Planners: Indispensable to successful local government?

ORPublic enemy number one?

2

structure of the presentation• my perspective on what it must be like to be a

planner in the present context

• What skills do we need planners to have in a corporate context and an external context?

• Three characteristics make planners valuable contributors to their own organisations and to the wider world; the “boundary spanner” ( or “reticulism’), the entrepreneur and as an “interpreter”

• Look at some case studies relating to these characteristics

• Draw some conclusions 2

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National Government

Regional Government

District CouncilCity

Council

Town/Parish Council

Community actionteams

County Council

Freedom?

this is our context.....so planners must

be...

globalisation localism reticulists

interconnectedness fragmentation co-ordinators

transparency complexity communicators

personalisation austerity entrepreneurs

certainty ambiguity interpreters

reticulists...• A reticulist is someone who possesses skills in creating,

servicing and manipulating communication networks, and is astute at identifying where in an organisation a decision in which she/he is interested would be made.

• The role of the reticulist applies to the development of inter-sectoral collaboration.

• They are ‘skilled conveners’ who appreciate the potential for mutual exchange and envision a mission which can be fulfilled through joint participation.

• Reticulist skills are associated too with boundary crossing and strategic thinking. Reticulists identify the key resource holders and fellow reticulists in their own and other agencies. Adrian Davis: Independent health and transport consultant

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reticulist entrepreneur interpreter

Networking Brokering Interpersonal relationships

Managing accountabilities

EntrepreneurialListening and

empathy

Appreciates different modes of

governance

Innovative and creative

Framing and sense-making

Political skills and diplomacy

Tolerates risk Building trust

“The competent boundary spanner”: Paul Williams:Public Administration (2002) Vol 80

Integrated spatial planning

Manifestation

Horizontal integration Duty to co-operate

Vertical integrationNNPF

neighbourhood plans

Organisational integration

community plan corporate planHousing policy

NH Bonus

Local economic growth

local growth planLEZs +LEPs

21st century infrastructure

CILAsset maximisation

Adapted from: “Effective Practice in Spatial Planning.” Janice Morphet

(2011) Routledge

The reticulist at work

Case studyNottingham City Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling District Council, Erewash Borough Council

and Rushcliffe Borough Council have worked together in a combined joint advisory committee to deliver over

£11m of schemes across the conurbation which promote growth and green infrastructure under the

‘growth point “ programme. We have also worked together to produce an

“aligned core strategy”http://tinyurl.com/dykyrk7

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reticulist entrepreneur interpreter

Networking Brokering Interpersonal relationships

Managing accountabilities

EntrepreneurialListening and

empathy

Appreciates different modes of

governance

Innovative and creative

Framing and sense-making

Political skills and diplomacy

Tolerates risk Building trust

“The competent boundary spanner”: Paul Williams:Public Administration (2002) Vol 80

The entrepreneur at work

Case Study: Vauban Germany

Case StudyChicago

Urban Forest

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reticulist entrepreneur interpreter

Networking Brokering Interpersonal relationships

Managing accountabilities

EntrepreneurialListening and

empathy

Appreciates different modes of

governance

Innovative and creative

Framing and sense-making

Political skills and diplomacy

Tolerates risk Building trust

“The competent boundary spanner”: Paul Williams:Public Administration (2002) Vol 80

“Planners must accept the value of a mobilisation effort

generated within civil society, however uncomfortable this might seem to be. It means appreciating that others in

many arenas and networks in an urban area may have a better

capacity than technical experts to “summon up” an idea of an

‘urban region” that has widespread resonance and mobilisation force within a

particular governance context”“Urban Complexity and spatial Strategies : (2007)

P. Healy P.281

The interpreter at work

Local Perspectives

Managerial PerspectivesPolitical Perspectives

Text

Political Perspectives

Managerial Perspectives

Community Perspectives

Professional Perspectives

Case StudyLoughton Neighbourhood

development plan

• Create allotments OR turn into area for “green burials”, tree planting.

• Create parking/drop off area opposite the school

• Create a wildflower meadow

• Any new development to have adequate parking provision

Case Study contd.

• “This area is not suitable for residential development”

• “No additional dwellings permitted for development within the Conservation Area”

• “No buildings or structures shall be constructed on the paddocks”

• “No building structures will be built on this open land”

• “The open space shall remain green open space and not subject to further residential development”

• “No residential development permitted in the existing area of the park and no other commercial or other buildings”

• “The area will be kept free of any residential development.”

• “The area shall remain free from any residential development”

• “The two churches and the Memorial Hall shall remain as Community facility and not converted to residential development.”

“Flexibility must be built into the masterplan as unforeseen

circumstances are always likely to arise. An essential

function of a masterplan is to provide a framework for development that will be

delivered over time, incrementally, while retaining

the quality of design principles and without lowering

standards”

TCPA (2011)“Benefits and lessons in bringing forward comprehensively planned new communities”

Conclusions• Planners must not see themselves as confined to their

own departments, involved in the narrow business of approving/refusing planning applications and creating local plans. They bring strategic thinking, knowledge and visionary capacity to the whole organisation from both inside and outside its boundaries

• Planners must act as inspirational forces for longer term thinking within their organisations - to help their authorities think of future possibilities .

• Planners need increasingly honed communication skills to act as co-creators, challengers, and listeners;to interpret the past , reinvent the present and imagine the future.