Individuals volunteering for Planning Aid England

Volunteering can give opportunities to gain experience and develop skills. Volunteering can: 

• Count towards Continuing Professional Development
• Provide a useful 'reality check' by giving new perspectives on how the general public interact with the planning system
• Give insights into new areas of planning activity
• Broaden experience of how other local authorities and / or sectors operate
• Widen professional networks
• Provide valuable experience of community consultation and capacity-building
• Refresh interest and opens up new opportunities
• Give access to low-cost, relevant training
• Allow planners who have retired, taken a career break, or work outside mainstream planning to keep up-to-date with planning issues
• Give newly qualified planners opportunities to broaden their experience
• Develop 'people' skills
• Give something back to the wider community
• Help improve links between the general public and the planning system
• Is rewarding and enjoyable

Employers and their organisations

There are benefits for organisations whose staff volunteer for Planning Aid England. The staff involved gain experience, develop new and existing skills. This increases morale and enhances team interaction:

• Staff like to volunteer for causes they care about
• They can use existing business skills to help local community groups and charities
• They pick up new insights, skills and experience that they then can take back to their place of work
• Individuals are the best link for your organisation with your communities
• Staff may be able to access valuable assistance and training that your organisation may not be able to afford to send them on
• Staff have an opportunity to involve themselves in a variety of planning areas and get experience of a different client group
• They can learn and refine their skills of community engagement which they may not have cause to do as part of their day job
• Gives staff greater contact with a disadvantaged client group which will help them to understand the types of barriers that people face when attempting to get involved in the planning system
• With the requirement of local authorities to develop Statements of Community Involvement (SCI), Planning Aid offers employers the opportunity of increasing staff skills through hands-on participatory techniques, which will benefit the way in which the SCI is implemented
• Also gives an opportunity for organisations to improve their image, increase their customer base and attract potential recruits