GCF Continuing Professional Development- Guidance Document for Commercial Professionals

Welcome and Introduction

The Assessment and Development Centre is the cornerstone of the Government Commercial Function’s ability to demonstrate the capability of the commercial professionals who operate across government and play such a critical role in ensuring that public money is spent wisely and that our third party partners deliver the outcomes we need from them. Achieving accreditation means that you can be proud that you meet the demanding standards that we have set.

But there can be no doubt that the commercial environment worldwide and especially in government has got much harsher and more demanding in the last few years. We need to rise to that challenge by making sure we have a cadre of true specialists that continue to thrive in this environment, and who command the respect, not only of our suppliers and partners, but also of our colleagues internally.

It is therefore important that everybody who achieves accreditation is able to demonstrate their commitment to their own personal growth and continued professional development.

This Continuing Professional Development Policy, set the framework and expectations for that growth and will enable you and the GCF more widely to demonstrate the continued quality of the government’s commercial professionals.

For many of you, the requirements in this policy will only formally recognise the commitment and investment you are already making in your personal development, but that development is essential if we are to reach our vision of being the best commercial function in the UK.

Gareth Rhys Williams

Government Chief Commercial Officer

What is CPD?

Continuing Professional Development, or CPD, can be described as:

“intentionally developing the knowledge, skills and personal knowledge needed to performance professional responsibilities.”1

It is used as a mechanism by many professions to ensure that individuals keep up to date with developments in their profession and changes in the external environment, regulations and good practice in order to enable them to continue to be effective in their roles.

In particular, in professions that are highly regulated, or which involve the achievement of qualifications before practicing, CPD is a critical tool.

What counts as CPD?

Learning can take place in many different ways and CPD activities can be very varied. The GCF Policy refers to two types of activity:

• Formal: this refers to more structured activities – such as courses, conferences and events, webinars and seminars, exams and other assessments
• Informal: this refers to more self-directed activities – such as reading, articles, podcasts, stretch-roles or projects, mentoring, creating thought leadership

CPD is not confined only to courses for which a fee is paid. Whilst there may be charges made for some activities that will contribute to your CPD hours, there are very many others that will be freely available.

The Rationale for CPD

The Government Commercial Function’s (GCF) vision is to be the best commercial function in the UK. To help it to achieve this it has invested heavily in increasing commercial and contract management capabilities across government through professional standards, learning and development and programmes of individual accreditation.

The public have a right to expect that public money spent on third parties is done so effectively and managed in a way that delivers value for money.
 

In the past there has been significant scrutiny of the government’s commercial and contract management capabilities and the programmes implemented by the GCF have provided significant assurance to those scrutineers that it is improving capabilities across government.

But it is important that the the government is not complacent and that it continues to support commercial and contract managers in order to demonstrate that it is continuing to maintain and improve those standards and capabilities.

Maintaining your Accreditation
 

The GCF accreditation programmes provide a snapshot in time of an individual’s capability and skills in commercial and contract management activities. However, it’s important that you continue to maintain and develop your skills over time:

• The world in which government operates and commercial and contract management policies, regulations and practices evolve over time. The GCF recognises the need for continuous improvement in order to achieve its vision, including continual improvement of the capability of its people. CPD is the ideal activity to support this personal development.
• Supporting personal development is the right thing to do as an employer in order to help with your personal growth and to help you to meet your career aspirations. For most accredited individuals CPD will only be recognising learning and development activities that you are already undertaking as part of your annual development plans.

• The Commercial ADC started providing accreditations in 2015/16 and accreditation is valid for a period of five years. Therefore, the period of validity for those first accredited is ending shortly. CPD provides a way for you to demonstrate their continued ability to meet commercial and contract management professional standards, and thus retain your accreditation, without placing an undue level of additional burden on you.
• Whilst most accredited individuals exercise their skills and capabilities on a daily basis in their existing roles, delivering the ‘day job’ does not provide you with sufficient opportunity to learn new skills and approaches that will help to support your own development or the continual improvement of the government’s approach to commercial and contract management. Therefore, other learning and development activity is needed.

