CONTACT - Ian Sturt, Lead for Stakeholder Engagement
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Stronger together

Proficiency

Proficiency is the lead organisation in the Energy Assessor Alliance with a focus on driving energy assessor representation forward at the national level. 

It has grown a strong membership base of energy assessors and associated professionals across the country.

Initally formed as DCHI in 2006, we have been supporting and representing Energy Assessors and associated professionals since the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations came into force in 2007.

DCHI long recognised the need for a national organisation to represent the interests of energy assessors. The evolution to Proficiency in February 2022 has enabled it to become exactly that.

EPC Near Me

Promoting a growing membership of Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) across the country, EPC Near Me is helping to raise awareness of independent energy assessors.

Providing an effectiive route for property owners to access EPCs from independent local assessors is a crucial part of ensuring consumers have adequate choice.

Working alongside Proficiency, EPC Near Me is helping to bring together thg effective marketing of independent DEAs with the support and CPD they need.

Midlands Energy Professionals

With a strong base in the Midlands, MEP is a respected organisation with a growing membership providing a range of energy efficiency services.

In July 2021 the MEP committee chose not to join with DCHI in creating a national oganisation. That decision determined that Proficiency taking on the leading role nationally would become an evolution of DCHI rather than a joint DCHI / MEP project.

MEP however remain a valued partner and contributor to the activities of the Alliance

Residential Property Surveyors Association

RPSA is a representative body for independent residential surveyors and associated professionals who are the industry's leading specialists in reporting on the condition of residential properties on behalf of homebuyers.

Whilst their core area sits slightly to one side of the energy efficiency focus of the Alliance, there is much overlap. 

A good relationship between the RPSA, Proficiency and any other Alliance members as it evolves will be beneficial to all.

HI Devon

HI Devon has been a long time contributor to the success of DCHI and a driving force behind the growth of Proficiency.

Proprietor, Ian Sturt (with the assistance of Philip Salaman of Quidos) was responsible for initially getting DCHI (now Proficiency) recognised by DLUHC (formerly MHCLG), and by the Accreditation Schemes as a representative body for our industry.

Ian's creation of the Alliance with the former President of MEP and the former Chair of IDEA, enabled assessors to have a national voice well before Proficiency (formerly DCHI) became truly national in its own right. 

HI Devon still holds the effective intelectual rights to the Energy Assessor Alliance identity, owns the domain and continues to provide them (together with the administration for the activities of the Alliance) for the benefit of the industry.

Brief history of The Alliance

Originally created as the Alliance of Energy Assessor Associations in November 2014 by Ian Sturt as Vice Chair of DCHI with the support of Glen Neville, President of Midlands Energy Professionals (MEP), and Michael Crompton, Chair of the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors (IDEA), it has evolved to become known as the Energy Assessor Alliance to better reflect its makeup. (Often referred to just as "The Alliance").

This loose alliance of organisations with similar goals, enabled energy assessors to have a recognised voice at national level well before Proficiency (formerly DCHI) grew to be national in its own right. 

IDEA no longer exists and in July 2021 the Committee of MEP decided not to join with DCHI to set up and run a national organistion. That left DCHI needing to fulfil the role of supporting assessors nationally or it was still not going to happen. The DCHI membership voted in November 2021 to take on the challenge.

The restructure and re-branding as Proficiency was completed by February 2022. Proficiency now has a strong membership across the country, enabling it to engage effectively as repesenting energy assessors nationaly.

With MEP having stepped away from engagement in taking on the national role and DCHI (now Proficiency) having fulfilled it alone, the Alliance has become largely simbolic. However, we do still recognise the importance of good working relationships with other organistions having similar goals. We do intend to keep the Energy Assessor Alliance alive as a recognition of those organisations who engage positively with us for the benefit of our industry.

Supporting our members

Members of these organisations working loosely together for the common good, benefit from advice, peer support and access to affordable and good quality training and CPD.

Collectively we help our members to operate effective businesses providing a high standard of service to property owners and occupiers.

We can also link members to business opportunities and a range of benefits.

As a result of this and the size of our memberships we have a strong voice at the highest levels. We use this strength to make sure that our members get a fair hearing wherever and whenever it is needed.

The Alliance and its constituent orgabisations have played an active role in influencing the development of the legislation, policies and conventions which support energy assessment and residential property surveying.

Raising Awareness with the Public and Business Community on the Role of Energy Assessors and EPCs

Although EPCs have been in existence for sometime now, there is still a need to raise awareness within the industry and with the public. Through providing editorial content to specialist and general publications, giving presentations and contributing to the many online forums that exist to support energy awareness we make sure that anyone interested in finding out more can do so.