Weeknotes 10

w/e 17/07/2020
TL/DR

Release the albatross. 

What are you thinking about?

I’m thinking about infrastructure. Still. And programme management. I might change this opening question as I don’t think I change what I think about often enough to sound cosmopolitan and interesting. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?

I spoke to a peer team about a job we’re doing next week. It’s the second time we’re working on something that might appear in Private Eye. Brings a certain frisson. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I learned that Singapore have got a really groovy bunch of people doing their digital planning work. It was amazing, and showed what was possible if you have a Venn diagram of
* a zonal system of controlling land use
* a one-stop-shop of government
* seemingly POTS of money and lots of talented people, which may demonstrate
* a seriousness about the future and how to make land work hard
Very very impressive. When a feedback loop appears on the first handful of slides you know it’s going to be good. 

I also got a lot out of a post from our one-time buddies dxw. There is a lot going on just under the radar at the moment, with both “devo” and “planning” likely to get a thorough shakedown. There is lots of organisational girding of loins – with some of the opening positions being published and mutually supported. Uncharitably some of it looks like defending the status quo, which I don’t think is a great look. Interestingly it is dxw (a private outfit) that in my view does a better job of showing the problem with centralisation and makes the case for diversity and local accountability. And listening. 

What did you make / achieve?
I made a trading account for our consultancy business, which isn’t very exciting but a necessary part of keeping the show on the road. Repeat after me: a job cannot make any money until it is invoiced. 

I have also taken a big step forward on an old stinky project. I have worked out where the friction points are, and started the process of minimising the grief that is going to come along with it when we do finally publish our updated guide. 

What are you looking forward to next week?

I’m looking forward to finding out just how well peer work can be delivered via skype. I’m sure we’ll do something good enough, but interviewing people (especially agitated people in groups) is hard and relies on a whole range of perceptions that probably don’t work very well down a tiny screen. Learning by doing. 

I’m also going to need to set out my stall for the IFS work, which is going to be a squeeze but the conversations I’ve been having in small groups need to be constructed into something and shared more widely. 

Weeknotes 9

w/e 03/07/2020
TL/DR
Raining. Thinking. Being proud of the team. 

What are you thinking about?
I am thinking about what we learned over the course of last year, and what might be just around the corner in this one: 

300m results 16.6 KB View full-size Download

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
This week was the big set-piece review of 2019-20 in front of our sponsors. Inevitably it felt slightly overtaken by events, but it is one of those rare opportunities to speak truth to power. We were offered (and took) a couple of moments to tell them how we might change things to make the planning system slightly fairer and less friction-y. 

I also spoke to a couple of punters about what they need from us (calmness and structured approaches mainly). 

Lastly I spoke to a group of our suppliers about how we might package and define the work we want to procure over the next chunk of the PAS programme. I’m not sure I know all the answer yet but I think I feel less worried and more confident that this disruption represents an opportunity to be more creative and free. I’m almost looking forward to procurement – and I don’t think I’ve ever said that before. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I had the pleasure of dipping my toes into neighbourhood CIL this week. It’s amazing how something that should be fairly obvious can become byzantine and faintly dodgy with the application of forms, process and ill-judged paternalism. 

What did you make / achieve?
With the help of my lovely team we made a slightly dry round-up of the year and a more zingy presentation of 2019-20. I also made my first two baby steps helping advise people with their s106 / CIL work. 

Oh yes, and I completed couch to 5k. I now need to work out whether I enjoy running enough to continue. 

What are you looking forward to next week?
Next week is a short week, as I am shipping the eldest back to university and taking some time out to think through a family investment. 

However I am looking forward to the first meeting (for me) of the POS CIL network, seeing the second cohort of our suppliers and taking to a district council about how we might do some peer work virtually. I am also seeing a slightly different bit of government to see if we can knit together a new alphabet soup of SA and EIA alongside BNG and some new ones I can’t remember in a big environmental package. 

Weeknotes 8

w/e 26/06/2020
TL/DR
Hot. Typing. Applying styles to things. 

