• The tenth Public Practice cohort will bring new expertise to the public sector with 28 Associates joining 23 Authorities in England, including Borough Councils, District Councils and Unitary Councils.

• The last recruitment campaign saw Public Practice expand into the North of England and the organisation has now placed Associates into every London borough. With continued demand for urban design and planning, the current cohort spans roles from town centre regeneration response to property development.

• Public Practice CEO Pooja Agrawal says “Public Practice continues to grow and expand across England. Since launching, we have placed highly-skilled Associates into every borough across London, and we continue to expand into the North of England, attracting multidisciplinary experts to areas of the country where they can have maximum impact.…”

• Public Practice recently announced a £1m funding boost from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The funding will be used to expand the Associate Programme’s reach, opening up to local authorities in all regions of England for the first time since the organisation's launch in 2017.

• The Associate Programme supports the public sector’s place-making capabilities by recruiting skilled candidates to year long placements within local authorities. The programme is supported by a unique learning and development course, with the opportunity to join a cohort of like-minded professionals.

To date, Public Practice has placed 296 Associates into 78 Authorities in England, with 90% of Associates continuing working in the public sector following their placement. In this cohort, Public Practice has seen a high level of interest in place-making roles responding to the regeneration of England’s town centres. Calderdale Council sought a Programme Manager - Economy and Investment, and Croydon aimed to recruit a Regeneration Manager. Other roles that address regeneration are Barnet Council’s Town Centre Project Officer and Rochdale Development Agency’s Project Manager, with new public sector organisations including Guildford Borough Council and the Environment Agency.

This Spring, 82% of the successful associates come to work in the public sector for the first time, bringing with them a hugely diverse range of expertise, skills and backgrounds. Associates joining the 2023 programme include David Chambers, an experienced facilitator of community involvement in design and regeneration, and co-founder of Aberrant Architecture; Morgan Wild, who brings a wide range of experience from the residential sector, from small house extensions to large estate regeneration projects; Martin Prince-Parrott, an architect turned property developer, whose thought-leadership and advocacy for healthy cities have earned him features in The Times and the Architect's Journal; and Leonora Aigbokhae, an experienced architect at shedkm and teacher at the University of Sheffield School of Architecture.

Pooja Agrawal, CEO of Public Practice said:

“Public Practice continues to grow and expand across England. Since launching, we have placed highly-skilled Associates into every borough across London, and we continue to expand into the North of England, attracting multidisciplinary experts to areas of the country where they can have maximum impact. We are excited to provide purpose-led jobs to motivated built environment professionals, and support more authorities to achieve their placemaking goals through attracting the right people.

We will continue to work hard to ensure our Associates represent the diversity of the communities they serve by establishing a model of best practice and consistently improving our non-bias recruitment process.”

Joanna Averley, Chief Planner, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), said:

“We are delighted to be working with and funding Public Practice as part of the Government’s programme to support local planning authorities to recruit and develop skilled planners and built environmental professionals across England. This follows previous funding and is part of the wider programme to ensure planners have the skills and resources they need and are equipped to deliver a quality service for local communities.”

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) said,

“To be an effective and sustainable profession, we must be genuinely representative of the society in which we work. We believe that a diverse and inclusive profession is central to the future of planning. It is inspiring to see Public Practice working to make this a reality for the public sector throughout England.

“The work of the programme in increasing the talent available to England’s Local Planning Authorities and broadening the skills they need to tackle 21st century problems is invaluable. Together, we are ensuring planners are equipped to fully play their role in creating resilient, sustainable, connected, inclusive and vibrant places.”

To read more about our approach to diversity, visit our blog.

If you are a practitioner with over 3 years of relevant professional experience, you can apply now to the next Associate Programme.

If you work in a public sector body and would like to know more, read about our recruitment process.

Applications are open until 31st May 2023, visit Public Practice for more information and resources.

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Download the Press Release to see Notes to Editors.