FACILITATION
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Facilitation of workshops is a core part of BEFS activity.
From August 2013 to July 2014 we ran workshops
on a range of topics including the Community
Empowerment and Renewal (Scotland) Bill; small
towns; fundraising/capacity building; equalities and
the historic environment; and emergent ideas around
a draft Corporate Plan for the new body, Historic
Environment Scotland.
BEFS works closely with the recently established
Historic Environment Policy Unit (HEPU). The
publication of Our Place in Time: The Historic
Environment Strategy for Scotland and the introduction
of the Historic Environment Bill (merger of Historic
Scotland and RCAHMS) provided plenty of opportunity
for debate and discussion. BEFS commented and
advised on the strategy draft prior to publication.
Post-publication we promoted the document widely
and hosted a meeting of the Cross-Party Group on
Architecture and the Built Environment specifically on
the Strategy. BEFS established a Taskforce to monitor
the progress of the Bill as it moved through Parliament
and provided written and oral evidence to Parliament
as part of the consultation process. Key ‘asks’ and
suggested amendments were discussed as part of an
ongoing dialogue with HEPU.
BEFS established, on behalf of the Historic Environment
Policy Unit, a Measuring Success Working Group with
the aim of creating a draft framework for measuring
the success of Our Place in Time: The Historic
Environment Strategy for Scotland. We facilitated a
series of meetings and a workshop which examined
possible short to long-term outcomes and indicators.
Outputs of the working group will be fed back to the
Historic Environment Scotland Operational Board
(attended by BEFS’ Chair, Vice-Chair and Director).
The Historic Environment Working Group met
throughout the year to discuss issues related to
the strategy and merger and other matters such as
the revised listed building records, Joint Working
Agreements and the removal of the duty of local
authorities to notify Historic Scotland on certain types
of listed building consent applications.
Other policy initiatives included a meeting of the
Historic Environment Marine Taskforce to discuss
consultation on the draft National Marine Plan
and a co-ordinated response to the Community
Empowerment and Renewal (Scotland) Bill.
The Architecture and Place Group, which reflects BEFS’s
interest in the built environment in its broadest sense,
convened to discuss possible speakers and themes
for future events. This resulted in two very successful
and well-attended events in 2014 – the inaugural
annual lecture with Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer,
Sir Harry Burns on the theme of well-being and the
built environment and a ‘in conversation’ type format
event about ‘Overcoming Obstacles to Placemaking’
with the BEFS Chair and three representatives from
the architecture, housing and planning professions
including Scotland’s Chief Planner.