What are you thinking about?
I don’t want to sound like a stuck record, but I’m still thinking about the infrastructure funding statement. This is OK because it is my job to think about it.

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
A quiet week. I spoke to some peer friends about various bits & bobs, and had a couple of low-key updates with my sponsors and policy peeps at MHCLG. 

I don’t want to add any weight to the idea that PAS sits somehow outside the LGA, but I also spoke to some of my LGA colleagues this week for the first time since lockdown. Everyone moans about their employer, but I have to say the SLT at the LGA have been great throughout the pandemic. At our webinar earlier in the week we were asked a question about how we saw the future. It’s early days but it seems to me:

• the office as a place to work every day is finished
• in the short term there is lots of talk about choice and personal circumstance which is lovely and fluffy.
• our open place office is poorly laid out for what we need it to do, which is to host whole teams turning up specifically to be with each other to talk / collaborate / feel connected
• more / bigger meeting rooms for more lumpy and random attendance. This is going to be hard to predict & provide. I predict a riot rota.

What did you learn / read this week?
I have almost finished my GDS content design training. It is great – I recommend it. In week 3 they introduce Hemingway as a way of grading your content for readability. It is brutal:

low score is better 111 KB View full-size Download

I also was one of 120-odd people in the launch of the centre for cities “cure the housing crisis by zoning planning” report. Oh to be so certain. 

My database exploration hasn’t moved. I’m waiting for there to be a Venn diagram of feeling cleverer than usual and a clear couple of days in the diary.

What did you make / achieve?
I have finished my bit of the website, which is nice. I also commissioned some design work for our post-decision surveys – it is getting close!

I have also agreed the structure for our IFS materials, as well as beginning the first draft. Hemingway doesn’t like it.

I have also persuaded moodle to live on our little scratchy server we use for messing about. We are trying out a little MVP on councillor training to see how it works. 

What are you looking forward to next week?
Next week we have a review of 2019-20 in front of our key audience, so I will have my sleeves rolled up  for that. I’m thinking if it goes well we should find a place to publish it more broadly. 

I’m also picking the brains of our supplier network to hear from them what virtual and online working means for the way we should package and buy the support we put in place for councils. I’m expecting to hear that the status quo should prevail…

Weeknotes 7

w/e 19/06/2020
TL/DR
Not waiting for the ducks to be lined up just right. 

What are you thinking about?
I’m thinking about how I might need to organise support for the Infrastructure Funding Statement. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
It was a full week. I spoke to my lovely client about what is going on (and not going on) in the world of IFS. We’ve sort of been waiting for something to happen, but time is running out so I think I’m just going to start and see what happens. 

I also held a virtual meeting of the Combined Authorities – we’ve not met since November when the world was a very different place. One of my colleagues was a spectator and unprompted marvelled at how “zingy” they are as a group. My theory is that they are zingy compared to almost any bunch of standard planners – but not because the CAs and regional planning are inherently better but because they have more agency. They are able to do more because they have money and the ability to act – they don’t write policies to be enabled by others. 

I was also fortunate to spend time with a few recent customers talking about their experience of the resource review. Lots to think about. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I read a new summary of zoning by one of our newest friends #planorak. If zoning is an allocation on steroids then all it does is change where in the development pipeline the work gets done (and who pays). Oh well. 

I spectated a Pecha Kucha on the power of Norwood High Street. It’s on my doorstep, and I love a Pecha Kucha. It’s always interesting to see how other professions approach things – and architects really like visual things. The best bit for me is to catch up with the neighbourhood plan – I’ve resisted it for about a decade but I may see if I can help in some  small way. 

My database exploration hasn’t moved. I’m waiting for there to be a Venn diagram of feeling cleverer than usual and a clear couple of days in the diary.

What did you make / achieve?
I made me a new structure for the website, or at least my part of it. I also cued up a couple of small bits of business and agreed the next steps for our MVP on councillor training. 

What are you looking forward to next week?
It’s a quiet week, so probably setting some time aside for web work and – if the brain allows – some time with a database of sites. 

