Common Assessment Framework – Wikipedia

The CAF ( Common Assessment Framework – Common grid of self -assessment ) is a Total Quality Management tool designed and developed by the administrative leaders of the Member States of the European Union and managed by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA).
It is a tool designed by the public sector for the public sector, for the management of the quality aimed at improving performance and inspired by the EFQM excellence model of the European Foundation for Quality Management and the Speyer model of the German University of Administrative Sciences.

It is a general, simple, accessible model, easy to use, consists of a self -assessment grid conceptually similar to EFQM but conceived specifically for organizations in the public sector. The CAF was presented in May 2000 as the first European Total Quality Management tool. From the launch of the model to date there are almost three thousand public administrations recorded as CAF users and there are many more those that use the CAF inside and outside Europe for their development needs. The CAF was reviewed in 2002 and 2006, and then further revised after six years of experience based on the feedback received by users and national correspondents. The CAF 2013 model ^[first] It is even more solid and suitable for supporting the public sector for the benefit of all bearers and in particular of citizens. It is proposed to:-introduce public administrations to the principles of Total Quality Management and to guide them progressively, through the use and understanding of the self-assessment process, to the integrated cycle of the plan-to-CEK-ACT; – facilitate the self -assessment of a public organization in order to obtain a diagnosis and take improvement actions; – act as a bridge between the various models in use for quality management; – facilitate the benchlening between the organizations of the public sector.
The set of CAF promotion activities is headed by the Department of Public Function which, directly and through its partners, supervises the various initiatives. A particularly relevant role is played by the CAF National Resources Center (CRCAF). ^[2]

The nine criteria structure, in analogy with EFQM, defines the main aspects that must be taken into consideration in any organizational analysis. The criteria from 1 to 5 (leadership, strategy and planning, staff, partnerships and resources, processes) refer to the management practices of an organization: the so -called enabling factors. They describe what the organization does and the approach used to achieve the expected results. In the criteria from 6 to 9 the results obtained in relation to citizens/customers, staff, social responsibility and key performance, through measures of perception and performance are measured. Each criterion is divided into subcriteria; The 28 subcrontics identify the main dimensions to consider when evaluating an organization. They are illustrated with examples that describe a large number of good practices developed in Europe that suggest the possible areas to be taken into consideration to examine how the organization meets the requirements expressed in the subcriteria. Integrate the results of the evaluation of the qualifying factors and the results in the management practices of the organization constitutes the cycle of innovation and continuous learning that underlies the path towards excellence.