Who is covered by the Policy?

The CPD Policy applies to all individuals that are currently accredited by the Government Commercial Function or become accredited in the future.

In this policy accreditation is defined as:

• the achievement of an ‘A’ score at:
  • a Commercial ADC - whether this is taken as part of transition, a recruitment campaign or for development purposes as an employee of a wider government body
  • the assessment component of the Contract Management Capability Programme (CMCP) at Practitioner or Expert level CMCP
  • any future assessment event offered by the GCF
  • or the awarding of 'Accredited' status following a Panel hearing subsequent to one of the assessment events above

For the purpose of clarity this policy:

• applies to all individuals who have ever been accredited at a Commercial ADC or through the CMCP, regardless of whether they are or are not employed by the Government Commercial Office or managing a Gold, Silver or Bronze contract at the time that this policy comes into effect
• applies to all individuals who have been accredited through a Commercial ADC as part of a recruitment campaign but who were not subsequently offered a role in the GCO or who were an employee of a wider government body
• does not apply to those individuals that successfully pass the assessment for the online Contract Management Foundation Programme.

6. What is the Requirement

The Requirement

You are required to complete a minimum of 150 hours of CPD activity over the five-year period of your accreditation validity in order to be re-accredited at the end of that period. This equates to only 2.5 hours per month, less than half a day. A minimum of 50 hours should be formal activities, as described earlier.

The requirement provides flexibility as to how much CPD you complete each year so that you can manage fluctuations in your workload and to fit with your wider development plans. However, you are encouraged to aim for around 30 hours each year, where possible, in order to distribute the requirement smoothly over the period.

CPD activity should be focused on supporting you to continue to meet the People Standards for Commercial or the Contract Management Professional Standards, but activity can comprise a wide mix of technical, professional and business acumen skills, and leadership, relationship and judgement skills.

Any activity that you undertake to meet CPD requirements of other organisations, such as CIPS or other professional bodies, can be used to contribute to the GCF CPD requirement.

The GCF will provide a range of optional activities which will contribute towards meeting CPD requirements and will also maintain a catalogue of suitable CPD activities provided by other organisations.

However, you are free to identify activities to support you to meet your CPD requirement from any other source, including the Learning Platform for Government, professional or other membership bodies, and academic and other external learning bodies.

Many external programmes have ‘CPD’ accreditation which clearly states the ‘value’ of the programme (in terms of hours of CPD that can be claimed), but you may also choose learning and development activities which do not have such accreditation.

7. Can I get a Reduction

GCF is committed to ensuring that CPD requirements are fair and do not create disproportionate burdens on some accredited individuals compared to others. There are a number of circumstances where an individual can request a reduction in the standard CPD requirement of 150 hours over a five-year period.

• The accredited individual is employed on a part time basis: If you work on a part-time basis you will have their requirement pro- rated, based on their FTE figure. If you change your FTE status during your CPD period you should notify the GCF CPD team so that your requirement can be adjusted accordingly.
• Maternity / Shared Parental / Adoption Leave: If you take maternity, shared parental or adoption leave of more than one month you should contact the GCF CPD Team and provide details of your leave. CPD requirements will be reduced on the basis of 2.5 hours per month of absence.
• Other absences from work over one month: If you will be absent from work for a period of one month or more and wish to request a reduction in your CPD hours you may request a reduction on the basis of 2.5 hours per month.
• Further details on how to request a reduction can be found in Appendix 2.

For clarity, absence from work means not being in any working role for a period of one month or more.

It does not include a temporary move from a current commercial or contract management role to another role. If anything, CPD becomes even more important if you are not performing your normal commercial or contract management roles on a day-to-day basis.

A reduction in CPD requirement will not be granted for periods of abnormally high workloads. The CPD policy has been created to allow you flexibility over a five-year period as to when to engage in CPD activity and this flexibility should allow you to manage the demands of your workload.

In the event of an unexpected and prolonged period of abnormally high workload in the final year of accreditation, which prevents you from completing your planned CPD activity an appeal may be made at the end of that year for dispensation.

