How do you put data analysis to use in an accreditation assessment?
Successful meeting Strategic Advisory Forum on working information-driven.
On 2nd of June, the first meeting of the Strategic Advisory Forum took place with as theme working information-driven. Participants from the quality assurance sector and the government discussed this subject with one another.
How do you use data analysis in an accreditation assessment? What are the added value and challenges of an information-driven way of working in the quality assurance sector? The RvA wants to work in a more information-driven way and is starting a programme around this topic. Therefore, we found it important to discuss this with our stakeholders. The participants agreed that there is great added value in an information driven way of working. But that there are also some major challenges to overcome together, such as the generation of qualitative usable data.
As one of the participants pointed out, the following questions arise: ”What insights does analysis of the already available data provide? What do we learn from this analysis about how we perform? And on which issues should we pay more attention in the future?”
The wish was also expressed to start small and then expand. This method produces useful results at an early stage.
Recap and results of the meeting
We look back on a successful meeting with worthwhile contributions from all participants, moderator Mustafa Kedilioglu (employed by I-Interim Rijk) and speakers Robert Mosch (employed by the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets) and Erik Bos (until recently employed by Qlip B.V. – Quality Assurance in Dairy Products).
The mutual dialog brought us interesting insights. An information-driven way of working provides added value in several ways:
- A more effective use of resources by the RvA and by companies and institutions that test, inspect and certify;
- The possibility of benchmarking companies and institutions, giving them more insight into their performance and the quality they deliver;
- More insight, transparency and trust in the functioning of the quality assurance sector.
But there are also a number of major challenges to overcome together, such as:
- Preservation of skill and expertise;
- Generating qualitative usable data;
- Ensuring adequate data governance and security.
Development of a more information-driven way of working by the RvA
The meeting of the Strategic Advisory Forum marks the start of a programme on information-driven working by the RvA. The high speed of change and increasing datafication in society require a transformation of the working methods of the RvA towards a more information-driven approach. The samples taken by the RvA during assessments are now mainly based on the professional judgement of the assessors. In addition to this qualitative approach, the RvA aims to implement a quantitative approach.
By working digitally and information-driven, accreditation assessments will become more effective and efficient. This will enable the RvA to monitor companies that test, inspect and certify in a more risk-driven way. With an information-driven approach, the RvA can also make insights available in an open and transparent way by means of meta-reports to authorities and companies. This contributes to strengthening the trust in the quality of products and services.