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If you are an architect and you are interested in joining ECAN, you can attend one of our monthly meetings as a guest to get an impression of ECAN and how it works. To check the date of our next meeting please look at our CPD programme or contact us directly by our telephone helpline - 0131 467 7039. or by email at - info@ecan-architects.com. .

what are you missing out on?

CPD - Over 25 hours of annual CPD, from lectures by top architects to technical presentations by specialist manufacturers. All free.

CPD is mandatory for Sole Practitioners as well as everyone else - but do you comply? Sutherland Hussey, Foster and Partners, Reiach and Hall are just some of our fellow professionals who have given presentations to ECAN. The Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency came to discuss the latest Scottish Building Standards and we were given a tour of the new Scottish Parliament byJohn Gibbons, former Chief Architect with the Scottish Executive. This is just an example. Every ECAN meeting contributes towards your annual CPD requirement.

Influence - Forty voices are better than one! ECAN members are sitting on a number of RIAS committees, making sure the issues that affect small practices are getting heard. We also meet up with senior Planning and Building Standards officials, to hear of changes and raise concerns. Why not get your voice heard at the highest level within the profession?

Group Discounts - ECAN members regularly club together to purchase software and subscriptions at significant discounts. Why pay more on your own when we can negotiate lower costs together?

Some ECAN members have grouped together to purchase NBS software and in the past have taken out TRADA subscriptions. We try to negotiate lower PI insurance and also benefit from cheaper entries in the RIAS Directories. We also have free access to the Architects Appointment document (ASP 2005) for small works, in recognition for our input into its design.

Advice - Ever wished you had someone to turn to? Need to find an answer to that difficult question? Now you can get help and advice from your fellow professionals. Your problem could be answered by any one of our members, some of whom specialise in topics such as conservation, health & safety or disabled access. Maybe you just need someone to talk to when the going gets tough? ECAN has over 1000 years of architectural experience between its members.

When you join ECAN you get access to the use of ECAN’s Yahoo Groups. One email from you gets sent to all our members. Recent queries include “right to light” issues, how to upgrade fire doors, asbestos in buildings and Building Regulations problems.

Good Practice - With small practices often getting a poor reputation for professionalism, ECAN championed a new appointment contract for architects dealing with small projects.

Frustrated at the inadequacies of SCA 2000 for small domestic projects, ECAN members devised a new appointment contract which is shorter and simpler. Revised and published in conjuction with the RIAS, this is now available to everyone, but free to ECAN members and is downloadable from the members' area of the site.

New Clients - The ECAN website is linked to many others, including the EAA and RIAS sites. All our members can have a direct link to their own website, or if they do not have one, can arrange to have their own page on this website. Some ECAN members also choose to participate at the ESPC helpdesk and benefit from direct contact with the public at this facility.

ECAN members sometimes share resources and when times get busy, they often need help with projects or have to pass on potential clients to other members. The ECAN helpline is also used by enquirers looking for an architect, and potential clients are allocated to ECAN members on a rotational basis. Just one new project would pay for your ECAN membership.

Reciprocal Agreement - It is a requirement of ARB that all Sole Practitioners have a reciprocal arrangement in place in case of extended holiday, incapacity or death. It is not something you can set up after the event! Don’t leave yourself, your practice and your family vulnerable.

ECAN members do not need to worry as they automatically have an ARB and RIAS approved reciprocal arrangment with the others in the network group. It may seem like something you will never need, but ECAN members have had to make use of this arrangment in recent years. We hope it is never needed, but you never know . . .

To join ECAN you must be a sole-practitioner member of the RIAS within the EAA Chapter. On joining, you will be required to pay an initial joining fee of £25.00, and an annual membership of £55.00, renewable in January of each year, or a pro-rata monthly rate depending on the date you join. You will also be required to complete an application form and state whether you have a current reciprocal agreement in place. If you don't and wish to take advantage of ECAN's reciprocal arrangement, you will be required to disclose details of someone who could access your office files in the event that you become unable to practice.

Don't work in isolation - join the network!