Members urged to tap into research network opportunities

Planning, 1 August 2008

Practitioners are short of time and cannot always locate or find materials in a useful form, observed the director of the University of the West of England centre for environment and planning. Researchers in turn report difficulty in forging links with practitioners either to carry out research or to find out about the most pressing issues to investigate.

The network hopes to tackle the barriers that practitioners, educators and researchers face in sharing information and ideas and developing projects of mutual interest. It will build on the experience of the RTPI's other networks in supporting communications. Williams hopes that the network will offer a platform to identify research agendas, to lobby for planning research and its use in education and policy and to raise the profile of spatial planning. "We see it as a place where ideas and approaches can be shared. The network hopes that members will get involved with special task groups on topical issues. The aim is also to make it easier for members to keep in touch by creating a kind of planners' Facebook," she says.

Membership of the network is open to anyone with an active role in planning and related research and education. The benefits include a dedicated website, discussion forums, workshop events, a regular e-bulletin for members to share information, access to the members' database to enable networking and input to the development of RTPI policy and activity in research, education and lifelong learning.

For further information, please email research@rtpi.org.uk.