Introduction

PQASSO - the Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations - is the most widely used quality system in the UK voluntary and community sector, and is produced by Charities Evaluation Services (CES). Two of CVS Fife's staff, Sandra Bruce and Marri Welsh, recently qualified as PQASSO Mentors, and are now licensed to provide training and mentoring to voluntary and community sector organisations on implementing PQASSO.

How does PQASSO work?

PQASSO can be used as a self-assessment tool. This means that your organisation controls the process and the pace at which it implements PQASSO. You may also want to build on your self-assessment by having an external assessment against the PQASSO standards – read more about the PQASSO Quality Mark on the CES website.

PQASSO is built on 12 topics or quality areas.

1. planning
2. governance
3. leadership and management
4. user-centred service
5. managing people
6. learning and development
7. managing money
8. managing resources
9. communications and promotion
10. working with others
11. monitoring and evaluation
12. results

To see an example of a quality area, download the helpful brochure (1MB PDF).

PQASSO offers a staged approach to implementing quality through three levels of achievement. All organisations should cover the requirements of level 1. More established or complex organisations may then decide to move on to level 2 and then level 3. In each quality area, the standard itself is clearly defined and applies to all organisations. To work through the quality area, you ask yourself if you meet the indicators at the level you are working, and you set out plans to make any necessary improvements.

PQASSO is published as a workpack. There is also a CD-ROM which can be used alongside the workpack as an information management tool.

Benefits of using PQASSO

Research has shown that organisations using PQASSO can gain the following benefits:

• more effective and more efficient organisational systems and procedures
• better quality of services for users
• better communication among staff, trustees and volunteers
• increased motivation for staff, trustees and volunteers
• greater credibility and legitimacy with funders
• more creative thinking, enabling new perspectives and ways of working
• organisational learning
• continuous improvement over time.

How PQASSO has helped voluntary organisations

CES has carried out a number of user evaluations. In one survey, 90% said the PQASSO work pack was either 'good' or 'excellent'.

Organisations say it has helped to:

• work out priorities
• improve service user involvement in the charity
• create better working practices and policies
• get the management committee more involved and take more responsibility
• improve the physical environment for service users
• improve the relationship between volunteers and users.

For more information on PQASSO wisit www.ces-vol.org.uk or contact Marri Welsh: marri.welsh@cvsfife.org or sandra.bruce@cvsfife.org - tel: 01592 567001

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