The Presidents Fact-Finding Mission (PFFM) The High Road to 2034 is the “guiding star” for the future direction of the profession and the RIBA, towards and beyond 2034, when the RIBA celebrates its 200th anniversary.
The PFFM sets out a future landscape of how architects will survive and thrive, and how they and the RIBA need to evolve, how practice and academia can come together to better challenge and support each other, to make the significant positive contribution and value that architects and future architects strive to deliver.
The creation of the PFFM strategy broadened to include consideration of its delivery. This resulted in a framework of the PFFM with long-term goals through the ‘2034 Masterplan’ and shorter-term two-year plans to reflect the presidential cycle, both being agreed and adopted by RIBA Council and Board.
Together, the PFFM with the Council’s masterplan and Board’s biennial plans will create momentum and direction for the profession and the RIBA.
It is recognised that every profession must regularly review and renew its relationship with society. Considering the Grenfell disaster, the ongoing climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, widespread spatial and environmental inequality, the need for belonging and a sense of civic pride, now is the time for the architects’ profession to do so, for the benefit of everyone.
Simon Allford, RIBA President from 1st September 2021 states:
“I fully support the themes and ideas identified in Alan Jones’s Fact-Finding Mission: The High Road to 2034. It is an important document that identifies the long-term strategic issues that we must address to ensure the RIBA supports future architects and the architecture of the future.”
The essential reorientation of the profession towards society and the outcomes and benefits from a well-considered and delivered built environment and architecture is a message that comes across many themes, of a better balance of what architecture does with what architecture is.
RIBA Members, Council, Board, staff, and in academia should read and keep referring to this report as it shows the enormous potential of our profession and our institute.
What is also very apparent is the high degree of connectedness and interdependency of issues, so that tackling one issue impacts positively across many others.
This publication is valuable work giving a collective direction. Future and current architects, and those who support, regulate and champion them should study this publication to understand how they should adapt and change, and help others to do so too.
“…Current and future members of Council, Presidents, Chairs of Board and Chief Executives must ensure that the RIBA delivers on this report. Too often reports gather dust but these themes are too important for society and our profession for that to happen here. We ask the RIBA Board for firm commitments to pursue and achieve the following goals: the forming and setting of strategy, annual budgets and reports to Members and Council, with regular monitoring and reporting of performance against targets to meet them. This is valuable work giving a collective direction that we cannot squander.”
The President Fact Finding Mission Champions
As a fitting final outcome to his presidency , Alan Jones concludes
“By the time we reach our 200th anniversary in 2034, I hope this potential reality has been successfully realised, to the benefit of all. We all have our part to play in creating this better world.”
Read The President's Fact-Finding Mission (PFFM) The High Road to 2034 document in full.
