Prior Information Notice - Quality Improvement Market Engagement

The Care Quality Commission ('CQC') wishes to invite Expressions of Interest from organisations in its future Quality Improvement Programme requirements. The Quality Improvement Programme will be a central aspect of CQC's strategy for 2016 - 2021, 'Shaping the Future'.

The aim of the programme will be to facilitate a fundamental change in the culture of CQC to one where improving the quality of care provided is at the heart of all we do and will be central to the CQC's long term strategy and allow it to effectively address quality of care. To develop our thinking further we want to engage with organisations that have the expertise and the experience of working in partnership with organisations to create a quality improvement culture that is deeply embedded and sustainable.

CQC's focus over the last four years has been to establish our credibility externally as an organisation that contributes to improvements in care. CQC are now looking to invest in the next stage of our organisational development.

By investing in quality improvement we want to enable people who work for CQC to spend more time being at their best by making improvements to the way CQC works and which make a positive difference to the lives of people who use the services we regulate. Additional information: We recognise that we need external support to make a wholesale shift in the organisation's capability to make improvements.

We believe we need a partner who can work with CQC in three main ways. Broadly these are: 1.

To work with the Quality Improvement Director and the Executive Team to set a clear framework for improving the way we work, define a clear set of measurable improvement priorities aligned to our strategy and values and which enable our staff to spend more of their time making a difference to people who use the services we regulate. Alongside this, the Executive Team recognise that they will need to learn a new approach and will need coaching to create a culture where people at CQC feel engaged and empowered to make improvements to the way we work; 2.

To work with the Quality Improvement Director to build a small expert team and design the Quality Improvement framework and methodology that will work for CQC. Importantly CQC is an organisation where 65% of our workforce is based at home and is frequently out and about undertaking regulatory activities; and 3.

To work with the Quality Improvement Director to build capability in everyone who works at CQC so that they are equipped to lead improvement activity; and to enable people who work at CQC to share their expertise of making improvements to the way we work with those services we regulate and encourage improvement across the sectors. To do this we believe everyone will need: • To understand why we are doing this and how improving the way CQC works enables them to spend more time making a difference to people's lives who use health and social care services; • A good understanding of quality improvement tools and techniques and how these are used in CQC to drive improvement activity in the way we work that links to our purpose and our improvement priorities; • In light of changes to our external environment and the need to work across the health and care system, to develop an understanding of systems thinking so they can apply it to how we work and in their regulatory activities; • To develop the behaviours and skills that enables them to lead and contribute to improvement activities within CQC. *UPDATED* CQC will be hosting market engagement events currently scheduled to take place in Leeds on Monday 4th December 2017 and London on Tuesday 5th December 2017.

The purpose of the event is to engage in discussions, to hear your ideas on how best we can partner with an organisation or organisations, and to answer any questions you may have. We do not have fixed views on how the Quality Improvement Programme should be done or where partners can add most value.