CPD Guidance

The Institute suggests: complete your self-assessment, name your two or three priority Competency Domains, and draft your plan in January; book Structured CPD early — the 15-hour Structured minimum is the component most often left too late; review at mid-year and adjust; and reserve the final quarter for your reflective practice record rather than leaving it to the December rush. A suggestion, not a requirement.

No. Name your priority domains when you plan, and confirm in your annual summary which domains your CPD covered. Learning delivered or endorsed by the Institute is mapped to the domains by the provider, so you can see at a glance which of your priorities an activity serves. Recording a domain per activity is allowed, never required.

A demonstrable development outcome. Routine work that does not extend your professional competence does not qualify, however demanding it is. Attending the same weekly operations meeting is work; leading the redesign of how that meeting reports risk, and learning from doing so, can be CPD.

IAM Certified Programmes, IAM Professional Courses, Practice Library lessons, Masterclass sessions, and Endorsed qualifications and courses — plus any formal, facilitated learning designed and led by a qualified instructor or institution. Self-directed learning (reading, informal mentoring, on-the-job learning) counts to the total, up to 15 hours, never to the Structured minimum.

Yes, where it meets the requirements and is recorded with the Institute. You do not do everything twice; you do record it with us. Mentoring counts for both mentor and mentee.

Record each activity within 30 days of completion (December activities by 31 January). Keep outcome evidence — certificates of competency, project outputs, reflective summaries, not attendance alone — for three years. Confirm your annual summary, including your reflective practice record and domains covered, by 31 January.

At least 5% of members are sampled each year — routine quality assurance, not an accusation. Respond within 30 days, with 30 more to fix anything incomplete. Members who record as they go and attach evidence typically clear an audit without further correspondence.

Exemptions of up to 24 months are available for long-term illness, parental leave, caring, unemployment, bereavement, or a career break — apply personally to membership@instam.org. Parental leave adjusts automatically pro-rata on notification. You stay in Good Standing throughout, and part-year exemptions reduce every minimum in proportion.

If you are enrolled through a Corporate Membership: aggregate compliance data only — never the content of your records, reflections, evidence, or any correspondence. Your CPD record is yours, and it moves with you if you change employer.