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What is a Quality Standards System?
A quality standards or assurance system is a system that allows you to find out and respond to the needs of your users, so that you provide an appropriate service consistently and to agreed standards. You should be able to provide evidence that you are doing so.
Implementing quality systems is a major issue for the voluntary sector. The move towards service level agreements and a contract culture has led to considerable pressure on voluntary organisations to become more managerial and professional. Funders frequently want to see evidence of quality systems being in place as part of this trend.
Quality Systems have similar key features. They consist of a series of policies and procedures detailing:
- How the organisation is run
- How service delivery is managed
- How staff are managed
- How client care is managed
All quality systems are underpinned by monitoring and evaluation so that you can tell if your organisation is working, as it should.
Lottery Cash Supports Quality Work
Community and Voluntary Service Mid and North Bedfordshire (CVS Mid and North Beds), on behalf of the local voluntary sector, has hit the lottery jackpot by securing a grant of over £270,000!
CVS Mid and North Beds has been awarded funding from the Big Lottery Fund to support local voluntary and community organisations across Mid and North Bedfordshire.
The grant will pay for a full-time Funding and Development Officer to help organisations work more effectively and gain a Quality Standard (such as PQASSO - Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations) that will help them to raise more cash. The funding will also be used to provide training opportunities for staff and volunteers.
What is PQASSO?
- PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations) is the Charities Evaluations Services' practical quality assurance system for small organisations, or for projects within larger organisations. It's a straightforward quality system, written in plain English and designed specifically for voluntary sector organisations.
- PQASSO provides a flexible, step-by-step approach to working out what your organisation is doing well and what could be improved. By using the self-assessment work pack, the system helps you to set priorities for your organisation's future and improve your organisation's performance.
- PQASSO is the most widely used quality assurance system within the voluntary sector, adopted by thousands of organisations wishing to become more efficient and effective.
- PQASSO is designed particularly for small to medium-sized voluntary organisations - those with up to 20 workers. Organisations working in all areas can use PQASSO.
How does PQASSO work?
PQASSO is a self-assessment quality assurance system and is built on 12 topics or 'quality areas'. These 12 quality areas cover all the main things you need to attend to in order to run your organisation well and achieve good results for your users. The quality areas are:
- Planning for Quality
- Governance
- Management
- User-centred service
- Staff and Volunteers
- Training and Development
- Managing Money
- Managing Resources
- Managing Activities
- Networking and Partnership
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Results
In each quality area, you ask yourself a series of questions and check if you have evidence to support your answers. According to your answers, you will see where improvements are needed. You then make an action plan, and as you get underway with your improvements you may find you move up a level. As stated this is done by self assessment and at a pace that best suits you.
In each quality area, the standard itself is clearly defined and applies top all organisations. You then decide what counts as evidence, according to the particular nature of your organisation (pointers are given).
PQASSO has been developed by the Charities Evaluation Services and more information can be found at www.ces-vol.org.uk.
For More Details
Contact: Jane Owen, CVS Mid & North Beds on 01234 354366 or at jane@cvsmidandnorthbeds.org.uk to find out more.
Information Sheet:
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