Weeknotes 5

w/e 12/06/2020
TL/DR
Starting to understand the consequences of working differently.

What are you thinking about?
I’m thinking about how we procure and deliver work. In the olden days, if we’re honest, for all the talk of procuring outcomes what we actually did was buy days of time. The unit of measure of stuff was “a day” and we’ve been doing this job long enough that we knew what a good day looked like, what it was worth and what it could achieve by way of impact. This is no longer true. 

This is a big issue for us, and for the network of mostly SME suppliers we use. Thinking isn’t going to fix this – I need to check in with them. We need something fair and pronto. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
I spoke to a group of new customers I have tried to label the EPB. I have no idea whether it will stick. It’s a bit early to say too much – but I was struck again how lucky we are to be allowed to be genuine and real and to do work that is (mostly) about making the world a better place. 

I also spoke to one of our bestest peers about infrastructure and prioritisation. My goodness it is powerful to be straightforward and clear on the basics. This is doubly true when the basics are about what it is we are trying to achieve – and not the procedures and processes that we think might get us there. I was very graciously and politely put in my place and I’m the better for it. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I read an oldish summary of zoning by the ever-excellent Lichfields. I think you can probably guess why. 

I also caught up with the LBWF project to count houses [short answer = use draft UPRNs upstream, but no one has fixed the approved inspector problem]. I’m doing something very similar (a bit similar?) with my work on housing land supply. On the whole “show & tell” thing – it’s been interesting (to me at least) how I have definitely taken some “digital” models of working into what I do, but only after I’ve been doing “improvement” of various sorts for the last 20 years. I may return to this thought in the future. 

My GDS training on content design -continues (I’m slightly behind). My reading hasn’t moved. I was struck, the other morning, that I have been gifted an opportunity to up my game by having a quiet space and some time but I’m not taking it. I think it is a confidence thing. Next week, if the sun shines, I’m going to take my “lean enterprise” book outside and a notepad.  

My database exploration hasn’t moved. I’m waiting for there to be a Venn diagram of feeling cleverer than usual and a clear couple of days in the diary. 

What did you make / achieve?
I made a one pager for a new project. I loves me a new project – so much potential, so little paperwork. I have even learned to appreciate the notion of a “deliverable”. 

Otherwise it is a big pile of work in progress, including some new things that smell suspiciously like yet more Programme Management things. 

What are you looking forward to next week?
Next week I am really looking forward to our housing & planning friends in the Combined Authority network. They won’t mind me saying (and they won’t know I’m saying it) that they collectively lift my spirits and make me believe in planning again. So much brainpower, so much interesting work. I expect to learn lots. 

We are also going to kick the tyres of our resource review work with some recent customers. I think we have become so paranoid of acting like Proper Consultants who offer councils cost savings [that conveniently pay for their expertise] that we have hidden our light under a bushel. Some brilliant work is trying to escape if we can only understand our customers a bit better. 

Weeknotes 4

w/e 05/06/2020
TL/DR
Crikey – doing work in line with my job title

What are you thinking about?
I’m thinking about infrastructure, and how local authorities programme their capital projects. 
I’m also doing some programme management – in this new world how can we demonstrate that we are good value for money ? We don’t get “happy sheets” from zoom conversations! How do we measure our impact?

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
I spoke to two bunches of people in quite different contexts but both conversations turned to “what next?” for planning policy. 

Yes, the world is starting to look more normal, but some of what we’ve learned about “what works” during a pandemic is going to have long-term and possibly huge implications for office space, retail, tall buildings, travel, town centres – you name it. 

Something I find difficult to understand is how we can make local plans – previously a bold statement about the next 15 years based mainly on things carrying on like before but better – into a vehicle for change where we don’t really know where we’ll be in 15 weeks. 
I have a feeling that without something positive to say the answer will be further PD (retail to resi anyone?) which will lose the opportunity to improve the way things work in a thoughtful and more holistic way. 

