The changing landscape of CPDRIBA CPD Report
Delivered by:
Delivered by:
Continuing professional development is essential for built environment professionals to keep up to date with a changing industry. New regulations, the commitment to net zero and new digital technologies are affecting the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of building design. And construction products are continually evolving and improving – helping to address today’s safety and sustainability challenges. Architects and other specifiers need to learn about the implications of these changes for their projects. CPD is obligatory for RIBA chartered members.
The RIBA CPD Providers Network enables construction product suppliers and advisory bodies to provide their expertise to the design community in a range of formats. The assessment by the RIBA helps to ensure that the CPD is high quality, credible and professional and leads to safe and informed specification decisions. This is one of the reasons why architects and others value and use CPD provided by network members, which can open the door for organisations like yours that want to build long-term relationships with specifiers.
The last two years have presented challenges to delivering CPD and establishing those relationships. It has disrupted the dominance of the central pillar of CPD – the lunchtime seminar. It has also accelerated the use of digital and online ways of providing CPD, which is something that a lot of specifiers have been keen on for some time.
Digital forms of CPD present new opportunities and challenges. They can significantly extend the reach of CPD to many more specifiers and designers as they can be accessed from anywhere at any time. They are often well received by specifiers who do not have to spend time and money travelling, and they can choose when to view them. Mechanisms can be built in to collect specifiers’ contact details to facilitate ongoing contact after the CPD.
However, creating digital CPD requires skills and expertise that may be new to providers. And it takes resource to produce CPD in new formats. The informal contact and discussion that takes place at an in person seminar can also be challenging to replicate in a digital environment.
This report of our latest CPD research with specifiers illustrates the shift to digital that has taken place and provides a snapshot of how specifiers anticipate accessing CPD in the future. It covers the debate about the pros and cons of digital vs in person CPD. It also covers:
The report highlights how the network can be a key part of your marketing strategy for working with specifiers.
We received responses from 390 architects and other designers or specifiers. Around half were architects – many of them RIBA members – but a wide range of other professions were represented, including surveyors, engineers and architectural technologists. We had responses from those working in all sizes of organisation and from people at the start of their careers through to retirement.
Given the restrictions on physical gatherings over the past two years, it is unsurprising that almost all professionals have carried out some kind of digital CPD, such as watched a webinar or listened to a podcast. Suppliers have rapidly moved a lot of their learning content online to continue delivering CPD during this time. Read the report to find out whether digital is here to stay or if specifiers want to go back to the ways things were with a seminar over lunch in their office.
The RIBA CPD Providers Network has been established for over two decades and continues to be well recognised by designers and specifiers. The vast majority of survey respondents (85%) are familiar with the logo, although this rises to 98% among architects. Read the report to find out how many have used CPD delivered by network members and why they value it.
