
The New Ways of Working is about fostering a culture of collaboration and consultation between the people that shape our organisation, including the members, volunteers, Board, and staff. By putting members at the heart of decision-making it will enable us to deliver on our purpose in accordance with our values.
Our goal is to create an organisation that values its staff and members. The New Ways of Working is the golden thread running through everything the LI does, from underpinning the next Corporate strategy to business as usual and volunteering.
The LI Board of Trustees add that “The LI has a vital role to play in addressing the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and creating a working environment in which its members, staff, and volunteers feel a combined strength and unity of vision is an essential part of delivering on this. Developing our ways of working to become the Institute we all want to be is a long-term and collaborative process, but great strides have already been made, and we’re confident that together, we can make a difference.”
To realise the ambitions of the New Ways of Working we are carrying out the following activities:
A clear, improved, member-centric and differentiated value proposition that will deliver new business models, products and services is the focus of the 2024/25 business plan.
This will improve our understanding of the market members are competing in to ensure we meet members’ expectations for future services and products.
One of the priorities of the digital transformation is to support and enable New Ways of Working so that different parts of our organisation can work together to build a more open and transparent Institute and ensure that members’ views and priorities are at the heart of both our decision-making processes, and our advocacy work on behalf of the profession.
A task and finish group has been set up to improve the way we develop and approve policy and technical guidance and review the roles of the Standing Committees, Advisory Council, Branch Committees and members in that process and how the digital transformation will support new ways of working that will put all the people that shape our organisation at the heart of decision making.
Review the future role and ways of working of country and regional branches and branch committees which will support and enable them to meet their branch members’ expectations.
Strengthen the way branches work with other parts of the organisation to ensure that members’ views and priorities are at the heart of both our decision-making processes, and our advocacy work on behalf of the profession.
Ensure the digital transformation supports new ways of working that will enable branch committees to work smarter.
Ensure that the structure and processes are in place for the LI to meet its legal and statutory responsibilities as a self-regulating professional body and provide pro-active assurance to the public, clients, the profession and stakeholders of the conduct and competence of LI members and LI registered practices.
The Board will ensure that the findings of the Brown Review and the CfGS Report are considered and implemented as appropriate, review the specific recommendations relating to the Board, and address the identified problems and associated risks.
A new People, Culture and Change Committee has been established to provide objective review, strategic oversight and assurance to the Board that the LI is discharging its statutory responsibilities relating to its people, the culture for the organisation and the equity, diversity and inclusion agenda.
The committee will ensure the outstanding work from the Brown review and the recommendations from the CfGS Report relating to culture of the organisation and the staff and volunteer experience are taken into account.
A new Governance Committee has been establieshed to recommend to the Board how the outstanding work from the Brown review and the recommendations from the CfGS Report should be taken forward in an implementation plan which members will be consulted on.
It will oversee and monitor the delivery of the plan as part of our Business Plans for 2023/24 and 2024/25.
The LI is currently operating around three strategic aims: people, membership and systems. These have been informed by feedback we received from the member survey conducted in 2023 and Roadshow in 2022. In response to this feedback, the LI has committed to eight pledges to guide its immediate work.
These pledges, supported by the New Ways of Working, are a golden thread throughout our Business Plan and are shaping our key activities.
Find more details on how we’re fulfilling these pledges using the tabs on the right or using the presentation below.
Strategy and Planning
The Brown (Independent) Review
Commissioned in 2020, the Brown Review detailed a set of recommendations for the LI across strategy, leadership, working environment, governance, and operational delivery.
Updates on the recommendations made in the Brown Review will be highlighted in all relevant LI activity and communications. Their ongoing implementation continues to guide our core business delivery and immediate strategic priorities of people, membership and systems.
Governance Review and Centre for Governance and Scrutiny Report
The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) report was commissioned by the Board of Trustees in 2022. The purpose was two-fold: to have an independent audit of the progress we had made in implementing the recommendations of the 2020 Brown Review into the functioning of the Landscape Institute, and to resume the wider review into our new ways of working. The Board received the Report at its meeting on 18 October 2023 and asked the newly established Governance Committee to consider its findings and advise on how its recommendations should be taken forward. When agreed they will be combined with the outstanding work from the Brown review into a plan which will be consulted on and implemented as part of our Business Plan for 2023-24 and 2024-25.
2024-25 Business Plan
The Landscape Institute’s Business Plan covering the period of April 2024 – March 2025 can be found here.
It follows directly on from the 2023-24 Business Plan, which represented a transition year, and the start of the LI’s New Ways of Working as a more open, inclusive Institute.
This year is focused on implementation, strengthening our member engagement through proactive consultation, and continuing to put members at the heart of decision-making. We remain committed to consulting, listening and responding to our members throughout each programme of work that the Business Plan sets out.
This means taking our learning from last year and working towards a stronger member value proposition, as well as stronger foundations in governance, communication and engagement. It also means focusing on our core business delivery, and our digital transformation programme, with strong financial principles and a pragmatic approach to resource and capacity.
In summary, our Business Plan 2024-25 will create a new level of stability for our staff, members and stakeholders. Also, with phased work over a longer period of time we will achieve better quality and collaboration, and improved decision-making.
LI brand identity review and update
We aim to update the LI brand, ensuring that it truly represents and supports the Institute today and into the future, driving growth, diversity, global reach, influence and profile across a wide range of stakeholder groups (members, volunteers, staff and partners).
Our brand is the combined perception of everything we are, everything we say and everything we do. The update will define a clear, modern and confident brand that resonates, is accessible and meets our audience’s needs. We will ensure our audiences are able to engage with, trust and experience the brand identity through tailored and relevant messaging.
The update will ensure a consistent, uniform identity across our channels and material and through every touchpoint and interaction. It will capture both hearts and minds, providing functional and emotional benefits, and conveying a solid value proposition to every constituent, inside and outside the organisation.
We’ll be issuing updates on progress throughout the process, including opportunities to get involved and have a say.
Quality and Standards
The way we build a more open, inclusive landscape institute, with a positive culture and high standards, is guided by the recommendations made to us in independent reviews such as the Brown Review, and the CfGS report, alongside feedback from our member survey.
A recommendation made in the Brown Review in 2020 was to review the effectiveness of the Board of Trustees. This has seen the creation of new ‘Governance’ and ‘People, Culture and Change’ committees, and a time-limited ‘Task and Finish Group’, which is reviewing the way the standing committees operate and the way we develop public policy and technical guidance.
A new, strong and invigorated staff team will focus on a vision around three core priorities of membership, people and systems, for the next 12-18 months in particular.
Digital Transformation
The LI’s digital transformation programme is set to dramatically improve the efficiency and experience of working with the LI for all.
Our new digital home will provide a seamless customer experience, offering simple, accessible member self-service and effective communications and engagement, unlocking value for members, staff and other stakeholders.
Integrating our digital operations into one ecosystem, it will include:
- Member services such as accreditation, technical guidance, and CPD
- Member self-services such as renewals, booking events, and CPD management
- Member portal
- Website
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and case management
- Content Management System (CMS)
Throughout 2024, we will be engaging with members from project kick off, through to launch.
We’ll be issuing updates on progress throughout the process, including opportunities to get involved and have a say.
- With ‘engagement’ being one of our eight pledges, we are keen to examine a more two-way engagement with members, registered practices, and branches.
- We will be looking at member grades and member value proposition, as well as the branch network proposition.
Opportunities to get involved in focus groups, meetings, and consultations.