Members of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) will be recognised in public procurement in Northern Ireland in future, the permanent secretary of the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland has confirmed.
The news means that members now have access to a range of public sector building projects, achieving recognition for CIOB members at the pre-qualification stage of public procurement processes.
The Institute said it continues to engage with Centres for Procurement Expertise (COPE) in order to achieve total recognition in all public procurement across Northern Ireland.
The move comes after consultation with members in the region who had expressed concern around the lack of recognition for CIOB in public procurement processes compared to other professional bodies.
Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, publics affairs and research at CIOB, said: “This is a significant moment for CIOB and its members in Northern Ireland, and we are delighted to see our the productive relationship we have developed with CPD and the Department of Finance bear fruit.
"Given the decentralised nature of procurement in Northern Ireland, recognition by central government is only the first part of the process. We will continue to work with individual procurement bodies in Northern Ireland to ensure CIOB is embedded in construction procurement across the country.”
