The customer
The Royal Town Planning Institute supports planning professionals through membership, standards and professional development.
Background to the project
As the RTPI reached the midpoint of its ten-year organisational strategy, it recognised an opportunity to modernise and strengthen its events, training and continuing professional development (CPD) offer.
The Institute wanted to create a more connected and engaging experience for both members and non-members, supported by modern technology that would simplify event booking, enhance access to learning opportunities and support professional development throughout a planner’s career.
To achieve this, RTPI engaged GetSavi to help define future requirements, evaluate technology investment options, develop a strategic vision for CPD and create a clear roadmap for future development. The engagement combined strategic thinking with practical planning, ensuring the organisation could move confidently from concept to delivery
The challenge
RTPI’s existing events and learning ecosystem had evolved over time and needed to support a growing membership base with increasingly diverse needs and expectations.
The organisation wanted to ensure that its future offer reflected both advances in digital learning and the changing requirements of planning professionals throughout their careers.
GetSavi offered consistent, patient support as we have worked internally and with suppliers to clarify the exact development required in this area of our work. Support has been highly flexible and responsive throughout this project.
Key challenges included:
- Creating a more modern and seamless experience for booking, attending and managing events and learning activities
- Understanding future CPD, training and professional development requirements
- Supporting complex user needs, including extensive group booking and organisational purchasing requirements
- Defining how technology could better support learning, engagement and participation
- Establishing a future CPD framework aligned to the Institute’s strategic objectives
- Identifying the most appropriate investment approach and securing organisational support for development
- Working within the constraints and opportunities presented by existing technology platforms and supplier relationships
RTPI required a partner capable of combining strategic consultancy, stakeholder engagement and detailed technical planning to create a practical roadmap for transformation.
The approach
GetSavi worked closely with RTPI stakeholders, technology partners and suppliers to establish a clear vision for the future and define the practical steps needed to achieve it.
Technology investment evaluation
We collaborated with senior leaders to assess different approaches for enhancing the Institute’s digital events and learning ecosystem.
This included evaluating technology options, understanding development opportunities and identifying the most effective investment pathways to support both current needs and future ambitions.
We have worked side by side with the GetSavi team to identify what we needed to develop as part of our events, CPD and training strategy, and then to set about securing the investment needed to move forward with the work.
Comprehensive requirements and user story development
A detailed discovery process was undertaken to understand the needs of members, learners, administrators and internal teams.
From this work, we created a comprehensive set of user stories that captured both current requirements and future aspirations across events, CPD and training delivery. These user stories became the foundation for prioritisation, budgeting and future development planning.
Supplier engagement and technical assessment
GetSavi worked closely with RTPI’s CRM partner and other third-party suppliers to explore technical options, development feasibility and potential constraints.
This enabled the organisation to make informed decisions based on practical implementation considerations rather than assumptions, helping to reduce delivery risk and improve investment planning.
Future CPD strategy development
Alongside the technology work, we helped RTPI explore how its CPD offer could evolve to better support professional learning and career development.
Strategic recommendations were developed to strengthen the Institute’s position as the leading destination for planners seeking professional development, lifelong learning and career progression opportunities.
User journey design and organisational alignment
To bring the future vision to life, GetSavi developed visual user journeys and service maps illustrating how members and learners would interact with future systems and services.
These artefacts helped stakeholders build a shared understanding of priorities, identify areas for improvement and gain alignment around future investment decisions.
Investment planning and prioritisation
Finally, we worked with RTPI to evaluate, prioritise and refine potential development options, ensuring the most valuable improvements could be delivered within budgetary and organisational constraints.
This work provided a clear roadmap for future development and supported investment approval.
The results
The engagement provided RTPI with the strategic clarity, stakeholder alignment and investment justification needed to move forward confidently.
Key outcomes included:
- Approval-ready business case to proceed with technology development and enhancement initiatives
- A prioritised and validated set of user stories to guide future delivery
- Visual user journey maps that provided a clear blueprint for future member and learner experiences
- Greater clarity regarding future CPD and professional development strategy
- Stronger alignment between business objectives, member needs and technology investment decisions
- A practical roadmap for enhancing the events, training and learning experience
- Increased confidence in the organisation’s long-term approach to professional development and digital learning.
Key takeaways
- Modernising learning and events experiences requires equal focus on strategy, technology and user experience.
- Future CPD frameworks should evolve alongside the changing needs of members and the professions they serve.
- Visualising future user journeys helps organisations align stakeholders and make better investment decisions.
- Detailed user stories provide a strong foundation for prioritisation, budgeting and successful delivery.
- Technology strategy and implementation planning can progress together, accelerating outcomes without sacrificing clarity.
- Existing supplier relationships should be periodically reviewed to ensure they remain aligned with future organisational needs.
