Maybe it has
The secretive leadership of the "Institute" of Domestic Energy Assessors (IDEA) struggle to get its message across to the industry it purports to represent these days; largely because its Chairman (CEO no longer sounds important enough now) successfully managed to paint himself into a corner earlier this year after failing to answer a slew of revelations and allegations that resulted in his self-imposed silence.
Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors, Farewell to theI withdrew from posting on the HI forum as I was essentially hounded off their (sic) by the same half dozen people, which Ryan chose not to moderate. I refused to stoop to their level. My posts on here are now equally futile as the same people will simply hide behind the anonymous tag here now too and spout the same nonsense.
The Chairman's self-imposed gagging order was soon formally extended to embrace serving committee members through the introduction of Non-Disclosure Agreements (or equivalent), and the complete firewalling of its forums (not to mention the unconstitutional ousting of Steering Group members-turned-whistleblowers, Neil Kurz and Chris Jaibahadur).
No spokesperson
Since then, in the absence of any officially appointed spokesperson, it has been down to a couple of vocal members to pass-on IDEA news to the wider DEA community via the Home Inspector Forum (HIF).
There is a price to pay for this unofficial role, because the news they bring inevitably risks putting the messengers into conflict with fellow DEAs opposed to the "non-institutional", commercially-driven direction the IDEA is perceived to be headed.
Silently stalking
Ironically (or coincidentally), usually within minutes of such posts being made, the IDEA Chairman magically logs-on to the HIF, as if to witness his one or two loyal "pawns" in valiant battle against sceptical DEAs.
Whilst they attempt to fulfil the role of spokesperson left vacant by their leader, the Chairman only feels it necessary to step-in when his name is dragged into the fray (usually via private messages, phone calls to accreditation schemes, AHIPP, HIF admin or whomever else he feels should listen to his demands for action against those who question his personal role).
Meanwhile, without vanity or ego, "his pawns" fight for the name of the IDEA, unassisted.
Intellectual depth
There has been little - if any - evidence of any depth of intellectual substance behind the raison d`être for the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors. HES, the troubled company that initially bankrolled the Chairman to launch the IDEA, has never publicly commented on why it did, and the Chairman - who long ago sought to distance the IDEA from HES, yet remained silent to the traumas suffered by DEAs caught in the fight between HES and Quidos - has never really made a thought-provoking case either; save for repeating obvious "vote-winning" calls for DEAs to "fix a fair EPC fee" and to thwart the practices of unscrupulous training providers - none of which it has truly campaigned against since launching, in contrast to the Institute of Home Inspection (more).
Instead, it's been a period of self-congratulatory glad-handing, deal-making and image-management.
Until, that is, last week's newsletter...
Winning hearts and minds
I don't know who wrote it - it's unattributed - but there is an article entitled 'Who Shot JR'.
It's as though the penny has dropped: there is an energy crisis; surging fuel poverty amongst the poor and elderly; a recognition that Government is failing to do enough.
The author has done their research. After laying down the arguments, the newsletter rallies readers by saying:
If you add all those on incapacity benefit to those on job seekers allowance, we now have over 4 million unemployed in this country.
We have over 9, 000 accredited energy assessors desperately trying to scratch a living
We have a construction industry on it’s knees due to a deepening recession
We have Government spending billions of taxpayers money to bail out banks who indulged in high risk lending strategies
We have millions of pounds in grant funds that are not widely known of , are not being targeted properly and saddest of all, not being utilised to the full
Am I alone here or is the answer staring us all in the face?
Yes, it most definitely is! I have long argued the same several times.
A visionary roadmap
Finally, a true vision all DEAs can subscribe to. Instead of slicing and dicing the market, a call to the hearts and minds of all industry professionals, inside and out.
A mission truly worthy of signature, for in campaigning this the problems bedeviling energy assessors disappear and the mid-to-long-term benefits to society are innumerable; everybody wins - sign me up!
This is a big picture vision we can all champion. From here a roadmap writes itself and lobbying comes truly from the heart - there is only one vested interest here: society.
Except the author stops short: there is no roadmap.
It is my position that EPCs should be freed from Home Information Packs but the potential problem facing the IDEA with such a campaign is that it might upset the deals (and income) it has struck with various commercial HIP providers, not to mention its membership to AHIPP.
Does the IDEA have the balls?
So the questions begged by all this are: does the leadership of the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors possess the courage to come out of their self-imposed exile to win the hearts and minds of all professionals and lead them into the real battle arena?
Or will it continue to pit DEAs against each other in the marketplace whilst navel-gazing and writing to readers of The Negotiator, instead of speaking to all industry professionals, regardless of membership?
I hope it's the former.
[Added: Oh dear... Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors Chairman Ignores Vote ]
PS... if anyone is to comment on behalf of the IDEA, feel free - even if you vehemently disagree. But please save the promotional tittle-tattle because that will be edited out (oh and you might ask the Chairman to (finally) remove the grossly inflated membership numbers from the IDEA home page: it's not right and it further fuels its non-transparent reputation).
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