The RICS Podcast

How has the way art surveyors assess the provenance of art and antiquities changed over the years? And what unique challenges are there in authenticating and valuing artworks from different regions and eras? These are some of the topics considered in the latest episode of the Modus podcast Building the Future.Speaking on the podcast are Marianne Magnin, executive director at Art Identification Standard (AIS), Alvah Beander FRICS, president of Melanin Art Appraisals, and Aubrey Catrone, owner of Proper Provenance.Find out how a postcard discovered in the 1960s allowed the heirs to a Kandinsky painting worth $44m to prove rightful ownership, as well as why blockchain technology is only as reliable as the people inputting the data.

Rivers and other bodies of water play a huge part in the environment’s impact on human health, which means it’s vital to keep water quality in our rivers top of mind.When it comes to trends in river pollution, Professor Steve Ormerod is a leading figure in tracking our rivers’ water quality, as Professor of Ecology and Co-Director of the Water Research Institute at Cardiff University.We hear from Steve as he takes us through the key considerations and dangers in this week’s World Built Environment Forum podcast, hosted by Head of Rural Research at Savills, Emily Norton.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:How clean our rivers are currently throughout the UKWhether we’re taking appropriate measurement of river qualityTrends in urban vs rural water quality improvementThe links between human health and river quality

The final assessment can naturally set off nerves for many candidates preparing for their presentations, so this week’s Candidate Support podcast is centred around calming nerves and preparing to perform at your peak.Offering perspectives from the candidate side and as an assessor herself, Michelle Parkes joins Candidate Engagement Manager Ellie Sainsbury to share strategies to calm nerves ahead of your final assessment.As a special feature, we end this episode with a guided relaxation and confidence-boosting session from Head of Candidate Support & trained Clinical Hypnotherapist, Gill Quinn - if you wish to return to this episode and enjoy the session, you can skip to 27:10 in the episode.If you would like to find out more about the range of local and global resources available to help you through your assessment journey, please visit our dedicated candidate support pages on the RICS website.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:Michelle’s personal experiences with the assessment, on both sides of the panelTips on long-term preparation and short-term strategies to alleviate stress and nervesThe assessors’ roles being to help you perform your best, rather than to be imposingTools to help you practise, rehearse and self-assess your presentationA guided relaxation and confidence-boosting session from Head of Candidate Support & trained clinical hypnotherapist, Gill QuinnResources discussed:LionHeart - APC SupportEllie Sainsburyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-sainsbury-a5a743130/Michelle Parkeshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-parkes-a9661823/Gill Quinnhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gill-quinn-56171b181/

Social media has enabled everybody to publicise views and opinions on a stage that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, a wonderful tool with potentially harmful consequences for businesses if misused.To help navigate the complexities of how to react when a professional uses their freedom of expression in a way which endangers their firm’s reputation, we hear from RICS Technical Specialist Emma Dowd and Employment Lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs in this episode of The RICS Podcast.We delve into RICS social media guidance, protected beliefs, how to approach professionals about their potential use/misuse of social media, and more.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:How a regulator and employer should approach social media posting within disputesWhere to identify the line when considering freedom of expression and manifesting one’s beliefs publiclyRICS’ new guidance on social media usageBest advice for firms on avoiding difficult scenarios surrounding freedom of expression on social media

No surveyor hopes, nor usually expects to find themselves needing to defend their competency in a court scenario, but for those who do, Alexandra Anderson is well versed in how best to make your case.As a Construction Partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLC, Alexandra has a wealth of experience acting for surveyors. She joins Antony Parkinson MRICS on The RICS Podcast to share how surveyors can best prepare themselves in the event that they need to reinforce the competencies that they employ for clients.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:Alexandra’s collaboration with the Expert Working GroupsTests that courts apply to assess a surveyor’s competenceDistinction between ‘must’ and ‘should’ in standards guidance, and how these terms are perceived in a courtThe most common and simplest fixes a surveyor can employ to define their liability and confirm scope with clientsUse of social media in relation to particular cases and valuations

