Planning Innovation Summit 2025
Digital Task Force for Planning and Connected Places Catapult co-host the Planning Innovation Summit 2025 to explore the future of planning through digital innovation and collaboration.
Planning Innovation Summit 2025 – Reimaging the Future of Planning: Digital, Integrated, and Strategic Pathways
[Online Livestream Registration Link: https://cp.catapult.org.uk/event/planning-innovation-summit/]
Join us online on 23 September where the Planning Innovation Summit 2025, co-hosted by Connected Places Catapult and the Digital Task Force for Planning, will convene leading voices from government, industry, academia, and civic society – from within and beyond the planning sector, to reimagine the future of planning.
This hybrid event will focus on how digital transformation, integrated systems thinking, and strategic cross-sector collaboration can enable a more efficient, holistic, and resilient approach to spatial planning. It will also spotlight current gaps and untapped opportunities for planning innovation and partnership across sectors.
Whether you’re a policymaker, planner, technologist, researcher, or industry innovator, join us for a day of thought-provoking discussions, live innovation showcases, and collaborative dialogue on what the next era of planning innovation could – and should – look like.
Key Features:
- Thought leadership panels featuring speakers from government, industry, and academia – including MHCLG, DfT, UCL and others.
- PlanTech Innovation Showcase by the Digital Planning Directory, seed funded by MHCLG – with live demonstrations and spotlight presentations.
- Opportunities to connect across sectors – network with professionals working in land use, transport, infrastructure, and data integration.
Agenda:
| Time | Activities | Chairs & Speakers |
| 10:00 – 10:05 | Welcome | Alan Welby – Managing Director of Built Environment & Local Growth, Connected Places Catapult |
| 10:05 – 10:20 | Keynote Speech: Spatial Planning Reimagined: A Digitally Enabled, Integrated Approach to Planning | Dr Wei Yang OBE – CEO, Digital Task Force for Planning |
| 10:20 – 11:05 | Panel 1: Shaping a Shared Vision for Digital and Integrated Planning This session will explore how digital innovation, collaboration, and the alignment of various government digital programmes can help shape a shared vision for a more integrated planning system and support more efficient, transparent, and outcome-focused planning processes. | Chair: Dr Wei Yang OBE Speakers: Liz Scott – Geospatial Solutions Architect, Satellite Applications Catapult Prof Mike Batty CBE – Bartlett Professor of Planning, CASA, UCL Rhonda Griffiths –Head of LLC Programme Management & Policy, HM Land Registry Speaker from MHCLG (TBC) |
| 11:05 – 11:35 | Morning Break | |
| 11:35 – 11:45 | CPC Insights: The Journey of Digital Planning: Past, Present & Future | Bin Guan – Senior Consultant – Planning & Urbanism, Connected Places Catapult |
| 11:45 – 12:45 | Planning Innovation Show&Tell and Panel 2: The Journey of Digital Planning Innovation This session will reflect on the digital planning innovation journey of some of the pioneering PropTech companies in the sector to date, exploring both the challenges and opportunities. 5-minute spotlight presentations from each panellist followed by a 35-min discussion. | Chair: Lou Welham – Head of Innovation, MHCLG Speakers: Alastair Parvin – CEO, Open Systems Lab Benjy Meyer – Managing Director, CommonPlace Daniel Mohamed – CEO, Urban Intelligence Grace Manning-Marsh – Chief of Staff, LandTech Martyn Evans – Head of Product, UnBoxed |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break | |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | Panel 3: Integrating Land Use and Transport Planning for Connected, Sustainable Places This session will examine how integrating land use and transport planning, supported by digital tools, can help create more connected, sustainable places that delivers growth, enhances mobility, reduces emissions, and improves quality of life. | Chair: Alan Nettleton – Head of Integrated Transport Delivery, Connected Places Catapult Speakers: Ben Plowden – CEO, Campaign for Better Transport Rob Singleton – Head of Planning, Housing and Transport, DfT Sue Percy – CEO, CIHT Dr Valentina Marin – Associate Director, Space Syntax |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Panel 4: Integrating Strategic Spatial Planning with Digital Planning This session will explore how digitalisation might benefit the emerging system of strategic planning across England, as we continue to develop digital planning for local planning activities. New Spatial Development Strategies will work alongside a devolved local government programme and infrastructure provision. What new digital services can help us shape and deliver these new arrangements? | Chair: Prof Mark Tewdwr Jones – Professor of Cities and Regions, CASA, UCL Speakers: Annette Jezierska – CEO, The Future Fox Catriona Riddell – Director, Catriona Riddell & Associates Dr David Mountain – Research Manager, RTPI Terry De Sousa – Planning Policy & Strategy Team Leader, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service Speaker from MHCLG (TBC) |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Afternoon Break | |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Planning Innovation Show&Tell and Panel 5: A Digitally Enabled, Integrated Future of Spatial Planning This session will showcase digital innovation across the broader built environment sector and explore how spatial planning can benefit from digitally integrated approaches and cross-sector collaboration. 5-minute spotlight presentations from each panellist followed by a 35-min discussion | Chair: Geoff McCormick – Head of Planning and Urbanism, Connected Places Catapult Speakers: Alanna Gluck – Senior Consultant of Data and Digital Product, Connected Places Catapult Greg Haigh – Head of Data Science, DfT Holger Kessler – Senior Stakeholder Manager, AtkinsRealis Mark Enzer – Strategic Advisor, Mott MacDonald |
| 17:00 – 17:10 | Closing Remarks – Reflections & Next Steps | Alan Welby and Dr Wei Yang OBE |
| 17:10 – 19:00 | Networking Drinks | |
[Online Livestream Registration Link: https://cp.catapult.org.uk/event/planning-innovation-summit/]
