Getting through RIBA accreditation first time
Getting through RIBA accreditation first time
Your business may know its products inside out. And getting a CPD approved by RIBA means turning that knowledge into something an architect can use.
Clear explanations, sound technical guidance and practical lessons that support better specification decisions.
That work starts before you design the first slide. The topic, learning outcomes, technical depth and educational balance all need careful consideration.
For marketing managers and business owners, that means committing time to research, technical input and review. A well-prepared submission can reduce avoidable revisions and help you start delivering it sooner.
Approval remains RIBA’s decision, so first-time success should always be an objective rather than a promise.
Before you start, look at the assessment requirements
RIBA assesses every CPD for accuracy, relevance and balance. Its Providers Network focuses on technical education that supports architects and specifiers in their work.
And these principles should shape the brief from the outset.
Before starting your CPD, make sure you get the current assessment guidance through your provider account or the assessment team. Then check what you need to submit for your chosen CPD format, including any supporting documents and how branding can be used. This way, you’re working towards the most current set of guidelines.
Starting your CPD - choose a topic with a clear learning purpose
You need to consider two important considerations when starting your CPD. Firstly, start with a question your audience needs to answer. What affects their specification decisions? Where do misunderstandings arise? Which design or installation issues create avoidable problems?
Secondly, you then need to map the subject to the relevant RIBA Core Curriculum topics. As of November 2026, these include sustainable architecture, inclusive environments, health, safety and wellbeing, and legal, regulatory and statutory compliance.
A topic mapped to one of these gives architects a reason to book. It also gives the assessor a clear educational purpose.
So ideally your topic starts with a design challenge or a problem an architect is trying to solve. For example, “Reducing embodied carbon in facade design” is a much better angle than “Our new fibre cement façade system”.
Leave your brand out of it (until the end)
No product names. No logos. No commercial language related to your company.
This bit is tricky. Because often sales teams will want to present their products and systems to the audience. However, RIBA assessors will see that as a sales pitch rather than providing real educational value.
A simple test works well here. If a competitor could present your educational section without changing a slide, you're well on your way to being accredited.
And this is also why product-led CPDs are so hard to get accredited. If the topic only exists to promote one product, there's very little left once the brand is removed.
So the key is to refer to product types and systems generically. Any product or brand references should move to the end, after the approved educational content. Typically, you get the final 4 slides to promote your brand, mention specific products or talk about real life projects.
Get the level of detail right
Accuracy is non-negotiable. RIBA can decline material that is incorrect, or that hasn't been updated in line with current statutory requirements. Reference regulations and standards by their current titles and versions.
Structured CPD should give learners clear aims and outcomes. Write these first and build the content around them.
The balance is depth without overload. Architects need enough performance data to specify with confidence. However, nobody needs forty slides of test results.
Another important factor to note here, is to check the evidence behind a claim. For example, a statement such as ‘sustainable’ needs supporting evidence and context. Explain what has been measured, the basis of comparison and any limitations. This is what RIBA will need to see for final approval.
Chris Ashton, director of Time54, comments,
“It’s important to get a good level of detail within your CPD, however it’s also important to design the slides in an engaging way. Don’t just use paragraphs of text or big lists, it won’t inspire your audience.
Try and break up the text using graphics or images, and use text sparingly.
If you do have more text you want your audience to read, prepare handouts and put it all in here. Then these can be taken away at the end and referred to.”
Final thoughts
Before you submit your CPD, review it against its learning outcomes and the current assessment checklist.
Make sure there are no references to your company or products throughout, leave them to the final branded slides.
Time54 are construction CPD experts. We create both RIBA and non-RIBA accredited CPDs, then can help promote them once they're live to drive bookings.
We have created CPDs for brands such as EQUITONE, Cedral, Superglass, Eternit, Ojmar, Kinley, and many more.
"It's a resounding well done! It looks great, hits the brief perfectly, and we're really pleased with it. Clearly you and the team have understood the product and what we're trying to achieve." Ojmar, Intelligent Locking Systems
If you are considering a CPD or need help updating an existing CPD, get in touch with us today. We can help research your competitor CPDs, choose a topic, create an outline and the slide content, design the slides, and write the speaker notes.
Interested in finding out how Time54 can help your business?
Simply book a discovery call using the form opposite (or below if viewing on a mobile).
Or call us on 01625 315080 or email at info@time54.co.uk
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