What is CPD?
Continuing professional development (CPD) is crucial to maintain, enhance and improve your knowledge, skills and abilities. Not only does building CPD hours help you stay up to date with current business requirements, it also demonstrates your versatility and growth.
Through your CPD, current or potential employers can see that you’re a professional committed to your own development – and can help you shape your own thinking about where you want your career to lead, too.
CPD requirements for CGIUKI members
Chartered and Affiliated members must formally record their CPD
As well as undertaking CPD, Fellows (FCG), Associate members (ACG) and Affiliated members are required to keep a written record of their CPD and, on written request, submit a copy of their CPD records to CGI.
If a Chartered or Affiliated member does not submit their CPD record after two requests, their name will be reported to the CGIUKI Membership Committee and they will receive a formal letter from the CGIUKI Membership Committee reminding them of their obligations to submit CPD records as stipulated in the CGIUKI’s Membership terms and conditions.
How much CPD should you do?
You will need to do enough learning (‘as many hours as it takes’) to continue developing and maintaining the professional knowledge, skills and experience to do your job well now and better in the future. This can be achieved initially by mapping out your learning and development requirements at the start of each year and completing appropriate CPD throughout the year.
Please note, the Institute does not specify a minimum amount of time to be spent on CPD each year. Instead, it focuses on the outcomes of CPD activity for the maintenance and enhancement of competence appropriate to the individual and their job role. The number of CPD hours that a member completes will vary based on their registration grade, level of experience, role and responsibility, and future career plans. However, as a guide, we would anticipate active members undertaking a minimum of about 35 hours CPD per year.
Use the competency framework
The Competency Framework for Governance Professionals is a useful tool to identify gaps in your knowledge and skills and what to focus on as part of your CPD.
Comprising 12 core competencies divided into three areas (Understanding, Practice and Values), you’ll find a collection of the key attributes — or core competencies — that make a good governance professional.
CPD Opportunities
Formal vs Informal CPD
Formal CPD is something you attend or actively participate in, like a formally arranged event, and generally has an agenda – things like attending a conference, doing a training course or writing a published article.
Other examples of formal CPD activities include:
- Participation in staff development training courses/activities provided by employers
- Sharing professional knowledge in a formal setting
- Lecturing, teaching and addressing meetings on relevant subject matter
- Being an examiner or being involved in professional or higher education that is relevant.
Informal CPD is usually done on your own, or with just a few colleagues – things like reading G+C magazine, being a mentor, or attending a webinar.
- Reading, researching information via the internet, reviewing books or articles for professional purposes
- Experiential/workplace learning, reading and research
- Reading a book or publication from The Chartered Governance Institute
- Reading other professional body magazines or business journals
- Professional research projects undertaken in the course of work
- Coaching, mentoring, peer review, work shadowing/secondments, meetings or project work
- Participation as a Community Champion or Subject Expert with the Institute
Logging and evidencing your CPD
Log and evidence your CPD hours using the CPD log in MyCG, our online portal. You will be automatically taken to the declaration page once you have logged the total required hours. Your log must be kept for a period of three years.
If you’re using an alternative CPD log, you’ll still need to declare your CPD on MyCG.
We choose members at random to check their CPD activity every year, so providing evidence of your CPD activity is important. CPD can be evidenced by providing things like attendance lists, confirmation emails, copies of teaching materials, or agendas.
Your evidence must be kept for a period of three years. You can upload evidence using the CPD log in MyCG.
We choose members at random to check their CPD activity every year, so providing evidence of your CPD activity is important. CPD can be evidenced by providing things like attendance lists, confirmation emails, copies of teaching materials, or agendas.
Your evidence must be kept for a period of three years. You can upload evidence using the CPD log in MyCG.
Example CPD activities and acceptable evidence
Area |
Example evidence |
Courses, seminars and workshops |
Certificate/notice of attendance Attendee list Copy of the teaching material Copy of any completed course assignments Confirmation by an employer of participation. |
In-house staff development activities |
Certificate/notice of attendance Attendee list Copy of the teaching material Copy of any completed course assignments Confirmation by HR department or director of participation. |
Conferences, events, displays, updates |
Attendee list Event programme Confirmation letter or email Copy of invitation to participate Copy of speech. |
Specialist panels and group meetings |
Agenda Attendee list Copy of any documents distributed at the meeting Copy of the minutes Copy of invitation to participate Copy of speech lecturing, teaching and addressing meetings Copy of any signed formal agreements Copy of letter/e-mail authorising activity Copy of timetable Copy of speech |
Writing relevant books, articles, papers or documents |
Copy of any signed formal agreements Copy of letter/e-mail requesting/authorising the writing of the piece Copy of the document – dated and signed by yourself and a witness |
Relevant work-based meetings or events |
Agenda Attendee list Copy of any documents distributed at the meeting Copy of the minutes Copy of invitation to participate Copy of speech Copy of induction materials for new staff Confirmation by HR department or director of your participation/attendance |
Being an examiner or involvement in professional or higher education |
Copy of any signed formal agreements Copy of letter/e-mail authorising activity |
Reading |
Use self evidence sheet and confirm:
|
Reviewing books articles |
Copy of any signed formal agreements Copy of letter/e-mail authorising activity Confirmation by HR department or director of your participation/attendance Use self evidence sheet and confirm:
|
Researching information |
Copy of the research proposal Any written instructions/requests received Copy of any funding applications Copy of any documentation distributed as part of the research – i.e. consultation document Confirmation by HR department or director of your participation/attendance |
Project work |
Copy of the project proposal Written detail of the research required Copy of the project report Confirmation by HR department or director of your participation |
Coaching, mentoring |
Copy of any signed agreements Copy of letter/e-mail authorising/requesting/agreeing to activity Copy of timetable |
Peer review, work shadowing, secondments |
Copy of any signed agreements Copy of letter/e-mail authorising/requesting/agreeing-to activity |
CPD exemptions
CGIUKI members who are retired, unemployed, working part-time or on parental leave for more than eight months could be exempt from CPD requirements.
If you think that your circumstances might make you eligible for CPD exemptions, please contact us.