What did you learn / read this week?
My GDS training on content design -continues. Apparently I have become a massive bore and all I talk about is customer needs. I can live with it. 

My database exploration hasn’t moved. I’m waiting for there to be a Venn diagram of feeling cleverer than usual and a clear couple of days in the diary. 

What did you make / achieve?
I made some chunks for our FAQ on coronavirus that I hope are OK. 

I also finished off a couple of chunky projects. Almost ready to invoice! Now I just need to invent a new product to replace the one that generated 80% of our turnover that we cannot do any more.

What are you looking forward to next week?
Next week I am really looking forward to seeing a different bit of Government. I (obviously) love MHCLG to bits but its going to be fun and interesting to see what else is going on that might, in the end, be on the plate of local govt planners. 

Weeknotes 3

w/e 25/05/2020
TL/DR
Finally ticking some things off the list. 

What are you thinking about?
I’m thinking about productivity. Specifically I’m thinking about my own productivity – without intending to I revisited some work I’d published as lock-down started and it was terrible. I think it’s only in hindsight than I’ve realised just how badly my work was affected for a week or two. 

To counteract the driftyness of life I’m returning to the spirit of pomodoro and breaking up the day with musical interludes. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
It was a short (and half term) week so not much. I started saying goodbye to a previous customer, and started saying hello to a potential new one. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I began my GDS training on content design – better late than never. As expected it made me think afresh about what we know about our customers and their needs. It turns out – not a lot. At least, not a lot that we can prove. 

It was interesting coming at the same time as a mild difference of opinion inside PAS on the merits of various approaches to marketing. You can’t think about marketing without thinking about segments and BANG you arrive at need. We do need to get better at this stuff – especially now we don’t have the crutch of 1000 happysheets to “prove” people value our work. More training, more thinking, then action.

My database exploration hasn’t moved. I’m waiting for there to be a Venn diagram opportunity of feeling cleverer than usual and a clear couple of days in the diary. 

What did you make / achieve?
My bit of the website is complete. That was a slog. Don’t look yet – I need to vacuum the carpet and put out some dips & nibbles. And a new menu structure so you can navigate around. 

I also had a really interesting and productive chat internally about where we might go with our slightly unloved and tatty councillor materials. Exciting – and again a brilliant coincidence that it happened while I was thinking about our customers’ needs? Or .. ?

What are you looking forward to next week?
I’m looking forward to catching up with one of the newest unitary authorities. I was already slightly in awe of how calmly they were doing what was obviously a very difficult job, and then they started doing it remotely while also restructuring. 

I’ve also blocked a day out for doing the work I know I need to do but keep avoiding. Pomodoro at the ready – those projects are getting outlined if it kills me.

Weeknotes 2

w/e 12/05/2020
TL/DR
End of alpha; making new friends

What are you thinking about?
I spent more time than usual in video calls this week. It’s made me think about the good bits (wearing shorts, not going to Euston at 7am) and the less good bits (I think it makes me a bit “floaty” and less engaged with the detail of things). 

I’m also gearing up for a couple of board meetings. One backwards-looking and the other hopefully a simple confirmation that we have asked ourselves the right questions. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
In the race for the line for the digital local plans alpha I spent lots of time with dxw and some time with the client side for the final show & tell and recommendations. I also caught up with some heads of planning from further afield trying to understand how they are coping with all this. 

I also did my first big zoom gig, for the latest public practice cohort. I know it’s obvious, but it’s difficult to read the room. I over-ran, but was described as a good mix of cynicism and optimism which is what I aim for. 

What did you learn / read this week?
Not much this week. Somehow learning and reading doesn’t feel enough like work to spend much work time doing. I haven’t even logged in to my “Introduction to content design” on futurelearn. I think I may need to put it on the calendar to make it official. 

My database exploration continues. I have belatedly noticed that “low code” is a thing. I am possibly going to scope out my land pipeline monitoring thing as an Appsheet app.  I know the local gov cool kits use create but I don’t like not knowing how much things cost. 

