Description
The challenges brought by the economic crisis, together with the low number of victims who actually access support services, caused the promoter to invest in new tools that enable the improvement of internal procedures and a greater capacity to influence public policies. The main goal of the project is to improve the services provided and to contribute to a greater external acknowledgement of the promoter as a reference organisation in victim support. This will be possible by introducing a new quality management system into the internal procedures. As a result, an organisational evaluation system will be implemented and integrated in the promoter’s quality management system, focused on performance and based on cost-benefit principles. The project is part of the gradual effort by the promoter to extend its quality certification to all its networks, responding to the increasing demand.
Summary of project results
APAV is the main NGO in Portugal supporting victims of crime, their relatives and friends. Expectations regarding the intervention of the NGO support services are increasing and cover multiple areas of work. Such challenges require complex responses and intervention models promoting synergies at local, national and international level. Discussing, evaluating and acting on the NGO organizational model is crucial at a time when every day maximum effectiveness of resources is sought to meet the growing demand. The implementation of an organisational assessment system contributes to the effectiveness of social responses of the NGO and therefore to improve the support to its direct beneficiaries. By aligning the objective of implementing an organizational evaluation system to the APAV mission, the project contributed to the effectiveness of NGO services and, therefore, to improve the support provided to the target group. Thus, the main and most important achievement of the project was the implementation of an organisational evaluation system that will allow the NGO to continually evaluate its action, processes and procedures and, in a timely, strategic and objective manner, to implement the necessary improvement actions to its continuous development and the excellence of its services. In addition to this future perspective, the project allowed the NGO to make a longitudinal, robust and systematic analysis of its past evolution, to make a self-assessment of its work and mission and to set indicators for measuring success. 20 staff members were involved in the implementation of the new system. Another achievement was the training of 42 employees and leaders in the use of this innovative system, which clearly constituted a sustainability factor for the project. In addition the project and its methodology was disseminated among 34 international organisations, making the NGO better known abroad.
Summary of bilateral results