How to win
This guide will help you prepare a strong entry for the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence, drawing on insights from previous winners to help you present your project clearly and confidently to our judges.
Visit the Awards for Planning Excellence page to learn more, or watch our video on how to write a winning entry.
Before you begin, take time to familiarise yourself with the entry process and submission requirements.
Check that you’re entering the right category for your project and that you meet the eligibility criteria. If you’re entering more than one category, tailor each submission to fit the criteria.
You can find full details of the criteria and guidance after creating an account and selecting your categories on our online entry platform.
Plans must have been formally adopted by the relevant authority or body, and that decision must not be under judicial review. If a legal challenge arises after submission, please email awards@rtpi.org.uk
Our awards celebrate excellence in planning. Emphasise the characteristics that exceeded expectations. What challenges did you overcome? What made your approach distinct? How did planning make a tangible difference to outcomes?
Show how innovative planning shaped the scheme. Provide evidence.
Good planning often involves solving complex problems. Tell us about the challenges you faced and how you addressed them — whether that meant adapting to financial constraints, responding to community concerns or navigating political change.
Explain what you learned, how your approach evolved and the benefits for your team, project or community.
Use the judging criteria to structure your entry.
As you write, ask yourself two simple questions: ‘how?’ and ‘so what?’
For example, rather than saying “the project addressed climate change by reducing energy consumption”, consider how planning decisions achieved that reduction and what it meant for people, places or the profession.
Consider the impact:
- What does this mean for the planning profession?
- What does it mean for the communities we serve?
- What does it mean for wider society?
Circle back to how your plan facilitated change.
Judges review many entries, so make every word count. Keep your writing clear and focused, but include enough detail to support your claims. Use your word limits wisely.
Provide solid evidence of success — not just intentions. Evidence can be both quantitative and qualitative, such as:
- Statistical data
- Assessments and evaluations
- Survey results
- Visual documentation
- Testimonials
Explain how you engaged with communities and stakeholders. What steps were taken to ensure the process was accessible and inclusive? How did feedback shape your work? Were there barriers you helped remove?
Bolster your submission with any relevant statistics, and describe how your project addressed both inclusivity and sustainability, including responses to the climate and nature emergencies.
Our judges are planning professionals who review entries in their own time. Help them by making your submission easy to read and free of jargon.
Keep your structure clear and logical, use plain English and avoid unnecessary technical detail.
Provide any important context about where or how your project was delivered. Even if something is the norm for you, the judges may be unaware of specific regional, historical or cultural factors at play.
Mention anything distinctive about your area — from topography to policy context — that influenced your project’s delivery or outcomes.
Allow plenty of time to prepare. You can start, save and return to your submission on the online platform as often as you need before the deadline.
Before submitting, proofread your entry — or ask a colleague to review it for clarity and completeness. You could even score it yourself using the category criteria to see if your key points stand out.
Following these steps won’t guarantee a win, but they’ll give your entry a real edge. Good luck!
To enter, please visit our awards hub. For more details, read our FAQs or contact us at awards@rtpi.org.uk