Professional Body CPD Partnership: Embedding Leadership Development Within the CIPS CPD Offering
At a glance
Goal:
Extend CIPS’s CPD offering into leadership development for senior procurement and supply chain leaders, through a shared commercial model that adds no operational overhead for the institute.
Scope:
Senior procurement and supply chain leaders, including Chief Procurement Officers.
Sector:
Professional Bodies / Membership Organizations
Delivery:
A staged partnership: a two-day taster programme for CIPS’s senior leadership team, followed by a two-module CPO to CEO Development Programme pilot for members, with delivery at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) and in Dubai.
Outcomes:
Progression from taster to member pilot within a single year, strong participant feedback, and a commission from CIPS to develop three to four further courses.
Scale:
Taster programme and two-module member pilot delivered with three to four further courses commissioned
Region:
Europe and Middle East
Type:
Bespoke Leadership Development
The Challenge
Professional bodies face a dual challenge. Members expect accredited CPD that strengthens their leadership capability, yet designing and delivering high-quality programmes at scale requires specialist expertise, operational resource and credible evidence of value.
The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) is the world’s oldest and largest professional body for procurement and supply chain professionals, with over 50,000 members across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Procurement now carries greater strategic weight in organizations, and members need leadership capability to match their functional expertise. They need:
- strategic frameworks to translate supply chain insight into organizational value
- behavioural tools to navigate complexity, influence senior stakeholders and build leadership presence
- structured peer learning with leaders facing similar organizational and market pressures
- CPD accreditation and professional recognition within their institute
For CIPS, the challenge was to offer leadership programmes that strengthen member capability and career progression, on a commercially sound basis, while maintaining operational efficiency and brand consistency.
Our Solution:
Inspirational Group was selected as CPD partner to design and deliver leadership development tailored to procurement and supply chain leaders. Inspirational Group brings behavioural science expertise and manages design, facilitation and logistics. CIPS provides its brand, member access, distribution and accredited CPD hours, under a shared commercial model.
The partnership was built in stages, allowing the institute to test the approach with its own leaders before offering it to members, reducing risk and building internal confidence at each step.
Stage 1: Executive Team Programme (Taster)
A two-day taster programme for CIPS’s own senior leaders, focused on executive team alignment, decision-making under uncertainty and collective leadership capability. Delivered at RMAS for nine participants.
Stage 2: CPO to CEO Development Programme (Pilot)
A structured two-module programme for Chief Procurement Officers preparing for C-suite transition. Piloted with members across two modules, with delivery at RMAS and in Dubai, it integrates emotional intelligence, strategic leadership, cultural navigation and organizational influence within a peer learning cohort.
Stage 3: Portfolio Expansion
Following the pilot, CIPS commissioned Inspirational Group to develop three to four further courses to extend the executive development portfolio. These are currently in development.
Impact
For CIPS, the partnership extends its CPD offering into leadership development through a shared commercial model, without building in-house delivery capability, and differentiates the institute in the professional body market. The commission for further courses reflects confidence in the model and the value it creates for members.
Key Results
- Progression from internal taster to member pilot within a single year
- Commissioned to develop three to four further courses
- Accredited CPD embedded within CIPS’s existing framework
- Strong participant feedback on strategic depth, practical application and relevance to their organizations
What This Means for You
For professional bodies looking to extend their CPD offering into leadership development, at any level of their membership, the CIPS partnership shows how a staged approach with a specialist CPD partner can strengthen member value with minimal operational risk. The model transfers across professional services, regulated professions and sector-specific institutes.
This case study shows how Inspirational Group works as a CPD partner to professional bodies, designing and delivering accredited leadership development under the institute’s own brand.
Professional bodies can test the approach with their own leaders before committing to a member offer
Members build the leadership capability their next role demands, from emerging leader to executive, with accredited recognition from their institute
Institutes expand their CPD portfolio on a shared commercial model, while a specialist partner manages design and delivery
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