If you have any questions about circumstances relating to a request for a reduction please contact the GCF CPD team at:

CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further details on the process for applying for reductions are outlined in Appendix 2 of this guide.

8. What do I need to do? 

In order to keep the process simple there are very few actions required and the process fits easily into your annual Performance Management cycle.

At the start of the year - as you are set your objectives for the year consider your learning and development aims for the year and what CPD activities can help you to meet them.

During the year - undertake and record details of your CPD activities. At mid year consider the progress you have made and refine your learning activities if required.

At the year end - discuss your CPD as part of your year end review and agree your CPD hours with your line manager.

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  9. What happens if I don't meet my target?

  
  

  The CPD requirement, at roughly 30 hours per year, has been set at a level that reflects the development and learning activities that the majority of professionals already undertake.

  Meeting your target number of CPD hours by the end of the relevant period should not be difficult for most people to achieve.

  
  

  The requirement will be introduced as a new mandatory objective for all GCO staff. The wording of this objective is being finalised and will be included within GCO Performance Management guidance which will be issued for the 2021/22 year.

  
  

  If you do not meet your CPD mandatory objective you will not achieve all of your mandatory objectives, a prerequisite to be eligible to receive either a non-consolidated bonus or performance related pay award at the end of the year.

  
  

  The expectation is that you will complete a reasonable3 amount of CPD each year, and that by the final year of your accreditation validity, you will complete the required number of hours for the whole period.

  
  

  If you have not completed the required number of hours by the specified period you will be considered to be NOT ACCREDITED. You will not be eligible for a bonus for that final year and will not able to participate in the bonus scheme until such a time as you have completed your outstanding requirement.

  
  

  We do understand that at times, things do not go according to plan so there is an Appeals Process for those who have certain reasons for missing their target.

  
  

  If you have any questions relating to not meeting your target please contact the GCF CPD team at

  CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

      Further details regarding the process for submitting an appeal are contained in Appendix 4 of this         guide

   

  10. Where can I go for help? 

  
  

  Looking for suitable CPD activities

   

  GCF is committed to providing suitable activities that can help you to meet your CPD requirement. We are building partnerships with a range of commercial and other professional bodies in order to identify suitable CPD activities. Check out the Government Commercial College on a regular basis as we will be adding new activities that you can use to count towards your CPD requirement on a regular basis.

  
  

  If you are a member of CIPS, World Commerce and Contracting, or another chartered or professional body it’s highly likely that they will also offer programmes and activities that will make great CPD so check out their learning and development web-pages as well.

  
  

  The Learning Platform for Government will also have many different learning and development interventions that will help you to meet your development goals and meet your CPD requirements.

  
  

  General enquiries and questions

   

  If you have a general question about this CPD Policy, the requirement, activities that might count towards your CPD or other matters please contact the GCF CPD team at:

  CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

  Useful links

  Government Commercial Function: 

  Government Commercial College Learning

  Catalogue

  GCO Commercial CPD resources

   

   

  Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply: https://www.cips.org/knowledge/

   

   

  World Commerce and Contracting: https://www.worldcc.com/Resources/Content- Hub

  
  

  Appendices

  
  

  1- Examples of CPD

  Formal

   

  • Conferences, including GCF annual conference
  • GCF all staff calls
  • GCF training programmes / events
  • GCF masterclasses, events and guest speakers
  • GCF Summer Series Webinar or listening to the recordings
  • Other blended and open-learning courses, including those on the GCC and Learning Platform for Government
  • CIPS exams and other training
  • Other commercial and contract management related accredited qualifications, including World CC
  • On-line interactive webinars / seminars / workshops

  
  

  
  

  Mandatory Training

  • CPD activity should be focused on the skills and abilities needed to meet the relevant standards for your profession
  • You may be required to undertake mandatory training by your department, E.G. data protection, health and safety
  • You should only consider mandatory training as CPD if it can be reasonably seen to contribute to those professional standards
  • If you are in doubt as to whether it counts, discuss it with your line-manager in the first instance, or contact the GCF CPD team on For Commercial CPD please email queries to CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

