Planning Systems Connector Training OnePlanet

The world is experiencing a poly-crisis of interconnected challenges in climate, health, housing, economics, nature and equity that are too often addressed in silos. Planners have a unique and critical role in bringing these agendas together.

Through mechanisms such as planning legislation, policy and community engagement, planners are positioned to balance competing priorities, identify co-benefits, and shape holistic outcomes.

Become a Certified OnePlanet Planning Systems Connector™ and help your organisation work in a more joined-up way.

Why this matter now

While the need for a more joined-up approach is widely recognised, many professionals lack the tools to achieve this in day-to-day practice. This course equips participants to fully realise that role by concisely demonstrating how plans across teams can work together to achieve social, environmental and economic planning objectives.

Through a practical exercise with the South Downs National Park Authority, you’ll use OnePlanet to connect the Draft Local Plan with the National Planning Policy Framework, Land Use Framework, Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Climate Action Plan, revealing shared outcomes, actions and indicators.

Special guests from the SDNPA:
Julie Middleton – Consultant at Sussex Local Nature Partnership

Chris Fairbrother – Strategy Lead for Climate Change and Net-Zero

What is a Planning Systems Connector?

Someone who can work across silos and help teams understand how different plans, actions, indicators and stakeholders relate to each other.

Using OnePlanet, Planning Systems Connectors learn how to:

Map complex planning challenges.
Connect planning work across departments and organisations.
Translate technical planning information into clear, accessible visual maps.
Collaborate with stakeholders around shared outcomes.
Identify points of leverage for greater impact.

What will you learn

MAP

Systems map plans to understand the links between critical issues.

SHARE

Develop and publish visual plans for improved engagement.

CONNECT

Use planning as a tool to connect and deliver shared outcomes.

COLLABORATE

Identify and work with stakeholders for more effective action.

Session 1 Foundations of Systems Connecting

Discover what it means to be a Systems Connector and learn the fundamentals of the OnePlanet platform, including how to map relationships between plans, stakeholders and outcomes.

Session 2 – Applying a Systems Approach to Planning

Explore the role of a Planning Systems Connector and how a systems approach can strengthen engagement, collaboration and decision-making across teams.

And a practical exercise with the South Downs National Park Authority.

Who is this for

This training is for professionals or students who are working within, or closely alongside, the planning system.

Planning authority employees.

Planning-related officers in housing, transport, public health, or environmental teams who interface with planning.

Administrators who support planners in the public, private and third sector.

How the training works

This is not a passive webinar. It is a hands-on learning experience where you will apply a systems approach using the OnePlanet platform.

* General price: £395+VAT. Discounts available for RTPI members.

Upcoming cohort

Including an additional 1-hour 1:1 technical support session with OnePlanet.

Course trainers

Certification and assesment

Following the course, participants can undergo an assessment to become a certified OnePlanet Planning Systems Connector™, gaining a formal certificate and profile on OnePlanet. The assessment includes a presentation and interview where you will be asked to showcase an example of how and why you have used the OnePlanet tool in a planning context. This will test:

Your practical understanding of the OnePlanet platform
How you have or could use OnePlanet to support a better integrated and more effective planning system.

The assessment process includes:

Six months access to the OnePlanet platform (to complete the assessment) and up to 2 sessions to support on your project during this time.
Upon successful completion of the assessment, you will receive a further 6 months of platform access.
Access to the Systems Connector network and periodic meet-ups. You can use these to learn about the latest tech updates and hear from other professionals on how they’re using the platform across different types of organisations and sectors.

Ready to become a Planning Systems Connector?

Learn how to practically apply a Systems Approach for a more joined-up planning system.

BOOK YOUR PLACE

Please email us with any questions or fill out this form to stay updated about future courses.