Report on use of quality standards by VCS organisations

NCVO, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, has published a new report, entitled Quality Assurance in the Voluntary and Community Sector, looking into the perceptions and use of quality standards by VCS organisations.

Commissioned by the Big Lottery Fund, and carried out with Office for Public Management, the research investigated how VCS organisations use standards including PQASSO, Investors in People, ISO 9001 and specific standards for sub-sectors and areas of their work. The research also looked at how funders and commissioners view quality standards and how they influence funding and commissioning decisions.

Key findings from the research include:
 

• Over 130 quality standards are being used by the VCS covering a range of areas of organisational life and work specialisms.
• Working to a quality standard can benefit organisations by putting them in a stronger position to respond to tenders and provide a tool for organisational improvement and reflection.
• 88% of respondents stated that the resources involved in working to quality standards as a drawback.
• There appears to be a knowledge gap amongst some commissioners and funders about quality standards and the difference between them.
• If done well, taken seriously, and measure the right things quality standards can be viewed very positively by VCS organisations.
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Recommendations from the report include increasing the knowledge and understanding amongst commissioners and funders of the purpose, scope and difference between quality standards and supporting VCS organisations to make informed choices about their approach to quality assurance and use of quality standards.

To download the research, which the Big Lottery Fund will use the research to inform their use of quality standards in assessing funding bids, visit www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/big_quality_standards_scoping_research_ncvo_opm.pdf.