OPPI Introduces New Planning Awards of Excellence

The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) is pleased to introduce a brand-new awards program, called the PlanON Awards, that will honour the exceptional achievements of OPPI members who demonstrate professional excellence and a commitment to advancing the planning profession in Ontario.
 
“The PlanON Awards are the highest honour OPPI can bestow,” says Susan Wiggins, Executive Director of OPPI. “This awards program celebrates the work of Registered Professional Planners, and other OPPI members at every career stage, and acknowledges the important role the planning profession plays in shaping the quality, livability, and sustainability of communities for future generations.”
 
Awards will be granted for submissions that demonstrate excellence in the areas of innovative research, visionary planning processes, public education of the planning profession, emerging leadership, and volunteer service.
 
“Liveable communities are the outcome of good planning,” says Paul Lowes, OPPI President. “Every detail from the roads, sidewalks, and transit people take to work, how close the nearest grocery store and school are, all the way to the trail system to the neighbourhood park, are the result of the work of Registered Professional Planners. The PlanON Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the important work planners do to build communities in the public interest.”
 
The name PlanON incorporates the word “Plan” which is a direct and obvious link to the planning profession. It also incorporates the abbreviation of Ontario, “ON,” which immediately grounds the awards in a geographic location and denotes its importance as a province-wide awards program. Those two phrases combined as “PlanON,” refer to the future-focused work of planning. RPPs plan for the future and provide solutions to larger societal issues including environmental sustainability, housing supply, and food security. 
 
The PlanON Awards call for submissions will open in March.
 
To learn more, visit ontarioplanners.ca/PlanON.