What happens when you join Open Digital Planning?
When your authority joins Open Digital Planning, it receives practical support to improve its planning service. This includes:
- completing a Digital Planning Maturity Assessment to understand strengths and areas for improvement
- developing an action plan to improve planning data, digital skills and ways of working
- taking part in training linked to the action plan
- improving and publishing 4 planning datasets so they can be collected by the Planning Data Platform: conservation areas, listed buildings, tree preservation orders and article 4 directions
- accessing practical guidance and learning from other authorities
Digital Planning Improvement Fund
The next round of the Digital Planning Improvement Fund offers £50,000 and practical support to help authorities improve planning data, build digital skills and prepare to adopt digital tools.
Local planning authorities in England that have not previously received funding from the fund can apply.
Applications open on 12 November 2026 and close at 5pm on 11 December 2026. Onboarding and work on the funded activities will begin in spring 2027.
Read the Digital Planning Improvement Fund guidance to check eligibility, understand the activities and register for an online Q&A session.
Digital Planning Maturity Assessment (DPMA)
The Digital Planning Maturity Assessment (DPMA) helps your authority understand how digital tools, data and ways of working currently support its planning service. It covers areas including:
- digital and design skills
- data and insights
- culture and ways of working
The results help your authority identify strengths, agree priorities and track progress over time. With support from MHCLG and Open Digital Planning, your authority uses the results to develop an action plan based on its needs.
“The Digital Planning Maturity Assessment has been really useful. It helped us map out the data we needed and the required formats, making it easier for our team - including those with less technical experience - to contribute effectively. It’s been a real team effort. ”
Castle Point Borough Council
Learning and development
Through Open Digital Planning, your authority can access training to build digital and data skills and support its action plan. Topics may include:
- agile project delivery
- geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial data
- user-centred design
- user research
- Microsoft Power BI, a tool for analysing and presenting data
- procurement
- change management
Training helps staff build the skills and confidence to carry out improvements and make better use of digital tools in their planning services.
Self-service support
The Open Digital Planning Hub gives members access to practical guides, toolkits and shared learning to help them improve their planning services and use digital tools effectively.
“The ODP Slack channel is fantastic - you can post a question, and someone, somewhere, will have the answer.”
Horsham District Council
Networking and collaboration
Open Digital Planning helps your authority connect with others, share experience and work through common challenges.
- Slack: connect with council officers, project partners and colleagues across the public sector to ask questions, share ideas and get advice.
- Show and tells: join online sessions where authorities share progress, discuss challenges and demonstrate digital planning tools. Find upcoming sessions on our events page and watch previous sessions on the Open Digital Planning YouTube channel.
- In-person events: build digital skills and learn from other authorities through practical sessions and discussions.
Your authority can also get involved in developing and adopting digital planning tools, including PlanX, the Back Office Planning System (BOPS) and the Digital Planning Register, and join groups working on shared challenges.