What did you make / achieve?
I am part-way through making a couple of project scoping documents for the infrastructure work along with building a list of “wise people” (aka new friends) to help me test ideas and formulate plans. If I followed you on twitter this week, it is entirely mercenary I’m afraid.

I also helped frame the recommendations / next steps for the digital local plan project. 

What are you looking forward to next week?

A bank holiday! And my greenhouse having plants in it!

I’m signed up to Town Legal’s Planners’ Question Time – the infrastructure episode but probably only will get to the second half. 
I’ll also be doing some less jazzy but worthy things relating to the health of our grant position and what lockdown means for our commercial activities too. 

Weeknotes 1

w/e 15/05/2020
TL/DR
Getting organised, and using some props to help me find my way

What are you thinking about?
It has felt like my first “real” week of moving projects within PAS. I leave behind one alphabet soup (HDT, 5yLS and APS) and gain another (CIL, s106, IFS and IDP). 

To this end I have been mentally gearing up, tooling up (hence the start of my ‘weeknote’) and clearing the decks. I am finishing off some work hanging over from last year, and trying to avoid the most interesting and exciting part of any project (diving in!) and using a bit of discipline to avoid having too much work in progress.  

The new project is taking shape – it feels like it revolves around two things:

1 The Infrastructure Funding Statement
2 Some kind of support for the spending process

There might also be a side-order of responding to new CIL regulations which will (via an amendment, obvs) provide LPAs with some flexibility to reduce the cash flow problems of smaller developers. 

Who did you talk to outside of your organisation?
I had some frank chats with a couple of friends in different London Boroughs. They helped me understand the state of play and how they try to organise how they contribute CIL money towards their capital infrastructure programmes. 

I also had quite an eye-opening conversation with a CIL bod who was adamant that they had no interest in supplying spend data in the new CSV format. It appears there is work to be done making the case for benchmarking this stuff – it is clear to me that there is value to LPA people (but they see it as a government oversight thing).

Lastly I attended a couple of virtual planning committees. One was almost great, the other was grim. Audio only planning committees are incomprehensible. And, whisper it, my own view is that zoom beats teams for running natural and normal-seeming planning committees. 

What did you learn / read this week?
I continue to plough through “How to measure anything“. It is dense and chewy, but it has made me realise that most of the time when I angst about evaluation data I don’t really know what I’d really do differently. I hope I’m on a journey – at the moment the problem I thought I had (how to demonstrate the value of PAS) has turned into a bigger problem (how to make choices between things). Perhaps it will lead to a meta solution. 

I’m trying to learn about databases again. I’ve ignored them for a few years, but I might be back in the market to support a vague idea I’ve had to make some kind of “land pipeline” tool to help LPAs in the local plan / 5 year land supply process. Sometimes jobs are too big for spreadsheets. But does it have to be MS Access? In 2020?

What did you make / achieve?
We agree each year of the PAS programme and get it signed off to begin April – March. Despite the year having barely started we needed to do a Covid-19 review to see if we can still delliver the programme as originally intended. Broadly speaking the review showed that most things are going to proceed (except events – we still need to work out how to deliver a PAS-y event). We have also identified a couple of areas where we are going off piste to capture what good public engagement feels like and how local plans should respond to what we learned from Covid. 

There was also a bit of a scramble mid-week to support the guidance and announcements from MHCLG, including some CIL ones. 

What are you looking forward to next week?
Next week we wrap up the alpha of the local plans digital project. It has been fascinating, and I’m really interested to see where we end up. We have been very bold – and I think tried out some things that would never have been in scope in a traditionally managed project. I have learned loads, it will be hard to stop. 

Next week should also be the end of my part of the website refresh. Our website has been dreadful for so long it has felt unfixable but there is nothing like a lockdown to create new habits. Two pages a day, every day, and the elephant gets eaten. 

I hope also to meet another cohort of public practice associates. I’m not sure how it happened, but for a while I’ve been delivering the introduction to local govt / planning policy to each group of enormously qualified and clever people. It will be the first time doing a large group on zoom – I try to make it engaging so it will be odd not being able to read the room.