Irish Planning Institute
The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) is the professional body representing the majority of professional planners engaged in physical and environmental planning in Ireland. Founded in 1975, the IPI now represents circa 700 qualified planners in Ireland. The Institute consists of a governing Council, and a number of Regional Branches and the Private Sector Branch who organise locally relevant events.
The IPI works with both its members and other built environment professionals to promote and improve the quality of planning, to represent the views of the planning profession and to contribute to education and environmental awareness in the wider community.
This is achieved through the hosting of conferences and CPD Events for its members; awarding, recognising and publishing best practice; making submissions on behalf of the planning profession on national policies, governance and other relevant publications and papers; and by representing the values of planning and planning professionals in the general media.
Activities
The Irish Planning Institute is an active member of the European Council of Spatial Planners and has held the Presidency of this organisation. Through this involvement, the Institute not only represents Irish planning interests abroad but also forges important links with sister institutions in Europe.
As the main professional body for planners in Ireland, the IPI is one of the nominated bodies under the European Directive on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications that regulates entry to the profession. The IPI inspects and accredits on invitation a number of planning courses in universities and other third level educational institutions across the island of Ireland. The Institute is also a nominating body to Seanad Éireann and to An Bord Pleanála.
The Irish Planning Institute lobbies central Government on new legislation and on planning policy at national, regional and local levels. It also from time to time issues statements on current topics of public interest and debate.
The IPI publishes "Pleanáil" which is the only technical publication on planning theory and professional planning practice published in Ireland. It also circulates a regular "e-Zine" / Newsletter to its members.
Through its annual National Planning Conference, the Institute offers a major forum for the debate of planning and related topics. It also organises the National Planning Awards every two years and a series of CPD events throughout the year to promote best practice and to inform our membership regarding new approaches and policies.
Events
The IPI runs a series of events throughout the year designed to discuss spatial planning issues in Ireland and inform best practice, culminating in the annual National Planning Conference.
The National Planning Conference is held annually at different venues around the country and offers an opportunity for IPI Members and non-Members to come together to discuss topical issues in physical and environmental planning in Ireland; explore new approaches and gain experience of new practices for planning within and beyond Ireland. The content examines both the overall policy themes and practical models to give each attendee a range of new knowledge. The 2010 National Planning Conference – "Planning for a Smarter Ireland" – was held in Tullamore on 15 and 16 April 2010.
The IPI, through its branches, also runs regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars and training events for its members, focusing on issues relevant to planning practice. It provides opportunities for members to update and broaden their knowledge and to share information and experience across the profession. At least one CPD event each year focuses on legal elements of planning practice.
The IPI also hosts smaller conference events, and every second year organises a CPD event to a European city or region giving its members the opportunity to learn about various planning approaches used by our European colleagues. The most recent event was held in March 2010 and visited Bristol, Bath and Poundbury in the southwest of the UK.
Every second year, the Institute presents a number of awards aimed at highlighting the best examples of planning practice during the previous years and to raise the standard of townscape design and planning awareness both within the public and private sectors. The National Planning Awards seek to illustrate the diversity and wide scope of planning activity today, and give recognition to successful and innovative planning strategies, schemes or developments, which make an outstanding contribution to the quality of life in urban and rural parts of Ireland.
Membership
The Irish Planning Institute has six categories of membership: Fellowship, Corporate, Graduate, Student, Affiliate and Honorary.
Fellowship is generally awarded to professionally qualified planners who have considerable professional planning experience and who have made an important contribution to the development of the Institute.
Corporate Membership, which is the main class of membership, is open to professionally qualified planners those who have reached a standard of knowledge, skill and professional experience necessary to engage in planning in Ireland, in the public sector or in private practice. This class of membership is also open to qualified professional planners who are full members of the member Institutes of the European Council of Spatial Planners, and to recently qualified planners from other countries, subject to appropriate post-qualification experience, under the provisions of the European Directive on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications.
Graduate Membership is available to those who have acquired an IPI accredited planning qualification and, under certain circumstances, those who have been awarded planning qualifications which have not been accredited by the IPI.
Persons engaged in a programme of formal study leading to an IPI accredited planning qualification from a planning school are eligible for Student Membership of the Institute.
Affiliate Membership can be awarded to persons who have a professional qualification that is related to planning, who have been engaged in approved research or practice related to planning and who have been engaged in approved research or practice relating to planning, and who have made a special contribution to planning in Ireland.
Honorary Membership is generally awarded as an honour on an individual whose special interests have been deemed by the Institute to have made an outstanding contribution to planning.
Governance
The Council of the IPI, which is the governing body of the Institute, is directly elected by the Members by postal ballot and has a membership of 18 persons. It consists of one Corporate or Fellow member from each of the eight regional and sectoral branches, plus 6 other Corporate or Fellow members, all elected nationally, plus one Graduate member, elected nationally by all of the Graduate members, and there are three student members, elected by the student members in the three recognised planning schools. Each Council member serves a term of 2 years, and half of the membership is up for election in May of each year, to ensure continuity. A new Council takes up office each June and elects the officers – President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, in each case whose term of office is one year. The Institute’s programme of events for the year runs from June to May.
The aims of the Planning Institute are:
- To raise the standards of planning.
- To articulate professional planning opinion.
- To improve and promote the status of the planning profession.
- To contribute to planning education.
- To encourage environmental awareness in the community.
- To represent Irish planning interests abroad.
There are a number of regional and sectoral branches within the Institute. The Regional Branches are: the Cork Branch, the Midland Branch, the Mid-West Branch, the Western Branch, the South Eastern Branch, the Greater Dublin Area Branch and the Northern Branch (covering members in Northern Ireland). The sectoral Branch is the Private Practice Branch, covering members working in private practice throughout the island of Ireland.