About MAEP
Learn more about MAEP and how to join.
MAEP is an online tool that is designed to help expert witnesses who provide evidence for courts and tribunals, collect feedback on their performance.
Feedback is collected from professionals involved in the case such as solicitors and barristers, and can be used to support professional development, learning and annual appraisal. Medical doctors may also use this feedback to support their revalidation.
MAEP was devised by Professor Keith Rix for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and initially made available to expert witnesses in the field of mental health. However, MAEP can now be used by any expert providing assistance to courts and tribunals, whatever their profession.
For each of their cases, MAEP subscribers can complete a self-assessment and invite professionals involved in the case to provide their feedback via an online questionnaire. Once enough feedback has been collected, subscribers can generate a report on their performance.
It offers the best value for money – Within the MAEP membership term, members can start as many cases as they wish and generate an unlimited number of reports.
It offers a unique form of assessment to support development – Feedback is provided against eight key domains, essential to achieving a high standard of ethical and professional practice as an expert witness. Invited feedback against these eight domains is presented alongside the MAEP subscriber's self-assessment scores, to encourage reflection and development.
It can be used widely and across different jurisdictions – MAEP can be used to assess your performance as an expert in all courts and tribunals, and in other circumstances where expert evidence is needed to resolve disputes (e.g. civil, criminal, family, employment tribunals and coronial cases). The tool is suitable for cases that are settled or do not go to trial, as well as those that go to trial.
It’s comprehensive and insightful – As well as assessing performance within eight key domains, free text options are available for assessors to provide more specific comments that will help you.
To submit a registration and join MAEP:
Visit the MAEP system website
Select 'Join us' and register your application
Complete your application by making an online payment.
Contact the MAEP team if you have any queries, by telephone: 0208 618 4029 or email: MAEP@rcpsych.ac.uk
A one-off fee allows MAEP subscribers to collect feedback and receive reports on as many cases as they wish within their membership term.
Fees for 2024
| Subscription | Cost (1-year subscription) |
|---|---|
| New member | £125 |
| Returning members | £110 |
For each case, MAEP subscribers complete a self-assessment and invite professionals involved in the case (such as solicitors and barristers) to provide their feedback via an online questionnaire. Respondents may also include free text comments on areas of strength and areas for improvement. The questionnaire for professionals involved in the case contains the same questions.
By encouraging reflection on the reported scores and feedback, MAEP supports expert witnesses in achieving and maintaining high standards of ethical and professional practice. This information will not be publicly available and there is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. Feedback is intended to guide professional development and learning and can be shared with peer groups. It may be submitted as evidence for annual appraisal and may also be suitable to support medical experts’ revalidation as doctors.
Feedback is provided on up to eight domains of expert witness practice:
- Professionalism
- Ethics
- Skills
- Reliability of opinion
- Presentation of opinion/report
- Understanding of law, procedure, and rules of evidence
- Oral testimony
- Business manners and affairs
Once enough feedback has been collected, subscribers can generate their individual Case Report or a Cumulative Report, which combines feedback from multiple cases over a set period of time.