Why CIOB is best placed

The arguments raging recently in Building magazine about whether the professional institutions should merge has made fascinating reading. But debates like these tend to polarise views so much that the potential for making progress is reduced.

There is truth that the professions have been guilty of having a silo mentality and it does not help when a chief executive in another institution denies it. It can only confirm the view of the anti profession protagonists that we (the institutions) are blind to the opportunities of integrated teams and cross/multi-disciplinary development.

It is clear that a lot of work is going on to tackle cross-disciplinary issues and there are a number of initiatives trying to come to terms with this problem. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that many initiatives fail to understand what is at the heart of multi-disciplinary development. For example, some act as a clearing house for the CPD events run by the various bodies. So the members of say, RIBA know what is happening at the CIOB, RICS, etc and vice versa. RIBA members can then turn up and score some CPD credits.

These events attract people from different disciplines. And the response rate from participants at these events is positive. So what is my gripe with them?

I personally doubt whether they can add much value. People attending events not designed for them can only benefit tangentially. Why not have each profession design a programme specifically for other built environment professionals? For example, we could see surveyors designing a programme to suit structural engineers, architects for constructors and so on. This would require these groups to talk to each other about what would make a difference.

Whether the various professional bodies can go that extra mile is debatable, but for the CIOB it should be easy. After all, we have the basis for being the multi-disciplinary body of the built environment. Our membership is made up of professionals from across the industry. So for those organising the next round of CPD events, the challenge is there. We might be on the threshold of a revolution where CPD may never be the same again.