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COMPAS & Quality Forum
COMPAS users, trainers, evaluators,… join the new discussion group on the COMPAS method and Quality issues in the humanitarian sector, and share your experiences about the subjects you care about !
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Consult the “Aiming for Quality” archives

News
2011-08-30    Training course: Quality Management in Humanitarian Action (Quality COMPAS)
Plaisians en Provence, 24 to 28 October 2011
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2011-06-16    Training course "Evaluating the quality of humanitarian projects" (Plaisians, 26-30 September 2011)
This training course will be held at Groupe URD's head office in the south of France (Drôme Provençale) in french.
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2011-04-01    Training of Trainers course « Quality Management in Humanitarian Action » (Quality COMPAS©) (20 -24 June 2011, Plaisi
...
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Dynamic COMPAS
Quality Assurance software for humanitarian projects
Using the Dynamic COMPAS

The Dynamic COMPAS® is a simple, user-friendly software programme which is made available to organisations free of charge.
However, using the programme alone will not make a significant difference to the quality of a project. For the Dynamic COMPAS® to be fully effective it should be used as part of a global quality assurance approach. Adopting the Dynamic COMPAS therefore implies a degree of commitment at institutional level, and training for both the users and the decision-makers within the organisation.

Use and impact of the Dynamic COMPAS®:

Individual use:
The software is used by individuals. Used in this way, the whole team is not necessarily required to reflect on quality issues. Its impact is therefore limited to the capacity of the individual user, in so far as they understand the method, they use it systematically, and that this may influence the decisions taken throughout the project (if, for example, the user is the project manager). Such a use is more a means of ‘trying out’ the programme rather than an optimal application of a quality approach. If used in this way without an accompanying team-wide strategy, the Dynamic COMPAS will obviously have less impact on the quality of the project.


Collective use by the project team:
The programme is used by a project team, or by a certain members of the team (for example, the project leader and those in charge of the main project components), to record and document the experiences and team reflection. Used in this way, the Dynamic COMPAS® is a tool which provides a common quality assurance method for all members of a project team. Such a use is closer to a quality assurance approach at project level. It allows users to adopt a preventive approach during project implementation, to ensure that project results are fully and systemically documented, and to generate the data necessary for reports.

Institutional use:
Quality is an integral part of an organisation’s operating strategy, and consequently the Dynamic COMPAS® is adopted for a set of projects or for all its projects. Teams which systematically use the Dynamic COMPAS in the management of projects can exchange opinions on a given subject and can consult records of previous projects implemented by the organisation. A database is thus created allowing users to download and exchange information. Used in this way, the software facilitates communication between project teams with different responsibilities, working in different regions and sectors. The results of this integrated approach can significantly improve the quality of the organisation’s interventions.
 
Updated  04-02-2012