CPD Framework Steering Group

RICS’ Standards and Regulation Board (SRB) has established a CPD Framework Steering Group to lead a review of RICS’ existing continuing professional development framework.

When actively and positively embraced by members, lifelong professional learning through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports and facilitates the advancement of professional skills, knowledge and behaviours, enabling members to develop, progress and become leaders in their fields, inspiring the next generation of professionals. It helps members to understand and to build on current best practice, to understand potential risks they, their firms and clients face, and to work continually to improve so that they remain at the forefront of professional practice. In essence, CPD is a professional’s toolkit to remain fit to practice, and to develop knowledge and skills in practice – becoming fully engaged with their profession and professional responsibilities. It is also a critical tool for ensuring that public trust and confidence in the profession is upheld.

The key objective of the Steering Group is to make recommendations for any revisions to RICS’ current CPD framework and potentially, the creation of a post qualification recertification or reassessment programme (subject to consultation with the membership).

A consultation on the proposed revised CPD framework was open from 25 April to 18 July 2024. The Steering Group are now analysing the responses and will be reporting to SRB with recommendations before the end of this year.

The Steering Group continues to be accountable to the interim SRB.

The interim Standards and Regulation Board has exclusive responsibility for exercising RICS’ regulatory functions, including strategy, governance, structure, policy and operational oversight in the public interest. It oversees the activities of RICS’ professional standards, entry and admission to the profession, education and qualification standards, regulatory operations, dispute resolution services and the Regulatory Tribunal.

CPD Framework Steering Group update

The CPD Framework Steering Group has:

reviewed the existing RICS CPD Framework and all responses to previous surveys that asked for member views;
reviewed other information, stakeholder and member views received through engagement activities, feedback from current CPD training provision, and RICS’ governance boards engagement;
reviewed more than 60 other CPD Frameworks globally for comparison and utilised the expertise of independent specialists;
considered the work to date of the Entry and Assessment Steering Group, including the interim report published on 17 May 2023, to ensure a consistent, coherent and timely approach to the groups’ core purposes;
conducted a member survey on key aspects of the existing RICS CPD framework, and carefully analysed the responses received.

Chair

Peter Smith FRICS

Peter has previously served as Chair of the RICS Americas World Regional Board (AWRB), from 2016 to 2022, having formerly been the US Chapter Chair sitting on AWRB and before that, Chair of the Southern California Chapter of RICS based in Los Angeles. In his role as Chair of AWRB, he assembled a diverse team of 16 senior professionals from across the primary sectors of influence of the Institution (Valuation, Construction, Commercial Real Estate and Facilities Management) who provide insight and expertise to better inform RICS of the appropriate regional strategies and operational needs of the profession in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Peter recently served on the RICS Standards and Regulation Board as an interim member from July 2023 to May 2024.

Members of the Steering Group

Chris Blundell FRICS

Chris is recently retired following a 45 year career in housing development and management during which he held Director level positions in four large housing associations operating in London and south east UK and ran his own consultancy advising on the planning and delivery of large scale new communities. He has also been a Board Director of two other housing associations, including Chair of a major provider of care and support in North and East London, and is currently a Trustee of Royal British Legion Industries, a social enterprise addressing training, employment, housing and support needs among ex-services personnel.   In addition to his career in housing Chris spent 6 years in the academic sector as a senior lecturer at the City University of Hong Kong setting up the Territory’s first degree level course in housing studies. He continues his academic interests in retirement researching the role of power, structure and agency in the development and governance of large-scale new communities. This follows up his work for the Wolfson Economics Prize where he was one of five Finalists (and the only sole-authored Finalist) addressing the challenge of delivering a new garden city which is visionary, economically viable, and popular. He has since been a regular speaker on garden cities and developing large-scale new communities. Chris is a Fellow of both RICS and the Chartered Institute of Housing and a Member of the Town and Country Planning Association.

Betty Lo FRICS

Betty has extensive years of experience in building and infrastructure construction and engineering, project development and management, administration and supervision, redevelopment and alteration, quantity surveying, facilities, claims and disputes management of public and private works projects. Betty has substantial knowledge, skills and experience of CPD and post-qualification frameworks from her remarkable contributions to related events of professional institutions, in collaboration with stakeholders and project teams from her achievement of multi-disciplinary qualifications and significant efforts on training and development.

Liz Smith

Liz is a chartered accountant and spent her first 20 years with PW/PwC as an auditor in both the UK and Hong Kong. She is now the director responsible for PwC’s FTSE 350 Non-Executive Director (NED) Programme and is the author of a number of related publications including ‘The Test’ – a due diligence tool for Non-Executive Directors – and ‘Board discussions’. She has many years’ experience in providing an extensive programme of continuing professional development for NEDs, featuring briefings and workshops on topical boardroom issues. Liz also chairs PwC’s International Network of NED programmes. She was previously a member of PwC’s Corporate Governance Steering Committee. Liz works with a number of third party organisations, including Women on Boards, the City Women’s Network, the 350 Club and Empowering People of Colour, supporting initiatives designed to help the next generation of Non-Executive Directors and to improve diversity. She has been a regular speaker at search firm events for aspiring Non-Executive Directors. Liz is currently on the board of the Royal Navy Football Association and is a trustee of St Michael and All Angels PCC, Wandsworth.

Professor Mark Loon

Mark is a Professor of Management Studies and the Dean of the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Previously, he was the Head of the Business Strategy and Innovation Department at Griffith University, Australia. He is a Visiting Professor with the University of Northumbria, UK, having held a similar role with Université d’Aix-Marseille in France in the past. Professional learning and development (L&D) is one Mark’s specialism. He has extensive experience working with various professional, academic and research bodies. He is currently an assessor for professional accreditation with the Science Council UK, a reviewer for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme in the UK’s higher education sector, a research grant reviewer with the Economic and Social Research Council and the Swiss National Science Foundation, and a peer review college member with the British Academy of Management. Previously, he was a member of the research advisory panel with Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and has been commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development to publish works on L&D. He has also published on the topic of human capital with the World Economic Forum. He was also the Chair of the Human Capital Standards Committee with the British Standards Institute and was an expert panel member that developed several international standards, including L&D, published by the International Standards Organization. Prior to academia, he was a management consultant with Ernst & Young, Cap Gemini and KPMG. In addition to holding a PhD and DBA, Mark is a Chartered Scientist and Chartered Manager. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Academic Fellow of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, and a Principal Fellow with the Higher Education Academy. In addition to Australia, France and the UK, he has worked in Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.