Roles and Responsibilities

Candidate (Provisional) Member / Sponsor Relationship

Candidate (Provisional) Members require a Registered Professional Planner (or CIP Member from another affiliate) who has been a Full member for at least three years to serve as Sponsor in order to fulfil the requirements of the membership process. Candidate (Provisional) Members must ask a Full member to volunteer his or her time and expertise to serve as their Sponsor. As soon as possible the two should meet, have a frank discussion about roles and expectations, and review the OPPI documents that indicate how many months of professional experience the Candidate (Provisional) Member must complete.

Sponsor qualifications

An approved Sponsor must have no direct conflict of interest with the Candidate (Provisional) Member, such as:

• Being a direct supervisor, subordinate or close work colleague of the Candidate (Provisional) Member
• Being in any personal or business conflict of interest with the Candidate (Provisional) Member.

Sponsors must follow OPPI membership requirements, by-laws, policies and procedures and be familiar with the type of work that constitutes relevant planning experience as described in the Log Guidelines.

Submit, Review and Validate Logs

Candidate (Provisional) Members must log their professional experience and submit the logs to their Sponsor on an agreed upon schedule (e.g., quarterly, annually, etc.). After thoughtful review, the Sponsor may validate the Candidates (Provisional) Member’s logs. Log Guidelines and Sample Logs will assist in the preparation, review and validation of logs.

After the final log has been completed and validated, the Sponsor will send a signed Validation Form confirming his or her neutrality and independent validation of the Candidate (Provisional) Member’s logs to OPPI. The form should be printed, signed by the Candidate (Provisional) Member and Sponsor in two places, and then scanned and emailed or mailed (see footer of the website for our address) to OPPI for the Registrar’s signature. The record of practical experience itself should not be sent to OPPI, but the Candidate (Provisional) Member should keep it on file for two years. 

Prepare & register for the Professional Exam

Sponsors may help to prepare Candidate (Provisional) Members for the Professional Exam, but the role ends when the individual is ready to take the exam.

The Candidate (Provisional) Member will be advised once the Registrar has signed the Validation Form and may proceed to register to write the Professional Exam. OPPI will advise the Professional Standards Board that the Candidate (Provisional) Member is now eligible to write the exam.