The Planning Institute of British Columbia’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) System for members is designed to ensure that professional planners in British Columbia and the Yukon maintain the highest professional standards and latest knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities relevant to the theory, methods, and practice of planning. It is also designed to be flexible and diverse, reflecting the breadth and diversity of planning practice. The System, which was developed over time, was introduced and implemented in 2003 and 2004.

For detailed policy information and guidelines on the PIBC CPD System, please download the complete CPD System Guide [PDF].

The basic highlights of the PIBC Continuing Professional Development System include:

• Learning Activities – Learning activities are any professional development activities that Members engage in to improve their knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities relevant to the theory, methods, and practice of planning – and they exist in any number of different formats, ranging from traditional classroom, conference session, workshop or presentation settings to diverse individual self-directed activities such as self-guided tours, book reviews and professional journal articles. There any number of different kinds of acceptable, relevant learning activities which Members can self-select and undertake.
• Types of Learning Activities & Requirements – PIBC categorizes all potential learning activities as either “Structured” activities – such as organized courses, workshops, conference sessions, lectures, organized tours, etc. or  “Unstructured” activities – such as individually self-directed reading materials, preparing presentations, relevant volunteer work, etc.
• Measurement – The CPD System measures CPD activity in the form of “learning units” or LUs – where one LU is equivalent to one hour of professional development or learning activity, rounded to the nearest quarter unit. LUs are sometimes pre-assigned to certain events or activities by PIBC, while in other cases Members self-assign the units based on the guidelines provided by PIBC.
• Reporting – Members self-report their learning activities and accompanying LUs to the Institute on any ongoing basis, using an online reporting system, while also maintaining their own personal CPD records. The deadlines for annual reporting are every December 31st. In recognition that Members may have limited access to organized learning activities from time to time, members are permitted to carry-forward excess Organized LUs from one year to the next to meet the next year’s requirements if necessary, though they may not be ‘banked’ for additional years beyond that.
• CPD Reporting Requirements – The CPD System requires that all practicing Members complete and report to the Institute a minimum of 18.0 CPD “learning units” of professional development or learning activity annually. The CPD system requires that Members complete and report a minimum of 9.0 LUs of Structured activities each year, and may report up to a maximum of 9.0 LUs of Unstructured activities each year.
• Compliance – The Institute’s Education Committee and Council oversee compliance with the CPD System requirements – monitoring Members’ CPD reporting activities annually, and following up where necessary.  As the System is mandatory, Members may cease to be in good standing with the Institute, or loose their membership due to non-compliance with the CPD System requirements.

Questions?

For further information or answers to common questions about the PIBC CPD System, please review the CPD Background Frequently Asked Questions or contact PIBC.