The Excellence Model is designed as an over-arching self-assessment framework for continuous improvement. There are nine criteria in it covering everything from strategic planning and good people management, to the use of outcomes to understand how effective an organisation is.

One of its great strengths is that it looks both inwards and outwards - encouraging consideration of an organisation's operating environment and interaction with stakeholders. The self assessment results in a list of areas for performance improvement that are then used to actually improve performance, followed by regular assessments of improvements made. By undergoing external assessment, organisations can also aim for the UK Quality Award. Although awareness of the Excellence Model is high (53%), take-up is low (just 8%). The model is very comprehensive, but it is seen as daunting by many smaller VCOs, and it can be time-consuming to administer. Its relevance to very small charities has been questioned. Guidance on how to use it in the sector has been produced by the QSTG

More information can be found here: www.efqm.org