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Project leader
Gracia Vara Arribas
EU Law and Public Procurement, EU Governance, Head of the European CAF Resource Centre
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Human resource management, Negotiation and soft skills, Quality management/CAF
CAF Success Decoded: Leadership Commitment and Agile Management
Experience practical workshops blending agile techniques and TQM tools. Harness real-world simulations, refine leadership commitment and create agile action plans. Equip yourself with hands-on strategies for immediate implementation, ensuring tangible outcomes in your public sector role.
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a total quality management tool (TQM) based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model and the quality management model of the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer. CAF has been specifically designed for the development of TQM in public-sector organisations, starting with a self-assessment of their performance.
Since the launch of the first version of the CAF in 2000 until the most current version in 2020, over 4,000 organisations in many European countries, EU institutions and non-EU countries have implemented this quality framework. The reason for this is that the CAF is a free quality management model that enables public institutions across the globe to boost, transform and efficiently manage their performance. The CAF is also evidence-based and, as a living quality management tool, can partner with other tools and methodologies (such as human-centred design and agile management) during the optimisation of processes and services in any single public institution.
The CAF has proven to be the ultimate tool to improve quality in your organisation and make sure it is prepared for future crises. There has therefore never been a better time to learn about the CAF 2020 developments and gain practical insights into the model itself and its correlation with human-centred design and agile management. You will be invited to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained, and you will receive a playbook (used materials) with personalised tips for your own organisation’s improvement.
At the end of this course, participants will have a clear understanding of:
- the CAF 2020 quality model itself, and the self-assessment process;
- major characteristics of ISO and EFQM and how they relate to the CAF and vice versa;
- roles in the CAF process and communication structure;
- how to implement the CAF 2020;
- how to communicate, follow up and measure CAF successes;
- how to prioritise improvement actions on a short, medium and long-term basis in the CAF 2020;
- the place of the CAF and the CAF 2020 within the different models used for TQM in the public sector;
- how to apply for Procedure on CAF External Feedback (PEF) and prepare for the PEF on-site visit;
- the requirements for the PEF auditor’s work and the feedback report;
- how to introduce human-centred design and agile management along with the CAF process in the institution;
- get insight into present and upcoming global challenges and discuss how to prepare for them (with the aim of ensuring resilient institutions).
Course methodology/highlights:
The programme will be implemented through a variety of practical examples, skills practice, case studies, group work and plenary sessions in an open and friendly setting at EIPA’s premises in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Group lunches and coffees will offer the ideal setting to exchange good practices and network with your peers from all over Europe.
At the end of this course, participants will have:
- gained a deeper, detailed insight into the content of the CAF 2020 quality model and the particularities of its implementation;
- found solutions to the specific problems and challenges encountered during your CAF implementations, guaranteeing greater success in the future;
- learned lessons about the success and failure factors;
- contributed to other CAF users’ learning;
- embedded the philosophy and an understanding of the added value of the process on external feedback and the Effective CAF User Label at your organisation;
- obtained more insight into how to establish synergies between the CAF and other tools and methodologies and received brief and personalised feedback for the possible follow-up actions.
This course is suitable for all public officials who are involved in the introduction or implementation of quality management tools in their respective organisations. It is of particular relevance for those who are already knowledgeable about the CAF and who want to acquire a specialised and practical knowledge with more practical insights how the CAF contributes efficiently to change management, agile management, resilience, risk and foresight as well as customer orientation. Public officials dealing (or planning to deal) with service design and delivery, the concepts of innovation in rapid innovation labs in public administration are also strongly encouraged to enrol.
As for the interested public officials without prior CAF knowledge, the CAF Resource Centre will design an on-boarding scheme prior to the course. To ensure the training content is customised to your needs, we will conduct a short survey among participants in order to address the range of different needs and identify the common areas of interest.
Course venue
European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)
O.L. Vrouweplein 22
6211 HE, Maastricht
the Netherlands
Programme Organiser
Ms Isabela Puscasu
Tel: +31 43 3296240
i.puscasu@eipa.eu
Fee
The fee includes documentation and refreshments. Lunches, a reception or dinner are included if mentioned in the programme. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.
Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.
Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.
For all other participants, the regular fee applies.
Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.
Meals
Dietary preferences can be indicated on the registration form.
Hotel reservations
EIPA has special price arrangements with a number of hotels. All hotels are within 10 minutes walking distance from EIPA. Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please book directly via the links below. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out.
Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.
Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.
Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.
EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).
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Programme
| 09.15 | Registration of participants |
| 09.30 | Welcome and introduction to the course |
| 09.45 | The European vision of quality: the Common Assessment Framework. Its origins and current use |
| 10.30 | Spotlights on the CAF 2020 as an entry point for structured reforms of public administration |
| 11.15 | Coffee break |
| 11.30 | Stakeholders, services and products in the public sector – transforming institutional awareness with the CAF |
| 12.00 | Introducing case study 1 |
| 12.20 | Interactive exercise 1: stakeholders and service/product mapping |
| 13.00 | Lunch |
| 14.00 | Boosting CAF practitioners’ and coaches’ moderation and communications skills |
| 14.15 | Phases, roles, scoring and prioritising in the CAF |
| 15.00 | Coffee break |
| 15.15 | Interactive exercise 2: assessing the maturity level of the CAF implementation/case study |
| 15.40 | Review of results of the interactive exercise 2 in plenary session and discussion |
| 16.10 | Findings and conclusions of day 1 |
| 16.30 | End of day 1 |
| 09.00 | Agile management, change management and how to make the best use of it when implementing the CAF |
| 09.30 | Interactive exercise 3/case study 2: Designing agile and client-oriented improvement actions, PDCA scoring |
| 10.45 | Coffee break |
| 11.15 | Review of the results in a plenary session and discussion |
| 11.40 | Prioritising improvement actions and improvement action plan |
| 12.10 | Interactive exercise 4/case study 2: prioritise and design an improvement action plan, including pain points and how to communicate them |
| 13.15 | Lunch |
| 14.20 | Presenting the prioritisation and improvement action plans, discussion |
| 15.00 | Major challenges and success factors in CAF implementation |
| 15.30 | Coffee break |
| 15.45 | Strategic and effective communication as cornerstone of the CAF implementation and maintenance |
| 16.20 | Findings and conclusions of day 2 |
| 17.00 | End of day 2 |
| 09.30 | Interactive exercise 4: placing the methodology of CAF action plan implementation into the human-centred design and agile context |
| 10.15 | Presentation in plenary session and discussion |
| 11.00 | Coffee break |
| 11.30 | The PEF procedure highlights. Testimonials of different experiences |
| 12.00 | The CAF in the context of other quality management standards, models and tools |
| 12.30 | Institutionalisation of the CAF in different countries |
| 12.45 | What can the European CAF Resource Centre do for you? Needs and expectations for future training programmes. |
| 13.00 | Evaluation of the course and handing out of certificates |
| 13.15 | End of the course |