The President It’s all about the future

As the anniversary of Covid-related work from home practices fall upon us, I have found myself reflecting upon the ways in which we communicate with each other within the planning and legal professions and how we have had to adapt and shift over the past 12 months. Of course there is the obvious shift to videoconferencing which required much improved IT literacy for many in the first part of 2020, and we’ve certainly all had to spend many more hours on the phone and in front of a screen as a result. But there are other, more intangible, shifts that have had to occur. It seems to me that we’ve had to develop vast new skills to do what otherwise comes reasonably naturally to many who have trained in planning and related professions – and that is, to communicate.

Whilewe’veallsuccessfully adoptedthetechnology and soldiered on, what has beenprovenisthatthe moreintangiblequalities, efficiencies and benefits of conductinghearingsinperson ormeetinginpersontodiscuss solutions,aresimplylostin an online forum.

It’s often been said that planning, and planning law, distinguish themselves from other professional disciplines and jurisdictions because they are areas of interest that are essentially about the future. Lawyers within this jurisdiction are more rarely advocating concerning historical events or contractual disputes than they are about a proposal, or some future event. This inherent requirement to persuade concerning something that is yet to be created, such as a new building, or yet to be implemented or tested, such as a proposed policy direction, requires the professions to deliver a compelling vision and to give comfort as to a suite of unknowns.

That being the case, the transition from in person meetings and hearings to purely online forums has presented its challenges. While we’ve all successfully adopted the technology and soldiered on, what has been proven is that the more intangible qualities, efficiencies and benefits of conducting hearings in person or meeting in person to discuss solutions, are simply lost in an online forum. One is left with a sense that one is making do, rather than operating within a forum that is able to deliver optimum outcomes.

Having said that, the online forum has facilitated access to hearings for the public and for those who would not otherwise be available to attend an in person hearing and that has very positive consequences for the engagement that the community is able to have with planning projects and processes.

I have been pleasantly surprised about the inclination of so many to return to their offices in recent months, perhaps highlighting the rewarding nature of in person communication and engagement which was lost to us for most of 2020.

Tamara Brezzi President, VPELA

As the year progresses, there will be a need to once again reinvent the ways in which we communicate with each other as the hybrid models evolve. In my view this will require almost as much reinvention as the shift to full time online communication required in March 2020. We’ve no doubt all sat in meetings where a number of people are together in a room, but some participants are on a videoconference facility. If not managed well, the videoconference facility participants can be left to feel that they are merely observing the meeting being conducted by those in the room, rather than feeling very much a part of the meeting. With an inclination to retain all of the access benefits that have arisen from the online forum, such as being able to access hearings and documents without having to be physically present in the hearing room, these are factors that will need to be thought through carefully as the hybrid model evolves.

There’s a fine balance to be struck between resisting the permanent loss of the intangible qualities of in person meetings and hearings on the one hand, and the access to justice benefits on the other. We would all do well to check in about the ways in which our communication methods and styles have had to change, and will have to continue to evolve, particularly where that communication is concerned with the profession’s engagement with community about planning ideas, concepts and proposals.

Tamara Brezzi is President of VPELA and a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright

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