The new National Planning Improvement Framework was developed with stakeholders from a range of perspectives and interests in planning. The process has been supported and guided by the High Level Group on Planning Performance and it builds upon the learning gathered from the last 12 years of Planning Performance Frameworks (PPFs).
The National Planning Improvement Framework will be tested incrementally in three separate cohorts throughout the 2024/5 financial year. All planning authorities are expected to be involved at some stage in the pilots. The pilot aims to test this new framework and it is an opportunity to explore what works and what doesn’t. We are gathering feedback from the planning authorities on:
- ease of use for planning authorities, including the time and resources required.
- ease of management by the NPI team
- ease of use for other stakeholders with a stake in planning performance and improvement
- relevance, usability and effectiveness of the identified contributory factors and data sources
- effectiveness in providing evidence on planning authority performance.
Cohort 1
Cohort 1 started in April and is being piloted by 10 planning authorities who volunteered for the first cohort, they are:
| Pairings | |
|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | Scottish Borders |
| East Ayrshire | Renfrewshire |
| East Lothian | Stirling |
| Edinburgh | Glasgow |
| FIfe | North Lanarkshire |
This guidance has been sent to the 10 planning authorities in cohort 1.
We have also provided the planning authorities with:
- an improvement action plan and performance assessment template
- a good practice case study template
- a context spreadsheet showing links between attributes, contributory factors, prompts and outcomes frameworks
- a short guidance paper to support the facilitation of the NPIF peer review workshops
Cohort 2
Cohort 2 begins in August and 10 planning authorities volunteered to take part, they are:
| Pairings | |
|---|---|
| Inverclyde | East Dunbartonshire |
| North Ayrshire | Angus |
| Orkney | Shetland |
| Perth and Kinross | Dundee |
| Highland | Argyll and Bute |
Following cohort 1, the guidance and templates were updated for cohort 2, you can find them here:
- NPIF guidance
- Template for performance assessment
- Template for improvement action plan
- Template for good practice case studies
- Context spreadsheet outlining the NPIF themes, the attributes of a high-performing planning authority, contributory factors and prompts to help you build a narrative.
- Short guidance paper to support the facilitation of the NPIF review workshops.
In this clip, Susan Rintoul introduces the 12 attributes of a high-performing planning authority. Planning authorities in Scotland are being asked to consider these and identify areas of improvement as part of the National Planning Improvement Framework.
Craig McLaren
National Planning Improvement Champion
craig.mclaren@improvementservice.org.uk
X/Twitter: @CraigMMcLaren
Susan Rintoul
National Planning Improvement Project Officer
susan.rintoul@improvementservice.org.uk
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Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme
The programme aims to improve Scotland’s wellbeing and reduce inequalities through changing our collective approaches to the places where we live, work and play.
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Planning for Place Programme
The Planning for Place Programme supports councils and their partners to collaborate around place, seeking to encourage place-based approaches to joint planning, resourcing and delivery of places that enable all communities to flourish.