QED Frequently Asked Questions
Below you’ll find answers to the questions that we get asked the most by people interested in QED.
If you have a question that is not featured here, contact us on info@taipawb.org or 029 2105 7957 and we will be happy to help.
What is QED?
What difference will it make?
The benefit of working towards the QED award is that you will:
- Have a clear understanding of what good looks like
- Have a framework to encompass your equality, diversity and inclusion work
- Be able to galvanise staff energy and focus around equality, diversity and inclusion
Every organisation is different, but after undertaking QED over many years, we have been able to report on the significant positive impacts that QED has for organisations.
Here’s a flavour of the combined impact across organisations before they undertook QED and the differences felt by staff after just one year.
A Greater awareness of EDI initiatives:
- Before QED, only 21% of staff were aware of initiatives made in their organisations to make the experience of diverse tenants better. After one year of QED, this almost doubled to 39% of members of staff.
- Before QED, only 13% of staff were aware of initiatives from their organisation that have made the experiences of diverse staff better. After just one year it was 43%.
View further impacts here
But don’t take our word for it – watch this video to hear from the Chief Executives who have undertaken QED.
Who delivers QED?
Here are the Tai Pawb staff who support organisations through the QED journey
Alicja is Chief Executive at Tai Pawb, she strongly believes in equality work based on compassion, respect and cultural change. Alicja is the quality controller for all QED’s undertaken to ensure the QED framework standards are consistent and upheld.
Ceri is responsible for all new and existing business and income generation. Working at Tai Pawb since 2017 Ceri has a wealth of experience in the housing and health care sector working for a number of housing associations in South Wales. She was also the Director of Dimensions in Wales.
Vicki is responsible for managing and maintaining the relationship between Tai Pawb and all its members. Vicki joined the team in September 2020 and has a wealth of over 15 years of housing experience where she has worked for Cardiff City Council and a Cardiff Housing Association.
Rob leads Tai Pawb’s fundraising strategy and partnership work. Rob joined the team in April 2020 from a background of social enterprise and community outreach. He has worked at the Huggard Centre in Cardiff managing social enterprise projects and volunteers and also at Big Issue Cymru developing community partnerships.
What support is given?
The Tai Pawb assessment team will provide you with all of the expert help and assistance needed to assist you with the completion of your QED Accreditation as well as providing ongoing support.
At the start of QED every organisation is assigned a lead assessor who is the main point of contact for any questions and will always respond promptly.
Plus you can use all your member benefits that come as part of your membership to Tai Pawb, these include:
Resources
- There is a wealth of information, toolkits and best practice only accessible by members in our resources pages on the Tai Pawb website here including Deeds Not Words resources here
Helpline
- Unlimited access to our Helpline for all your staff members, just call us on 029 2105 7957 or email us on helpline@taipawb.org
Mailing List
- Encourage all your staff to sign up to our mailing list here to hear about events, good practice and services that will support them.
Events and Networks
- Attendance to our many events and networks on a range of topics and subject matters, plus opportunities to ask questions to experts and peers.
How long does it take to get the QED Award?
It takes approx. 12-18 months to complete the QED award process and is broken down into 2 stages:
Stage 1 is approximately 6 months and is the information and data collection stage, where we collect data and evidence through a desk top assessment, surveys, focus groups and individual conversations. This Stage is concluded by a report from Tai Pawb summarising our findings and providing recommendations which form the Stage 2 Action Plan.
Stage 2 is approximately 6-9 months and is the organisation carrying out the actions to achieve the QED standards not met at Stage 1
Once the organisation and Tai Pawb assessors are satisfied the actions have been met, the independent QED panel assess the progress and make the decision to award.
The QED is held for 3 years and there is ongoing support from Tai Pawb to maintain QED.
What happens at the end of the 3 year award period?
QED is held by organisations for 3 years, and Tai Pawb will undertake annual reviews to ensure that the work continues and to identify any gaps that require attention.
At the end of the 3 years, organisations can either undertake:
- QED re-accreditation
- recognising that much can change in 3 years! Changes in staff, resource, legislation and regulation will impact the work that the organisation does drive positive change in their equality, diversity and inclusion work and they want the reviewing and improving to continue through the accreditation process
- QED Leaders
- for organisations who have successfully achieved their QED Award for three years and wish to take their equality, diversity and inclusion commitment to the next level. The Award will measure, celebrate and set realistic improvement and impact actions for your equality, diversity and inclusion approach.
Who should be in the QED Working group?
