Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations Quality Mark (PQASSO)
Basic information
- Type: Certification scheme
- Year established: 2008
- Status: Active
- Thematic area: General
- Summary: The PQASSO Quality Mark is the external assessment service for users of PQASSO, a quality assurance system designed in 1997 as a self-assessment tool for small, medium or large voluntary and community organisations, or for project teams in very large organisations. It offers three levels of certification against 12 quality standards areas. All organisations should meet the first level, while organisations that are more developed or have more resources should opt to achieve compliance with levels 2 or 3. The first certified charity received certification in May 2009. The PQASSO standards are also being adapted for use in Hungary, Croatia, Japan, India and Bangladesh, but the Quality Mark is only available in England. PQASSO is supported by the UK Big Lottery Fund.
Contact details
- Host organisation: Charity Evaluation Services
- Acronym: CES
- Website: www.pqassoqualitymark.org.uk
- Email: enquiries@ces-vol.org.uk
- Phone: 020 7713 5722
- Address: 4 Coldbath Square London EC1R 5HL United Kingdom
Areas addressed
- Principles or standards: Standards-based
- Communications / advocacy / fundraising:
- General commitment to transparency
- Fundraising standards
- Governance and Management:
- General commitment to good governance
- Auditing
- Financial reporting
- Procurement
- Human resources:
- Staff relations
- Volunteer relations
- Beneficiary / client / supporter participation:
- In evaluation (ex post)
- Monitoring and Evaluation:
- General commitment to evaluation
- Commitment to integrate learning in future
Further info: The PQASSO system covers 12 quality standards areas: planning, governance, leadership and management, user-centred service, managing people, learning and development, managing money, managing resources, communications and promotion, working with others, monitoring and evaluation, and results.
Participation
- Number of participating organisations: Child Action Northwest became the first organistion to receive the PQASSO Quality Mark, in May 2009.
Compliance
- Evidence base: Field/site
- Description of monitoring mechanism: The Quality Mark is achieved through external verification of compliance with the PQASSO self-assessment tool. Each quality standard involves a set of indicators assessed as: not met, just started, progressing well or fully met. Certification should only be sought once all indicators achieve 'fully met'. There is no recertification requrement.
- Has sanctioning mechanism: No
Assessment
The PQASSO Quality Mark offers the next step beyond self-assessments using the PQASSO system. It enables organisations to receive a seal of approval which publicly demonstrates that quality management is a high priority within the organisation. By providing a detailed self-assesment tool identical to the standards to be used by external verifiers, the Quality Mark system ensures that organisations only spend resources on achieving certification when they are likely to be successful. The relatively low external costs, which vary based on organisation size, make certification accessible to small organisations as well as larger ones.
Downloads
Guide for Funders and Commissioners
