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2010-07-05    Training of Trainers course « Quality Management in Humanitarian Action » (Quality COMPAS© and Dynamic COMPAS®) (27 September - 1 October 2010, Plaisi
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2010-02-18    Training course: Quality Management in Humanitarian Action (Quality COMPAS & Dynamic COMPAS) (Plaisians en Provence, 14 to 18 June 2010)
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2010-02-17    Training course
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COMPAS Method
A Quality Assurance method for humanitarian aid
Founding principles

The debate on quality management in the humanitarian sector is based on what has been learned in the manufacturing, and goods and services sectors, and particularly the hospital sector, which indeed shares many characteristics with humanitarian aid.

The Quality COMPAS is based on three principles:

•  Quality Assurance: prevention is better than cure. Firstly, one must identify the activities or factors in a process that can, and must, be controlled in order to prevent one or more risks occurring. These factors are known as ‘critical points’. Secondly, the necessary measures must be taken at each critical point in order to prevent non-quality.

•  Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): absolute quality is unattainable and quality remains a permanent goal. A quality approach is by definition dynamic and continual, advancing step by step. Quality is not achieved by conforming to pre-defined universal standards, which indeed may be unrealistic or cause the process to seize up.

•  In order to adapt to volatile and complex crisis contexts, the Quality COMPAS approach is based on a questioning process (quality by questioning) which prompts users to reflect and analyse. It is inspired by the Socratic argument that the questioning process itself is often more creative than the answer.
 
Updated  10-09-2010