  
  

  Informal

  • Attendance at the Commercial Capability Working group and other cross functional boards, workshops, groups and forums
  • Attendance at meeting of the GCF North, South, Scotland or Regional Steering Groups / Councils
  • Assessor for GCF Commercial or Contract Management ADCs
  • Member of working groups for a professional body
  • Red Team Reviewer or Host Team Member
  • Coaching / mentoring of others (not line management)
  • Helping to lead GCF D&I groups or KHUB groups
  • Lectures / training given to others
  • Presentations made on commercial or contract management
  • On-the-job learning through stretch roles on projects
  • Workplace shadowing of managers / colleagues
  • Reading GCF news and contributing stories
  • Reading relevant articles / blogs / thought pieces / Listening to relevant podcasts / recorded webinars

  
  

  What is not CPD?

  
  

  
  

• Activities under 30 minutues (time spent reading or listening to podcasts etc can be aggregated

• Day to day line management of direct reports - e.g. appraisals, setting objectives

• Normal 'day job' activities

• Learning that is not relevant to your role or the relevant professional standards

  
  

  
  

  
  

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  2. Requesting a reduction

  
  

• If you believe that any of the reasons outlined in Section 7 apply to you, you can request for a reduction to your CPD requirement for your current accreditation period.

  Please send an email containing the information shown here to: CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk and ‘cc’ your line-manager.

  Where possible, requests for reductions should be made prior to your period of absence, but if this is not possible or if your return is delayed, please request the reduction as soon as possible on your return.

  The GCF CPD team will acknowledge receipt of your request within 2 working days of receipt, and in most circumstances you will receive a decision within 10 working days.

  
  

  Name	Name of the person requesting a reduction
  FTE	e.g. 1 = Full-time, 0.8 = 4 days per week
  Date of first day of absence from work	XX/YY/ZZZ
  Date of expected return to work	AA/BB/CCCC. (Must be at least 1 month after date of first absence)
  Reason for absence	Maternity / Shared Parental / Adoption leave Sick leave Carers leave Special leave Other – please specify
  Any additional information	Any other information relevant to your request. Required if Reason for Absence is ‘Other’
  Line Manager’s Name	Name of the line manager of the person requesting a reduction
  Line Manager’s email address	Email address of the line manager of the person requesting a reduction

  
  

  
  

  
  

   

   

  3 – CPD record template

   

   

   

  Development Activity					Evaluation
  Date	Details of activity	Type	Relevant Professional Standards Attribute	CPD Hours	Key Learning Points*	Learning Statement**
  01/01/21	Free text	(Formal/ Informal)	(Business Acumen, Leadership, Technical Expertise)	Numeric	Free text	Free text
  02/06/21	GCF Commercial Webinar	Formal	Business Acumen / Technical expertise	2	Gained insight into the new rules for procurement and sources of further information and guidance that I can consult	I will now be able to conduct procurements under the new UK procurement regime.
  14/08/21	AI in Procurement – article in Procurement Monthly	Informal	Technical expertise	1	Learnt about new developments in AI that are now being used to support commercial activities in the US, in particular with regards to evaluating supplier bids.	I will discuss this with colleagues at our next Departmental Commercial network to consider whether we could implement similar actions internally.
  Total
  CPD Requirement				XXX hours	BY XX/YY/20ZZ

  
  

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• Submitting an Appeal

  
  

• If you receive notification that you are no longer accredited believe that your meet one of the criteria Section 9, then you may appeal against this decision, within 10 working days of receipt of the notice.

  Please send an email containing the information shown here to: CommercialCPD@cabinetoffice.gov.uk cc’ing your line-manager.

  The GCF CPD team will acknowledge receipt of your request within 2 working days of receipt. Initial consideration of the appeal will take place within 5 days, based on whether the appeal is based on the grounds set out in Section 9 and is submitted within 10 days.

  If the appeal passes initial consideration it will be considered by a relevant member of the GCF Learning and Development Faculty. In most circumstances you will receive a decision within 5 working days.