QUALITY INITIATIVES IN PUBLIC SECTOR
Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
The CAF is offered as a tool to assist public sector organisations across Europe to use quality management techniques to improve performance.
The CAF has been designed for use in all parts of the public sector, applicable to public organisations at the national/federal, regional and local level. In some cases, and especially in very large organisations, a self-assessment may also be undertaken in a part of an organisation e.g. a selected section or department.
The structure of the CAF is illustrated below:
The nine-box structure identifies the main aspects requiring consideration in any organisational analysis. Within each of these boxes a list of criteria is provided. The criteria identify the main issues that need to be considered when assessing an organisation.
Using the CAF provides an organisation with a powerful framework to initiate a process of continuous improvement.
The CAF provides:
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an assessment based on evidence.
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a means to achieve consistency of direction and consensus on what needs to be done to improve an organisation.
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an assessment against a set of criteria, which has become widely accepted across Europe.
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a means of measuring progress over time through periodic self-assessment.
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a link between goals and supportive strategies and processes
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a means to focus improvement activity where it is most needed.
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opportunities to promote and share good practice within different areas of an organisation and with other organisations.
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a means to create enthusiasm among employees by involving them in the improvement process.
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opportunities to identify progress and outstanding levels of achievement.
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a means to integrate various quality initiatives into normal business operations.
To summarise, self-assessment against the CAF model offers the organisation an opportunity to learn more about itself.
Compared to a fully developed Total Quality Management model, the CAF is a "light" model, suitable especially to get an initial impression of how the organisation performs. It is assumed that any organisation that intends to go further will select one of the more detailed models (such as the Speyer or EFQM models). The CAF has the advantage of being compatible with these models and may therefore be a first step for an organisation wishing to go further with quality management.
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In its new page the Institute presents instructional materials in Lithuanian language for public sector institutions that intend to run self-assessment against the CAF model:
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Brochure about the Common Assessment Framework (PDF format)
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Tables for an individual assessment
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Description of steps for self-assessment and follow-up actions
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Example of the filled assessment table for Criterion 4.1 (Enablers)
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Example of the filled assessment table for Criterion 6.1 (Results)
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Form of the summary of quantitative assessment
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What can motivate organisations to apply CAF
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Reference to the internet site of The European Institute of Public Administration which contains information on institutions that have applied CAF
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Reference to the internet site of The European Institute of Public Administration which contains information on CAF scores of institutions that have applied CAF
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Reference to the internet site of The European Institute of Public Administration which contains presentations about experience of various countries in using CAF
With having more experience instructional materials on this page will be updated. The Institute has run self-assessment against the CAF model in 2005-2006. In December 18, 2008 the Institute was awarded by ISO 9001:2000.
If you have any questions concerning self-assessment and follow-up actions please contact Chief consultant Mr Arturas Arbatauskas:
Phone +370 5 239 58 03.
