About us
Our vision: Quality at the heart of every organisation
The Chartered Quality Institute is the chartered body for quality management professionals. Established in 1919 and formerly the Institute of Quality Assurance, we gained a Royal Charter in 2006 and became the CQI shortly afterwards in January 2007.
Incorporated by Royal Charter and a registered charity (no. 259678) the CQI exists to benefit the public by advancing education in, knowledge of and the practice of quality in industry, commerce, the public sector and the voluntary sectors. In short, the CQI exists to help make organisations better.
We promote the quality management approach, based on planning, measurement and improvement, which delivers the following benefits for organisations:
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Reduced costs and improved profitability
- Improvement and innovation
- Identification and management risk
- Corporate care and responsibility
We recognise that these business outcomes can only be delivered by competent quality professionals, CQI members, and in support of this the CQI provides the following services:
- Promoting the benefits of the quality management approach to industry
- Maintaining the Body of Quality Knowledge
- Disseminating quality knowledge and resources
- Providing qualifications and training
- Assessing and recognising quality competence
To find out more about quality, visit our What is quality? page or download the CQI corporate brochure.
The CQI's Strategic Objectives
View the CQI's Strategic Objectives 2011-2015
Our objectives fall within three ‘strategic themes’:
1. To Increase our Influence
Our aspiration by 2015 is to achieve recognition of the CQI’s and the quality professional’s contribution to better quality management practice through the development of a compelling evidence base and engagement with:
- Government
- Industry and employers across all sectors
- The national and international standards and conformity assessment industry
- The media
- Partners
2. To Develop our Profession
Our aspiration by 2015 is have clearly defined the future scope and role of the quality profession as a basis for qualifications, membership and ongoing professional development, to grow take up of CQI membership and IRCA certification by:
- Researching and defining the scope and value of quality management
- Increasing take up of CQI and IRCA qualifications programmes from pre-19 to post graduate
- Growing and broadening CQI membership to more accurately reflect UK industry sectors
- Maintaining our international certification body IRCA through ongoing product development
- Growing the engagement of employers with the institute and recognition of CQP
- Growing take up of professional development and the exchange of best practice within the institute
3. To Be an Excellent Professional Body
Our aspiration for 2015 is to be ourselves an exemplar of quality by:
- Improving our subordinate board structure such that it is full engaged with strategy deployment
- Improving staff and volunteer engagement and performance
- Improving our planning and project management capability
- Improving our business systems, processes and websites
- Improving the efficiency and cost of the Executive’s accommodation
- Ensuring financial sustainability and reducing reliance on the IRCA brand by growing the CQI
Become a member
CQI membership is a clear demonstration that you are serious about quality and competent to apply quality concepts, principles and techniques to improve performance.
Whether you are starting out in quality , or already experienced, we have a grade of membership for you.