An Introduction to the European Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

1
An Introduction to the European Common Assessment
Framework (CAF)
By Dario Quintavalle Senior Executive
Ministry of Justice, Italy Court Manager of the
Surveillance Court of Rome
2
Introduction

• What is CAF
• Why is good for us
• The PDCA cycle
• Enablers and results
• Scoring
• The CAF trip
• Exercise of self-assessment

3
CAF, What is it?

• The CAF is an easy-to-use, free tool to assist
  public-sector organizations across Europe in
  using quality management techniques to improve
  their performance.
• The CAF is a total quality management (TQM) tool
• It is inspired by the major Total Quality models
  in general, and by the Excellence Model of the
  European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)
  in particular. 
• It is especially designed for public-sector
  organizations, taking into account their
  characteristics.
• Its application to Justice were first
  experimented in the Surveillance Court of Rome.

4
CAF purposes

• To introduce public administrations to the
  principles of TQM and
• gradually guide them, through the use and
  understanding of self-assessment, from the
  current Plan-Do sequence of activities to a
  full fledged Plan-Do-Check-Act (PCDA) cycle
• To facilitate the self-assessment of a public
  organization in order to arrive at a diagnosis
  and improvement actions
• To act as a bridge across the various models used
  in quality management
• To facilitate bench learning between
  public-sector organizations.

5
Key aims and principles of the CAF
Help improvement
6
CAF helps you

• Effective identification of the strengths of the
  organization and the areas where improvement is
  needed
• Identification of relevant improvement actions
• Increased level of awareness and communication
  throughout the organization
• to make your people become aware and interested
  in quality issues

7
Total Quality in the organization

• Quality of results Quality of organization
• Two management models
• ISO 9000 (housekeeping - employees) DO THINGS
  RIGHT
• TQM (continuous improvement - top management) DO
  THE RIGHT THING

8
PDCA
9
PDCA

• PLAN define objectives you want to achieve,
  considering your customers
• DO execute your plans, monitoring indicators
• CHECK assess your achievements, comparing them
  with your objectives. Success / failure
• ACT correct, revise, reconsider, improve,
  consolidate
• Heuristics solve problems by learning and
  discovery

10
Key words

• Quality
• Improvement
• Communication (critical success factor)
• Self-consciousness
• Learning organization

11
Self - assessment

• Check first learn about yourself Why?
• Incentive your HR listening them
• You get impressions, not only data
• You focus on the citizen as a protagonist
• You add value from existing competencies
• You get info you could only get n a market system

12
Enablers / Results
ACT
Plan, Do, Check
13
Emphasis on Leadership

• It is different from a managerial position
• Manager has defined responsibilities, operates
  in predictable environments, on a daily basis
• Leader a creative vision of the future, a
  driving force for change, a talent-scout, adds
  value to the whole ensemble
• Involves, promotes, delegates

14
You always have a choice

• In public administrations, WHAT to do is defined
  by laws
• But it is up to you to decide HOW to do it
• Focus on vision and mission
• Attention to client and stakeholders needs
• Translate into achievable goals and strategies

15
Other enablers

• Personnel Your Human Resources, a hidden
  treasury (Internal Synergy)
• Partnership those who can help you and have
  interest in your success (External Synergy)
• Processes actions organized and finalized to a
  scope

16
Results

• Output Processes deliver OUTPUTS.  In other
  words, what pops out of the end of a process is
  an output. Outputs are concrete and measurable.
• Outcomes Outputs are produced because there is a
  customer of the process who wants them. 
  Customers usually have expectations about both
  the process and the output (how they get what
  they want, and what they actually get).  An
  OUTCOME is a level of performance, or
  achievement.  It may be associated with the
  process, or the output.  Outcomes imply
  quantification of performance.
• Impact non-intended results

17
Results criteria

• Citizen-oriented
• Personnel-oriented
• Society-oriented
• Key performance oriented.

18
1. Leadership

• Assessment Consider evidence of what the
  organization is doing to
• 1.1. Provide direction for the Court by
  developing its mission, vision and values.
• 1.2 Develop and implement a system for the
  management of the Court organization, performance
  and change
• 1.3. Motivate and support people in the Court and
  act as a role model
• 1.4. Manage the relations with politicians and
  other stakeholders in order to ensure shared
  responsibility

19
2. Strategy and planning

• Assessment Consider evidence of what the
  organization is doing to
• 2.1. Gather information relating to the present
  and future needs of stakeholders
• 2.2. Develop, review and update strategy and
  planning taking into account the needs of
  stakeholders and available resources.
• 2.3. Implement strategy and planning in the whole
  organization
• 2.4. Plan, implement and review modernization and
  innovation

20
3. People

• Assessment Consider evidence on what the
  organization is doing to
• 3.1. Plan, manage and improve human
• resources transparently with regard to
• strategy and planning
• 3.2. Identify, develop and use competencies
• of employees, aligning individual and
• organizational goals
• 3.3. Involve employees by developing open
• dialogue and empowerment

