The need for an Evaluation Service [3]
What about Quality Initiatives?
The QSTG (qstg@ncvo-vol.org.uk) recommends the adoption of a set of Quality Principles for all voluntary organisations which would describe their fundamental beliefs and form the basis for their management ethos.
It believes that a quality voluntary organisation:
- strives for continuous improvement in all it does;
- uses recognised standards or models as a means
- to continuous improvement and not as an end;
- agrees requirements with stakeholders and
- endeavours to meet or exceed these first time and every time;
- is accountable to stakeholders;
- adds value to its end users and beneficiaries.
There are many quality systems around in the voluntary sector at present most of which are very demanding for smaller voluntary and community organisations. Some of these systems are focused on strengthening internal systems in the organisation and looking at performance- examples would include the Excellence model, PQASSO, Quality First, Quality Mark, Guidance standards, Other systems are focused more on the outcomes (results) and impact and the experience of users and beneficiaries. Another dimension to the systems is the degree to which they focus on inspection and control or on learning, improvement, and development. The Trust works with voluntary and community organisations to develop outcome oriented quality systems that fit the organisations needs and that are built inside the work.
