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The National Performance Programme is the new National Support Service for performance management. Led by Charities Evaluation Services, the programme partners are acevo, New Economics Foundation, New Philanthropy Capital and Voice4Change England. Further information on the programme is available at www.performancemanagement.org.uk.
Quality untangled
Confusion about what the word quality means often gets in the way of understanding and implementing quality improvement. Here is a simple guide to untangle the key terms and concepts.
- Quality is the degree to which an organisation meets the needs and expectations of its service users and other stakeholders. It is therefore not an activity - you cant do quality.
- Quality improvement means either doing things better or doing better things. You could do less, and actually improve what you do or how you do it.
- Quality assurance literally means how you assure quality in your organisation. In order to provide high quality services consistently, you need to manage all your activities in a co-ordinated way.
- Your quality management system (or quality system) is made up of all the elements of organisational life that relate to the quality of your services e.g. governance, people and resource management, process management, etc. They need to be managed in a comprehensive and systematic way to assure quality. Every organisation has some sort of quality system, just like they have a financial system, but for many it is not consistently applied.
- To help you improve your quality system there are various quality standards or models, such as PQASSO, ISO 9001 and the Excellence Model. These provide guidance on good management practice by setting a standard to be met or questioning what you currently do.
- If you want to use quality standards, make sure you choose the most appropriate tool for your needs. You could choose a tool that covers all organisational issues or one that focuses on specific elements, for example PQASSO covers all areas whilst IiP focuses on people management issues. You also need to decide if you will opt for a self assessed or externally validated tool.
There are lots of tools available to support organisations in assessing and managing the quality of their work, and a large number of books available on their use. A good introduction is First Steps in Quality available via the CES website.
Improving your effectiveness
The Charity Commission have updated The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity", their flagship guidance to effective governance. The six Hallmarks, listed below, have been redefined in order to clarify the principles the Commission believes an effective charity will want to adhere to.
- Clear about purposes and direction
An effective charity is clear about its purposes, mission and values and uses them to direct all aspects of its work
- A strong board
An effective charity is run by a clearly identifiable board or trustee body that has the right balance of skills and experience, acts in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries, understands its responsibilities and has systems in place to exercise them properly
- Fit for purpose
The structure, policies and procedures of an effective charity enable it to achieve its purposes and mission and deliver its services efficiently
- Learning and improving
An effective charity is always seeking to improve its performance and efficiency, and to learn new and better ways of delivering its purposes. A charitys assessment of its performance, and of the impact and outcomes of its work, will feed into its planning processes and will influence its future direction.
- Financially sound and prudent
An effective charity has the financial and other resources needed to deliver its purposes and mission, and controls and uses them so as to achieve its potential.
- Accountable and transparent
An effective charity is accountable to the public and others with an interest in the charity (stakeholders) in a way that is transparent and understandable.
Hallmarks has an excellent track record amongst charities as a practical tool for reviewing and enhancing their effectiveness and seeing how they measure up. Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Commission
"The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity" is available on the Commission's website.
NEW! Autumn training dates
Our popular courses offer practical tips and tools designed to help you get the most for the groups you work with. Prices start from just £45, so why not benefit from our experienced trainers advice and book your place today!
Introducing performance for support providers
09 October, York
11 November, Cambridge
19 November, Birmingham
Monitoring and evaluation: supporting groups
22 October, Cambridge
14 November, York
28 November, Birmingham
Quality: supporting groups
01 October, Cambridge
13 October, York
04 November, Birmingham
Strategic planning: supporting groups
06 & 07 October, Birmingham
06 & 07 November, York
25 & 26 November, Cambridge
Can't make these dates? We can come to you!
For a group of 9 to 16 people, our trainers can deliver these courses where you want, when you want Read more>>>
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