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Personal Development Planning (PDP)

QAA Scotland works with the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and Centre for Recording Achievement (CRA) to support higher education institutions in Scotland to implement and develop PDP. This is achieved through their joint support of the PDP Forum. The PDP Forum is a community of practice whose main aims are to:

  • discuss areas of common interest
  • share effective practice
  • identify other forms of institutional level support.

The HEA manages the PDP Forum mailing list. More information can be found at the Forum website hosted on the HEA's site. 

Currently, the HEA and CRA are leading on work with the Forum on researching the effectiveness of PDP. QAA Scotland is leading on two programmes of work: helping institutions implement PDP through the use of the PDP Toolkit; and investigating the role PDP has in supporting educational transitions. The latter work is being carried out with the SCQF Partnership .

PDP Toolkit

The PDP Toolkit is designed to help all staff at all levels within institutions to consider, reflect and develop their strategies and policies for the implementation and enhancement of PDP. It achieves this by using a series of self-assessment questions (SAQs) which encourage reflection on the important issues in implementation and development. The Toolkit was developed for QAA Scotland by Kirsty Miller, Jonathan Weyers, Stuart Cross, Lorraine Walsh and Eric Monaghan of the PDP Consultancy Team at the University of Dundee.

PDP - Personal Development Plan front coverPersonal Development Plan (PDP) Toolkit - PDF



You might find it easier to download and use a particular sections of the Toolkit.

PDP Toolkit Introduction PDP Aspect I: support for reflection and action planning
PDP Aspect A: strategy and planning for implementation PDP Aspect J: progression and academic development
PDP Aspect B: model, design and branding PDP Aspect K: benefits for students
PDP Aspect C: evaluation, review and quality enhancement PDP Aspect L: employability and employment
PDP Aspect D: promotion and introduction PDP Aspect M: linking PDP and continuing professional development
PDP Aspect E: engaging academic staff PDP Aspect N: engaging postgraduate students and postdoctoral staff
PDP Aspect F: engaging undergraduate students PDP Toolkit Workshop models
PDP Aspect G: embedding PDP and the discipline context PDP Toolkit Glossary
PDP Aspect H: assessing PDP PDP Toolkit References

We are currently building a website to support the Toolkit. This will be available soon.

The Toolkit builds on previous work on the Effective Learning Framework and the Individualised Support for Learners through ePortfolios (ISLE).

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