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The key to getting your RIBA CPD approved quickly is getting it right the first time.
It’s that simple.
If you don’t follow RIBA’s CPD requirements sufficiently, you will have to go back and amend your materials until they fulfil those requirements. This may involve several rounds of edits until your CPD is deemed acceptable by the RIBA.
‘Getting it right the first time’ is easier said than done, though, especially if RIBA approval is new to you.
In this short guide, we share some tips to make the whole process as seamless as possible.
What Are the 7 Specification Essentials for RIBA CPD Approval?
When RIBA assesses CPD materials, there are several requirements that they consider. One such requirement is ensuring a CPD meets the seven specification essentials.
At a glance, they are:
- Ensuring all regulatory information is clear and up to date
- Give architects the relevant health and safety information
- Sustainability
- Inclusion
- Product application and usage
- Long-term maintenance issues
- Fire safety
To find out more about those seven specification examples, read our detailed blog post here.
No matter the subject of your CPD, it should contain one of those specification essentials mentioned above. So, it’s vital these topics are covered.
Questions to ask yourself:
- How does my product/subject comply with building regs?
- What are the sustainability credentials of my product/subject?
- How does my product/subject abide by fire safety regs?
The RIBA CPD Core Curriculum
RIBA-chartered architects must complete a total of 35 hours’ worth of CPD over the course of a year. 20 of those hours must relate to the RIBA CPD Core Curriculum, so it’s worth considering these as a starting point – if you’re struggling to decide on a suitable narrative.
- Architecture for social purpose
- Health, safety and well being
- Business, clients and services
- Legal, regulatory and statutory compliance
- Procurement and contracts
- Sustainable architecture
- Inclusive environments
- Places, planning and communities
- Building conservation and heritage
- Design, construction and technology
Don’t Be Overly Commercial When Submitting Your CPD for RIBA Approval
Put simply, you are not allowed to use your company branding or product names, at all, throughout the CPD. Everything must be made generic.
Any reference to product name or branding should be moved to the end of the seminar and shown to delegates after the educational approved content.
We mention this specifically as it’s probably the hardest thing to get right. After all, it’s natural to want to talk about your products.
RIBA take a firm stance on this, however, and any hint of commercialisation will hold up the entire approval process.
Remember, you’re there to educate architects on how to make their jobs better/easier, helping them to stay up to date, competent, professional, capable and resilient as an architect, also enabling them to learn new skills and specialisms.
Conclusion
If you haven’t already realised, the key to a smooth RIBA CPD approval is… preparation.
Make sure you’ve ticked the boxes you need to.
And don’t mention your product!
If you need any support with getting your CPD RIBA approved, you can always get in touch with the team here at Insynth, who will handle the whole process for you.
If you found the information in this post insightful, we recommend you look into some of the most popular articles in the Insynth Blog regarding CPDs! Our favourites are:
- The Ultimate Guide to Digital CPDs for your Building Products
- What Is CPD and Why You Should Considering Delivering One
- How To Make A Digital CPD for a Building Product
About Insynth
At Insynth we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to reach a technically demanding audience.
We use the latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, to equip building product companies to grow sustainability in this era of digital transformation.
As the only HubSpot certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including CRM Implementation, Web Design, Sales Automation, SEO, and Email Marketing to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers.