We're researching community
engagement across England!
A collaborative research project
Troy Planning + Design and The University of Manchester Department of Planning and Environmental Management are partnering together to understand the level of community engagement and participation in planning across England. This ground-breaking research is perhaps the first of its kind to investigate community engagement in planning from the public sector's perspective, across the whole of England in the 21st century.
The research will investigate the attitudes of authorities and planners towards community participation, the effectiveness of current engagement tools, barriers and opportunities to effective engagement and participation, and the resources and budgets currently dedicated to such matters. The results of this research will inform planning practice and will be readily available in a jargon-free report and as a decision support toolkit for planners and non-planners alike.
The Skeffintgon Report
50 Years On
The Skeffington Report (more formally known as People and Planning: Report of the Committee on Public Participation in Planning) was a document released in in 1969, prepared by Arthur Skeffington MP, and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The report was critical of the consultation process in planning, and called for greater public engagement in the planning process.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the release of the Skeffington Report. As such this project gives us a chance to study how far we have come with community engagement in this period, or whether we have made progress at all.
The Survey
We have put together a short survey for planners or staff involved in planning activities at local authorities to take so we can better understand the state of community planning in England as of 2019. We will be presenting some initial findings of our research to the Royal Town Planning Institute at their September Planning with Communities event.
What will the research consider?
Specifically, we aim to do the following:
1. Investigate authorities’ attitudes towards the principle of community participation.
2. Investigate authorities’ perceptions of the effectiveness and appropriateness of current approaches and tools for engagement.
3. Investigate how authorities consider existing tools for engagement could be improved.
4. Investigate the barriers to improving the current state of community engagement and participation.
5. Investigate the resources and budgets currently used for community engagement and participation by authorities for planning, and the costs of different engagement levels and techniques.
6. Communicate these findings to relevant stakeholders to generate national best practice, and influence planning practice guidance revision in the future.