Following the recent launch of our Impact Report which reflects on our work over the past year, we’re now looking ahead to the future – the next three years to be precise. At the beginning of the year, we brought together staff, board members, and volunteer representatives to discuss our strategic priorities for 2025-2028. After some in-depth conversations about the ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘what’ of Planning Aid Scotland, we’re excited to share our new strategy.  

Back in early March, we came together at the Burness Paull offices overlooking Edinburgh Castle (thanks to our Board Director, Alasdair!) to discuss the very foundations of Planning Aid Scotland – our vision, mission, values, and strategic priorities. We scrutinised our old strategy, which has guided us since 2022, and checked that it was still relevant to our work today.  

Several words and phrases came up again and again during discussions, highlighting issues important to the team. These included: help, people, communities, voice, empower, decision-making, communicating, accessibility, better system, influencing, and equality.  

During the workshop and in subsequent staff meetings, we started to really drill down into the fundamentals of why we do what we do – our purpose. This is the thing that inspires us, the reason we even exist! We decided to follow a new approach. Using Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’ concept as a starting point, we began to elaborate on ‘why’ we do what we do, consider ‘how’ we achieve this, and ‘what’ services we offer.  

Using this model, we have tried to make our plan for the next three years as streamlined as possible. We want this strategy to provide clear direction so that we can focus our energy on what counts – the work!

As our Chief Executive, Johanna Boyd says: 

“Focussing on the ‘why’ helped us to consider what really matters, our purpose. The conversations were energising – coming together in a room full of enthusiasm and discussing the fundamentals of the organisation. It was a joy to experience! This exercise was crucial to make sure we’re all singing from the same sheet over the next three years and beyond.”

During the workshop we also debated the values we outlined in 2022 and were pleased to see that they remain relevant three years on. We have however decided to include a new value – Innovation – to reflect the launch of our Centre of Excellence and Innovation, a bold step forward in sharing best practice, driving innovation, and championing collaborative learning across the sector.  

As Jill Paterson, our Chair explained:  

“Looking ahead to the next three years, we are embarking on an ambitious journey to make sure we continue to meet the needs of communities across Scotland. We are aiming to become more innovative, building on our expertise and collaborating with others to maximise our impact. Overall, this process highlighted to me that whether staff, board or volunteer – we’re all striving towards the same goal. Putting people at the heart of planning.”  

The other big change is in our approach to addressing the climate emergency. Given the enormity of the challenge, we decided to embed this priority as a cross-cutting theme that will underpin everything we do. This gives the issue sufficient weight and keeps it at the forefront of our work.     

We hope that this new strategy helps to focus our energy for the next three years and ensures we are working efficiently towards our overarching goal – an inclusive society where communities are empowered to shape decisions about their place. 

Planning Aid Scotland Strategy