Our partners

The Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) represents over 40,000 planners in some 28 countries across the Commonwealth. We have worked closely with The Prince’s Foundation and other partners from the very inception of the Toolkit; indeed it was at CAP’s Conference of Delegates in Fiji that the Toolkit project was launched by a video message from HRH Prince Charles.

The Toolkit will be of practical benefit to many planners and communities in the Commonwealth particularly where urbanisation rates are high and professional resource capacity is limited. Unfortunately, as revealed by CAPs recent survey of the planning profession, many of the fastest growing urban areas in the Commonwealth have the least resources to effectively manage growth in sustainable ways; also to add to the challenges these urban areas may also be subject to extreme weather events such as in small island developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. If we are to have any chance of meeting the UNs Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 then we will need to effectively manage the growth of our urban areas – the Toolkit will be valuable aid in helping achieve this.

CAP has been involved in testing of the Toolkit in Sierra Leone and we are supporting the implementation of the toolkit elsewhere. We are very pleased to have this opportunity to endorse the Toolkit as a methodology that will be a valuable aid to planners and all others involved in managing the growth of urban areas across the Commonwealth and beyond.

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) represents local governments, local government associations and ministries of local government across the 54 member states of the Commonwealth. Planning is a core function of local government. Mayors and local leaders, as well as local administrations have a central role in planning and in ensuring communities are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, they also have a responsibility and accountability to ensure that their citizens are part of the planning process throughout. CLGF has been involved in the Rapid Planning Toolkit since its inception and is looking forward to working with The Prince’s Foundation and other partners to trial and refine it for wider adoption as a tool to support and enhance local planning processes.

As part of a partnership with other Commonwealth organisations, CLGF is working to actively promote a stronger focus on sustainable urbanisation in the Commonwealth. Sustainable urbanisation requires governments at all levels, civil society and the private sector to work together, and effective planning underpins so much of this work. Once it has been fully tested, we hope that the Rapid Planning Toolkit will be a valuable resource available to support members, including the cities that are part of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network, in their work towards sustainable urbanisation and achieving the SDGs.

The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) exists to advance the profession of architecture throughout the Commonwealth. With nearly 50% of the projected increase in the Worlds urban population to 2050 predicted to be taking place in Commonwealth countries, the CAA is working closely with a range of partners to help address the key challenges of climate change and rapid urbanisation together with the recovery from Covid-19.

In June 2020, the CAA published its Survey of the Built Environment Professions in the Commonwealth. Undertaken jointly with its planning, engineering and surveying colleagues, the findings of the survey reveal that there is a critical lack of capacity in a number of Commonwealth countries, many of which are urbanising rapidly and are among the most vulnerable, a situation which is compounded by the fact that much of this growth will be taking place in secondary cities, the majority of which have little or no access to professional built environment expertise.

The CAA is an enthusiastic supporter of the Rapid Planning Toolkit as a means of enabling local communities to engage with the challenges of rapid urbanisation in an effective and inclusive manner. It offers a straightforward and scalable approach which can help to articulate a shared vision together practical solutions that will make a real difference on the ground

The NYU Marron Institute conducts innovative applied research, working with cities to take on the critical challenges of urban living. Cities are central to economic development and the entrepreneurial and technological advances that improve the human condition. But urban density has a downside: it can exacerbate pollution, overburden infrastructure and public services, and increase the potential for crime and violence. We are championing a new model of academic research to address these challenges and improve the opportunities available to the billions of urban residents around the world.

NYU is proud to partner with The Prince’s Foundation in the creation and use of the Rapid Planning Toolkit. Rapidly growing cities around the world need resources and guidance to prepare land for their inevitable urban expansion. This toolkit offers tested and innovative strategies for getting ahead of urban expansion, and its deployment will reduce informality, promote orderly and low-carbon development, and make possible the accommodation of rural to urban migrants in well-planned, well-managed cities.

UCEM is the leading provider of supported online education for the Built Environment, with more than 100 years’ experience of providing the highest quality learning opportunities. At any one time, it has more than 4,000 students from more than 100 countries benefiting from its qualifications taught by tutors with extensive industry experience.

UCEM helps to enhance Built Environment professional careers through its accredited property-related and construction programmes, offered at Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Apprenticeship levels. UCEM is a not-for-profit educational organisation with charitable status.

UCEM is please to support The Prince’s Foundation in the co-development of the Rapid Planning Toolkit, such a positive way to influence the global planning process. From our point of view, it should help to ensure that we create sustainable futures.

One World Link (OWL) is a voluntary organisation, formed in 1981, promoting friendship between the city of Bo in Sierra Leone and Warwick District in the UK. Over the years it has helped to strengthen both communities and their awareness of global and development issues. OWL has established a strong local government link which has seen joint projects and skills sharing between officers from local councils in both countries. One of these links has been in town planning, linking planners in the UK with their counterparts in Bo.

Bo City Council has an ambition to develop a spatial plan for Bo, to support the projected rapid growth of the city over the next 25 years.  The Rapid Urbanisation Toolkit being developed by The Prince’s Foundation has been an ideal vehicle to help this; to provide the skills, capacity and confidence to help the City Council develop its own plan.  Since 2017 OWL has been working with The Prince’s Foundation as it has used Bo as a pilot location for the Toolkit and has supported several Toolkit workshops in the city.

Bo, commonly referred to as Bo Town, is located in Sierra Leone and is the largest city in the Southern Province and the second largest city in Sierra Leone. Bo City Council (BCC) was introduced to The Prince’s Foundation through its connections with One World Link (a voluntary organisation, formed in 1981, promoting friendship between the city of Bo in Sierra Leone and Warwick District in the UK).

Bo began working with The Prince’s Foundation at the start of 2020 to test the Rapid Planning Toolkit. Over the course of 6 months BCC completed Steps 1, 2 and 3 and intend to test Step 4 throughout 2021. The Rapid Planning Toolkit has been a fantastic guide and capacity building tool for us and has helped BCC demonstrate to the Council, local stakeholders and the community the importance of achieving sustainable urbanisation by protecting key routes and preserving the wetlands. We look forward to continuing to work with The Prince’s Foundation.