In response to new ways of working and with a greater emphasis on grass roots informed partnership working, the long-established community development charity in Pembrokeshire, PLANED, have unveiled their new three year vision document for the organisation.

Following a successful week of a pop-up office in the Riverside Shopping Centre in Haverfordwest with Business in Focus, where all the new and future projects were promoted with partners and community organisations, the new vision titled simply “Empowering Communities” was launched at the end of their week there.

Providing a simple and clear mantra for the organisation, it represents a new way forward that will make sure PLANED continued to remain relevant, as a people led charity that places innovation at the centre of its methods, and creativity in its approach, whilst promoting coproduction and partnership working.

Chief Executive of PLANED, Iwan Thomas said:

“This represents a great opportunity for PLANED and our great current team, to really demonstrate that collaboration is key to people led, and sustainable community focused deliverables on all projects. Having begun this vision process pre- lockdown, we put it on hold during the pandemic, and then seeing how communities took charge and responded brilliantly during the height of COVID, we knew we now had the right title in‘Empowering Communities’ for our PLANED vision, and for the community assets and people of Pembrokeshire”

The Chair of PLANED’s Trustees, Elizabeth Rawlings added:

“PLANED has always been a key part of the DNA of community action and delivery across Pembrokeshire, but now in this new post Covid environment, has the right components to move forward and deliver on ‘Empowering Communities’ by its approach centred around collaboration, creativity, and an appropriate measure of commercialism to help sustainability within communities and for them to have long term ownership”.

The new Vision for PLANED is built on four key areas of focus, each with a number of key actions for delivery of which many are already in progress with partners across the public, private and third sectors here in West Wales including PAVS, Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, and Hywel Dda University Health Board.

The focus areas encompass the foundation economy and its development; broader community well-being and resilience; environmental, natural and cultural community assets; and green and low carbon community solutions.

With recent funding secured for new innovative projects which has seen the first of many new Community Food Hubs be established in Pembroke and Tenby, as well the support for raising funds via Community Share Offers on retaining key local assets, and the creation of over 40 new micro enterprises across communities in Pembrokeshire during the last three years, PLANED continues to go from strength to strength, and by working with, and alongside other key organisations, with the right team in place, will continue to empower and support communities for many more years to come.

https://planed.org.uk/about-us/