As a mission-driven sector, nonprofits tend to devote most of their resources, time, and energy to their programs and services. In their dedication to clients, nonprofits too often neglect the underlying aspects of their work, which are vital to mission impact — their internal operations and processes, their efficiency and quality, and their tools and infrastructure.
Common quality problems we see in nonprofits include:
- Unclear roles and responsibilities leading to re-work, frustration, conflict, and disempowerment.
- Unclear, inconsistent, or inefficient processes for carrying out key tasks.
- Lack of fidelity to program model and/or intentions.
- Critical feedback from site visitors, accreditors, and funders.
- Errors in documentation and billing.
- Client dissatisfaction or attrition.
Continuous Quality Improvement is:
- A management philosophy that believes things can always be improved.
- An approach that focuses on managing processes, not just people.
- A structured problem-solving process that uses data to inform decisions and changes.
- A never-ending cycle of experimentation, learning, and improvement.
We can help you:
- Define what quality means and looks like for your organization.
- Identify strategies to assure, monitor, and improve quality.
- Design, improve, and document processes to support efficiency, clarity, and cohesion.
- Facilitate CQI projects to address specific opportunities for improvement.
Like all the work we do, we focus on creating quality improvement (CQI) systems that are meaningful, measurable, and manageable. Your CQI plan, program, or system should not exist only to serve your accrediting body or funders. It should reflect your values, intentions, and commitments and should be used to evaluate and improve the performance of your staff, programs, processes, and tools.