Action
Demonstrate how your team is addressing the climate and nature emergencies e.g. through:
- Contributing to meeting net-zero targets
- Biodiversity enhancement
- Reducing and decarbonising energy use
- Adapting to or mitigating climate change
- Promoting the use of renewable energy / clean heat
- Sustainable use of materials