From Architecture to Digital Planning: Enabling Efficiencies at Buckinghamshire Council

I chose to become an architect because I appreciate the profession's interdisciplinary nature. It allows me to engage in visual and systems-based thinking while refining my creative process.

Those of us interested in systems and design work are often motivated by identifying existing problems that need to be solved and the tangible impact of their designs. In short, we design and create with the goal of improving the world. This is why I have always been drawn to the public sector, seeing it as an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the public.

Throughout my 9 years in architectural practice, I learned to work collaboratively with other disciplines, focusing on Building Information Modelling (BIM) design and delivery. At the time, the construction industry was undergoing a rapid change in working processes due to BIM, shifting from document-based to data-driven models. Throughout that stage in my career, I participated in numerous discussions with other construction industry professionals about optimising workflows using BIM as a catalyst for increased efficiency in design, delivery and procurement.

As I headed into my Public Practice placement at Buckinghamshire Council in Spring 2023, I expressed hope that my experience working with BIM and commercially-driven aspects of architectural practice would be transferable and useful within local government as a force for good.

Buckinghamshire Council is a member of the Open Digital Planning (ODP), a network of forward-thinking Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in England committed to modernising existing planning processes. As of 2024, this network has grown to 100 councils.

Buckinghamshire Council is one of the LPAs within this network embarking on the project of co-designing and delivering digital planning services for submission and guidance (PlanX), assessment and processing (Back-Office Planning Systems), and consultation and index (Digital Site Notice and Digital Planning Register). We have been working with fellow LPA council officers, central government, content writers, user researchers and developers from digital agencies in the spirit of support, openness and transparency.

My role as Digital Planning Innovation & Delivery Officer is broad and ever-changing. It was initially designed to span the domains of ODP delivery, agile project management, building stakeholder relationships, grant management, and procurement.

I work closely with the Buckinghamshire Council technical and integrations lead, who is the product owner for the Back-Office Planning System (BOPS) and has detailed knowledge of the council infrastructure.

My role has since expanded and evolved into product owner duties for PlanX, which involves submitting proposals for the product backlog, testing new features, monitoring the health of the council’s live PlanX services, as well as building and owning some of the Council’s proprietary services. For example, I manage the service design backlog of a planning enforcement service, ‘Report a Planning Breach’, and maintain the service in the back-end of PlanX, which includes service design, content design and automation. I also facilitate and coordinate other LPA enforcement officers co-designing the service.

Apart from product research and development, there are numerous working groups around ODP product operations. Early in my placement, I took on the role of the Buckinghamshire Council representative in the ODP Metrics and Evaluation group, which aims to collect data to understand the benefits to the Council and citizens using new software products, provide feedback to product teams and share results across councils to help identify differences and learning opportunities.

With so many LPAs involved in ODP and the current maturity of the project we need to develop standards and guidance that will enable consistent measurement across LPAs and allow aggregation and comparison of data. The project has many moving parts and dependencies. Although we work in an agile way, we need to relate to the existing council waterfall processes. This is why, as the project evolves, we continuously appraise and revise our ways of working.

It is crucial for me to be aware of specific user pain points stemming from current software and processes and be an advocate for the needs of our planning teams and their conduit to product development agencies. Since I am responsible for organising and coordinating product testing activities at the council, I need to have many conversations with the planning teams to minimise disruption to business-as-usual processes as much as possible.

Our working practices deliver measurable results, with spot tests showing significant time savings using ODP products compared to incumbent processes. A growing number of LPAs are adopting and using these products.

In Buckinghamshire Council, our ‘Report a Planning Breach’ PlanX service has yielded a substantial drop in invalid planning breach reports, reducing the volume of all submissions by 33% and significantly reducing the workload for the planning enforcement team.

When I initially accepted my placement offer, I was excited but apprehensive about a drastic shift from practicing architecture to software and technology. The first few weeks in my new role were an accelerated learning of a new industry and working culture. I learned many new concepts that are common knowledge in digital product development, as well as more nuances on planning systems. While as an architect, I had a practical understanding of the planning system, there were still more nuances to learn from fellow planning officers.

What helped contribute to the project most has been my specialism in BIM, which facilitated a seismic shift from documents to data, the process still maturing across the construction industry in the UK and a vision which lies at the heart of ODP which is that of a holistic digital transformation of public planning services. There is a moment ahead when BIM will become an integral part of digital planning, and I am excited to be part of shaping that future.

My placement at Buckinghamshire Council has enriched my career, giving it a distinct and valuable edge. I have gained skills that, while a shift from the construction industry, are universally applicable across both the public and private sectors.

• Image one: Maya Szybicka
• All other images: ODP