The gender split in construction is heavily one-sided, but through an exciting, bold renovation project with an all-female team, Kat & Fiona Parsons are leading a shift to level out those figures.With their construction backgrounds and passion for diversity and inclusion issues, the duo join RICS’ Sybil Taunton on this episode of The RICS Podcast to share how they’re tackling the project.Tune in to hear how they’re navigating the process of sourcing surveyors and tradespeople, the firms who are demonstrating their commitment to D&I, and the positive disruption they’re set to achieve.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:The positive disruption and exposure of gender split that the project aims to achieveHow Kat & Fiona find and choose the firms they work withRepresenting D&I goals in large firms vs smaller businessesAdvice for businesses looking to demonstrate commitment to D&I

The valuation of real estate investment assets plays a critical role in supporting confident markets and economic stability. To future proof practices in this area, RICS commissioned a valuation review, and an important conclusion of the review was to ensure there is more clarity and transparency in the use of valuation methods. This week on The RICS Podcast Charlotte Neal leads us in a discussion around this review and the implementation of its recommendations.Charlotte, Director of Surveying Standards at RICS, is joined by CEO of LendInvest Rod Lockhart to discuss the changing economy and its effects on the real estate market, as well as some of the key findings around DCF valuation.This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:Recent changes in the economy and the effects on the real estate marketAttitudes in the market towards lending for developersThe creation of VRIC (Valuation Review Implementation Committee)DCF valuation and its role as a primary and supporting valuation methodRICS Valuation Review and DCF consultation:https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/sector-standards/valuation-standards/review-of-real-estate-investment-valuations?cid=aff|podcast|dcf%20podcast|||rics%20podcasts||| 

In another of our candidate support instalments of The RICS Podcast, we are delighted to be joined by RICS member, assessor and mentor, Jen Lemen FRICS. Offering a perspective from the other side of the interview table, Jen shares advice on how to prepare for the big day, and some best practice hints and tips to get you through the interview. This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:How candidates can best use their preparation timeBalancing revision with relaxing to overcome stressMethods for handling questions that candidates can’t answerHow to beat nerves on the day, and how assessors approach visibly nervous candidatesCommon myths and misconceptions about the final assessment interviewJen Lemen is a co-founder of Property Elite, Chartered Surveyor and RICS APC assessor. She is the author of 'How to Become a Chartered Surveyor', published by Routledge.She is also an experienced property consultant (co-Director of Projekt) with FRICS status, a RICS Registered Valuer and a RICS Accredited Mediator, with nearly 15 years' experience working in the commercial property sector.  Her RICS assessment experience includes sitting on final APC interview panels, APC appeal panels and being a lead APC preliminary review assessor.If you would like to find out more about the range of local and global resources available to help you through your assessment journey please visit our dedicated candidate support pages on the RICS website.

Cities are a diverse structure by their very nature, and tackling the challenges of equity in housing, education and welfare are paramount for McKinsey’s Jonathan Woetzel.Jonathan is the Global Leader of their Cities Special Initiative, affording him an ideal perspective on how cities can grow in diversity and inclusivity. We hear from Jonathan as he joins RICS’ Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Sybil Taunton, for this World Built Environment Forum episode of The RICS Podcast.This episode covers:How does diversity relate to cities on a macro levelWho is most impacted by a shortfall in access to cities’ benefitsExamples of beneficial initiatives in diverse citiesThe challenge of housing vs storing value in real estate

The latest episode of Building the Future focuses on queer spaces, how they are used by LGBTQ+ people today and why they need to be preserved. The podcast returns to an important topic covered last year by a Modus article on the crisis queer venues are facing. It is hosted by Kelly Canterford MRICS, founder of Tigrou Consulting and co-chair of Freehold, a networking group for LGBTQ+ people working in the built environment. Joining Kelly for the discussion is Charlie Smith MRICS, a chartered surveyor with Cushman and Wakefield, Ed Welch, a graduate surveyor with CBRE and Grace Forster, a graduate surveyor with Savills.   Among the topics covered are what a ‘queer space’ means, how the definition of such a space has changed from the late 1950s to now and whether these spaces are always as inclusive as they should be.