21
3. People

• Judges and Court Clerks a pyramid or a team?
• Respect, dialogue, empowerment a safe and
  healthy environment

22
4 Partnerships and resources

• How the organization plans and manages its key
  partnerships?
• 4.1. Develop and implement key partnership
  relations
• 4.2. Develop and implement partnerships with the
  citizens/customers
• 4.4. Manage information and knowledge
• 4.3. Manage Finances
• 4.5. Manage Technology
• 4.6. Manage facilities

23
5 Processes

• How the organization identifies, manages,
  improves and develops its key processes in order
  to support strategy and planning?
• 5.1. Identify, design, manage and improve
  processes on an ongoing basis
• 5.2. Develop and deliver citizen/customer
  oriented services and products
• 5.3. Innovate processes involving
  citizens/customers

24
6. Citizen/customer-orientedresults

• what results the organization has achieved to
  meet the needs and expectations of citizens and
  customers?
• 6.1. Results of citizen/customer satisfaction
  measurements
• 6.2. citizen/customer-orientation measurements

25
7 People (HR) results

• What results the organization is achieving in
  relation to the competence, motivation,
  satisfaction and performance of its people.
• 7.1. Results of people satisfaction and
  motivation measurements (welfare)
• 7.2. Indicators of people results (satisfaction,
  productivity, skills development, mobility)

26
8 Society results

• The results the Court is achieving in satisfying
  the needs and the expectations of the local
  community.
• 8.1. Results perceived by the stakeholders (e.g.
  reputation)
• 8.2. Indicators of societal performance
  established by the Court (e.g. amount of media
  coverage)

27
9 Key performance results

• 9.1. External results The results the Court is
  achieving with regard to the needs and demands of
  the different stakeholders
• 9.2. Internal results results the organization
  has achieved in relation to its management and
  improvement

28
SCORING

• IMPROVEMENT is the scope of CAF
• The way to improve is self-assessment (check)
• The output of a self-assessment process is to
  have a framework of WEAKNESSESS and CAUSES.
• Scoring helps defining priorities

29
Results first!

• Results are objective data and have a
  quantitative measurement
• Results are symptoms, the problem is in Enablers

30
How to score Enablers
We are not active 0- 10
Plan We plan to do this 11-30
Do We are doing it 31-50
Check We check what we are doing 51-70
Act We adjust if necessary 71-90
PDCA We are continuously improving 91-100
31
How to score Enablers

• Choose the level that you have reached Plan, Do,
  Check or Act.
• Give a score between 0 and 100 according to the
  level that you have reached inside the phase. The
  scale on 100 allows you to specify the degree of
  deployment and implementation of the approach.

32
How to score Results
Trends / Target
No results measured 0- 10
Negative trends /dont meet targets 11-30
Flat trends/ some targets are met 31-50
Improving trends /most targets are met 51-70
Substantial progress /most of relevant targets are met 71-90
Excellent sustained results/ all targets met/positive comparison with other Courts 91-100
33
How to score Results

• Give a score between 0 and 100 for each sub
  criterion on a scale divided in 6 levels
  (corresponding to the results panel of the CAF
  2002).
• For each level, you can take into account either
  the TREND, either the ACHIEVEMENT of the target
  or both.

34
Note on scoring

• Pease note that this is the simplified 2002
  scoring system. It is good to start.
• A more sophisticated scoring system was defined
  in 2006

And now start the process
35
1. Start the trip.

• Step 1 Decide how to organize and plan the
  self-assessment (SA)
• Assure a clear management decision in
  consultation with the organization
• Define the scope and the approach of the SA
• Choose the scoring panel
• Appoint a project leader

36
2. Communicate

• Step 2 Communicate the self-assessment project
• Define and implement a communication plan
• Stimulate involvement of the staff in the SA
• Communicate during the different phases to all
  the stakeholders

37
3. Compose a group

• Step 3 Compose one or more self-assessment groups
• Decide on the number of self assessment groups
• Create a self assessment group that is relevant
  for the whole organization in all its aspects,
  respecting a set of criteria
• Choose the chair of the group(s)
• Decide if the manager should be part of the
  self-assessment group

38
4. training

• Step 4 Organize training
• Organize information and training of the
• management team
• Organize information and training of the self
  assessment group
• The project leader provides a list with all
  relevant documents
• Define the key stakeholders, the products and
  services that are delivered and the key processes

39
5. Do it!

• Step 5 Undertake the self-assessment
• Undertake individual assessment
• Undertake consensus in group
• Score

40
6-8. ...report

• step 6 draw up a report describing the results of
  self-assessment
• step 7 draft an improvement plan
• step 8 communicate the improvement plan

41
9-10 and improve!

• Step 9 Implement the improvement Plan
• Define a consistent approach of monitoring and
  assessing the improvement actions, based on the
  Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
• Appoint a responsible person for each action
• Implement the appropriate management tools on a
  permanent basis
• Step 10 Plan next self-assessment
• Evaluate the improvement actions by a new
  self-assessment

42
And now, lets do an exercise
43
More info on..

• European Institute of Public Administration
  (EIPA)
• www.eipa.eu