Promoting quality
We promote best practice and excellence in planning, architecture and design by assessing performance and also by funding external organisations and supporting a number of awards and competitions. More information about these is provided below.
- performance
- Scottish Planning Innovation Awards
- Architecture and Design Scotland
- RIAS Doolan Award for Best Building in Scotland
- Scottish Civic Trust My Place Awards
- Our Place website
You can find information about older events and competitions in our website archive.
Performance
We publish statistics on timescales and approval rates for planning applications on a biannual basis. These statistics also provide information on local reviews and enforcement activity.
From 2011/12 to 2022/23 planning authorities, prepared an annual Planning Performance Framework (PPF) report which provided a measurement of quality of the service The final reports are generally available on planning authorities' own websites and the Heads of Planning Scotland website.
Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Directorate produce an annual report and the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) produces an annual review of the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division 2023 to 2024.
We also co-chair the High Level Group on Planning Performance alongside the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
National Planning Improvement Champion
Scotland’s first National Planning Improvement Champion was appointed in September 2023 and is based in the Improvement Service. The NPIC is currently implementing the national planning improvement framework which replaces the PPFs. The role aims to support continuous improvement in the planning system.
Scottish Planning Innovation Awards
The Scottish Planning and Innovation Awards (SPIA) replaced the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning (SAQP) Awards after a hiatus of four years. The SAQP ran for 20 years.
See a list of the 2024 SPIA winners.
Architecture and Design Scotland
Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Directorate are the sponsor team for Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS). A&DS promote the value of good architecture and sustainable places in support of current policy.
A&DS is an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) which provides specialist advice, resources and support on design, architecture and placemaking to practitioners in the built environment sector and communities across Scotland. A&DS also collaborates with a wide range of other public bodies through its work to implement place-based approach in built environment projects. A range of information and free resources are available on the A&DS website.
RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award
We contribute annually to the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award to highlight and celebrate excellence in architecture as well as generating debate around design, quality and place. See the RIAS Award Winners 2023
Scottish Civic Trust My Place awards
We provide annual grant support to the Scottish Civic Trust's My Place Awards scheme. The Awards aim to identify and showcase community-led built environment projects that have had a positive impact in their local places and have delivered tangible benefits to those communities.
Our Place website
The Our Place website is a collaborative site devoted to promoting the benefits of place and place-based working. Our Place contains information, tools and resources to support the development of places and services that improve our health, our prosperity, our quality of life and protect our environment. The website is developed and supported by the partners behind the Place Standard tool – Scottish Government, A&DS, Improvement Service, Public Health Scotland and Glasgow City Council.