Before the QED award process starts it is important to get the right people together to form a working group. These are people that you would want to keep informed of progress as well as those who can help to gather the evidence required. We would advise that they represent a good cross section of your organisation. We suggest that the steering group should contain:
• Senior managers
• Equality & Diversity leads
• One or more board members
• Operational staff
It is also important that staff:
• Come from a variety of departments within the organisation e.g. housing, HR, customer services
• Are from a range of levels within the organisation e.g. frontline staff, middle managers
The group should not be too large but should contain staff that will have a role in implementing the QED process through:
• Giving their authority to action the work
• Collection information and documents for evidence
• Making the practical arrangements for the onsite element,
• Publicising and promoting the assessment process to staff and colleagues
With the right people in place the various aspects of the process will become easier to undertake as well as saving time.
How is the tenants/service user voice reflected in QED?
As part of the information and data collection stage (stage 1) QED assessors will meet with tenants/service group in a structured focus group. This will help us to identify the culture of the organisation and learn about people’s experience, attitudes and behaviours. This feedback informs the recommendations for the QED report and we recommend organisations communicate service improvements to their tenants so they can see how their voice has made a difference.
What is a good completion rate for the survey?
Staff and board member surveys are completed as part of the initial assessment (stage 1) and then annually as part of the QED annual review. The surveys are extremely important to help us understand and assess the organisations culture, and hear about staff and board member experiences. The surveys also provide the data to report on progress made from commencement of QED.
At Tai Pawb for most organisations we recommend a completion rate of 80-90% as it allows us to hear from 4 out of 5 people on average. However, if the organisation has 500 employees or more we can scale our expectations down and we will get a good sense of where we’re at with a 70-80% rate of participation.
The gold standard for survey completion went to Newydd Group who achieved a 100% completion rate for the initial stage 1 survey!
How is QED delivered?
Prior to Covid restrictions, all meetings, focus groups and conversations happened in person at the organisations offices. Tai Pawb adapted the process for virtual delivery in 2020 which enabled the organisations undertaking QED to continue with their accreditation. We have found that this has continued to be the approach of choice by organisations and it has not impacted the integrity or quality of the assessment.
However, we are flexible and will discuss arrangements of either in person or virtual delivery with each organisation individually.
QED Top Tips for Success
Who assesses QED?
The awarding panel are made up of members of the Tai Pawb board as well as external professionals who can provide their expertise and an impartial view. No staff that have been involved in assessment process will sit on the awarding panel. The panel will make the final decision on whether the organisation is given the award.
QED Panel Members are:
Craig Stephenson
A former Director of Engagement at the Senedd, Craig was awarded the OBE for services to the Welsh Parliament and Equality in the New Year’s Honours List 2021. Craig enjoyed a 38-year career at the Welsh Office and since 1999, at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. Since leaving the Senedd in 2019, Craig has developed a small portfolio career combining his board level experience and passion for equality and fairness.
Robin Staines
Starting in housing management, community regeneration and co-operative development, Robin has held senior posts in RSLs and latterly local authorities covering housing, public protection and social care and has been a housing best value inspector for the Wales Audit Office. He’s currently leading Welsh Government’s Scale and Pace programme (in partnership with the CIH). He is a former Tai Pawb trustee and a school governor.
Della Hill
Della specialises in supporting the development and implementation of meaningful change to ensure the focus on equality, diversity and inclusion is deeply embedded within organisations and businesses. She has managed and delivered large-scale initiatives to address structural inequalities within the Arts, Creative Industries and Higher Education sectors. She the currently the Operations and Social Change Manager at National Theatre Wales, a Consultant and Speaker at people make it work and a Trustee of Spread the Word.
Deanna Parry
Deanna has worked as a generalist in HR for almost 10 years, recently taking a step into management, focussing on people and culture, and strategic approach. She started her career in manufacturing, moving into logistics and now the third sector, this has given her a wide range of knowledge, skills, and approach to inform her practice. Deanna is passionate about equity for all, in life and the workplace and she is excited to be a part of something that is pushing for higher standards in this area.
Mark Jennings
Mark has over 20 years’ experience of working in the local authority sector in Wales and is currently Principal Housing Strategy Officer at Caerphilly County Borough Council. Prior to this Mark held positions in the defence, health and construction sectors. Stepping down in 2021, Mark was a trustee of Tai Pawb for 9 years. Mark maintains an interest in equality, diversity and inclusion and has been a member of the QED panel since its inception.
Dr Bob Smith
An experienced teacher and researcher he has undertaken studies for UK government departments, the Welsh Government and National Assembly for Wales, the Housing Corporation, Tai Cymru / Housing for Wales, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Audit Commission, Shelter, Crisis, Welsh Consumer Council and individual local authorities and housing associations.
How much does it cost to do QED?
There are 2 payment structures which depend on the size of your organisation. Also, the payment is split into two payments for stage 1 and stage 2, meaning you can spread the cost across two financial if you choose too, offering budget flexibility.
Prices for 2023/24
Organisations with less than 399 employees
Stage 1: £5850
Stage 2: £2500
Organisations with more than 400 employees:
Stage 1: £6750
Stage 2: £2550
*These rates are reviewed annually*