PLACE GUIDE: A PROCESS FOR IMPROVED PLACE-BASED DECISION MAKING SCOTTISH FUTURES TRUST


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Key characteristics


The process set out in this Guide is flexible and adaptable. However, every Place approach should integrate these fundamental characteristics:


1 This is firmly rooted in the Place Principle,


the Place Framework and the Infrastructure Investment Plan hierarchy – the Guide encourages all stakeholders (including communities themselves) to collaborate to ensure that all existing and planned resources in a Place are maximised – and then deliver on agreed outcomes for the greatest collective benefit possible. The Guide encourages all partners working locally to align plans and investments for the long-term.


2 Those involved in Place initiatives should


always recognise ‘purpose’: why are we doing this work, and what agreed outcomes are we trying to deliver? If strategic assessments, business cases, masterplans, Gateway reviews, Net Zero standards are not delivering against an agreed Place Brief, then we should be asking why we are progressing with certain initiatives.


3 Place-based approaches do not create


additional bureaucracy and are not about new ‘talking shops’. They are to synthesise and organise existing agendas and initiatives (e.g. the National Planning Framework, Infrastructure Investment Plan, Housing to 2040, Local Place Plans and 20 Min Neighbourhoods) to increase co-ordination and impact. The focus is to bring clarity to complex, changing environments by identifying priorities for communities and creating the conditions for delivery. This Guide is a living document and will be updated with experiences and lessons from its use across Scotland.


4 The Guide explicitly warns against reinventing


the wheel. Reuse and repurpose: given the nature of Place work, there are lots of (possibly fragmented) resources and information sources covering pieces of the jigsaw. The initial effort is in identifying that work, signposting and connecting it to others.


5 Also, proportionality matters, especially in


our resource-constrained environments. Not all steps will take the same time in every Place. Colleagues should consider what is the minimum amount of information and structure needed to make a timely and justifiable decision.


6 The process and outputs of the Guide are for


the long-term not to be discarded after a year or even one election cycle. The Place Brief and Diagram are tools of accountability across time, maintained and informing subsequent briefs and projects that can change and flex.


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