Royal Town Planning Institute
Dr Holly McLaren
Education Officer
• How can the RTPI help you as a
member of the planning
profession?
• Chartered membership
• What are the characteristics of
a profession?
• Why do we need professional
institutes?
Characteristics of a profession
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Extensive period of education
Specialist body of knowledge
Testing of competence
Code of professional conduct or ethics
Exclusion, monopoly and legal recognition
Work autonomy (independent thinking and
judgement)
• Status
• Mobility
• Public service and altruism
• What are the characteristics of
a profession?
• Why do we need professional
institutes?
Professional Institutes
• Set and maintain standards of training and ethics
– Develop and monitor professional education programmes
– Provide CPD and lifelong learning
– Operate a Code of Professional Conduct
• Provide support for individuals engaged in that
profession
– Member services
– Member engagement
– Collective voice
• Act as learned societies for the advancement of the
profession
• Public benefit
The RTPI’s work includes…
• Promoting good planning
• Developing and shaping policy affecting the
built environment
• Developing and maintaining professional
standards in planning
• Education and training for planners
• Supporting our membership
Supporting your Career
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MRPTI
Networking
Planners in the Workplace
Learning Partners
RTPI West of Scotland Event
Schedule 2012
Month
Event
March 2012
April 2012
Failing High Streets - Reviving Town Centres
Being a Planner: Getting a job, loving your job, leaving your
job!
Knockroon – A Successful New Community?
Joint event with Scottish Young Planners Network
<Summer Break>
Sport and Regeneration
Urban Design Week Event
Public Outreach Event – Glasgow Doors Open Day
Policy Event
WoS Quiz and Networking Event
May 2012
June 2012
July 2012
Aug 2012
Sept 2012
Oct 2012
Nov 2012
Supporting your Career
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MRPTI
Networking
Planners in the Workplace
Learning Partners
Skills and knowledge
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Accredited university courses
Professional levels of membership
Training events
CPD and the Code of Professional Conduct
Partners
Shaping the profession
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Leading on policy debates
Lobbying
Consultations
Networks
How do I become a member?
The path to membership
Student Member
(FREE student membership in final year of accredited
pathway)
Licentiate Member
MANDATORY
Chartered Member (MRTPI)
To apply for chartered
membership…
• You need 24 months (440 full days) spatial
planning experience minimum
• You must be a licentiate member for at least
one year
• You must complete your Assessment of
Professional Competence (APC)
The Assessment of
Professional Competence
[APC]
The APC asks you to demonstrate that you work at a
suitable professional level to justify election to
Chartered status.
It is designed to build on the skills, knowledge and
understanding that you have developed during your
qualification and to test your ability to apply these in
practice.
APC Composition
• Log book – a reflective record of work
undertaken
• Written submission of 5000 words
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Practical experience statement (1000 words)
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Professional Competence statement (2500 words)
Professional development plan (1500 words)
The purpose of the Log book
• Charts how you’ve developed over time
• Supports your final submission for assessors
• Supports job applications/appraisals
Date
Nature of
professional
work/task
undertaken
What
skills/competencies
has this work
developed?
What knowledge
and/or understanding
has been
gained/developed as a
result of this work?
What
skills/knowledge
do you feel you
need to develop?
Eligible experience for the APC
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You need to evidence 24 months minimum spatial planning
experience
At least 12 months of this must be after Licentiate election
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Experience gained whilst studying part-time does count, as
does experience gained on a sandwich year.
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Experience gained whilst studying on a full-time, one year
Masters doesn’t count.
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Nor does experience of less than three months
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Quality of work experience is important – ability to exercise
independent professional judgement
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It’s not a race! 24 months is the minimum
Date
Nature of
professional
work/task
undertaken
What
skills/competencies
has this work
developed?
What knowledge
and/or understanding
has been
gained/developed as a
result of this work?
What
skills/knowledge
do you feel you
need to develop?
May 09
Processing planning
applications
Research, delivering –
making it happen,
communication
Planning Law
Further knowledge
of planning law
July 10
Site visits
Data-communication,
investigation and
research, quantitative
and qualitative analysis
and appraisal
That it is useful to have first
hand knowledge of a site
involved in an application
None – successfully
achieved all
elements of visit
Oct 10
Contacted consultant
with regard to listed
building regulations.
Research – finding a
consultant
The limits of my own
responsibility for specialist
applications
More knowledge of
listed building
regulations
Date
Nature of
professional
work/task
undertaken
What
skills/competencies
has this work
developed?
May 09
Case officer for
application for change of
use of A1 use shop to
mortgage advisor within
the protected retail
frontage area of the town
centre. This application
was contentious as there
had apparently been preapp discussions from the
LPA advising that the
application was
acceptable, however the
percentage of frontage
allowed to be non-A1 was
already over the
threshold allowed at 25%
so I recommended that
application be refused. It
was called into
Committee and was
refused as per officer
recommendation.
This application furthered
my report writing skills
and both diplomatic
discussion and also
diplomatic writing in the
presentation of the case.
It also improved my skills
at identifying areas for
engaging with other
departments and multidisciplinary working. In
this case I spoke with
economic regeneration to
establish whether the
property had been for long
enough to consider revisiting the wording of the
policy or whether and A1
use could be easily found
and we should continue
with such rigid protection
of the shops in this
particular location.
What knowledge
and/or understanding
has been
gained/developed as a
result of this work?
What
skills/knowledge
do you feel you
need to develop?
application advice; this was an
instance where the LPA had
possibly given misleading and
inconsistent advice, leading to
an awkward path for the
application and a difficult
situation for me as the final
case officer.
and regeneration dept
here. I would like to be
able to further draw on
these outside skills and
pools of further
information.
I feel I handled the
possible misinformation
situation here well
through negotiation,
discussion etc. however
the management of
misinformation is a skill I
would like to further.
I recommended
that the
I gained a deeper understanding I would like to further
of the town centre retail
develop my skills at
application
be
refused.
It was
policies, including government
identifying
situations in
guidance, and a much better
which other departments
understanding
of the
within thewas
council or
called into
committee
and
overarching rationale behind
other external bodies can
these.
information to
refused as
per officer add
consider in making a
I was also reminded once more
recommendation, for
recommendation.
of the importance of the preexample, the economic
I feel I handled the possible misinformation situation here well
through negotiation, discussion
etc. however the management of
mis-information is a skill I would
like to further.
Written submission
• Practical experience statement (1000
words)
• Professional Competence statement
(2500 words)
• Professional development plan (1500
words)
Assessment criteria
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An understanding of context
An ability to identify and analyse issues
Competence in gathering appropriate information
Competence in identifying and evaluating strategies
Competence in initiating action to implement strategies or
dissemination and application of knowledge (research experience)
Engagement in a process of monitoring and review
An awareness of the
legal framework
political and ethical challenges
RTPI Code of Professional Conduct
Written submission
• Practical experience statement (1000
words)
• Professional Competence statement
(2500 words)
• Professional development plan (1500
words)
What could I be doing now?
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Become a student member and get involved
with the RPTI!
Start recording your work in a log book
Find a mentor
Look at the assessment criteria
Read the RTPI Code of Professional conduct
Start drafting a professional development
plan
Finally…
As soon as you have written
confirmation that you’ve passed your
course…apply for licentiate
membership!
For further information
The Membership Team
membership@rtpi.org.uk
Tel: 0207 929 9464
www.rtpi.org.uk