North of England Excellence

Contact us on 01925 715245 to receive your full application pack.
Click here to download the 2007 Marques of Excellence Brochure

North of England Marques of Excellence Scheme - Overview
This scheme has been developed to inspire and encourage organisations of all sizes and sectors throughout the UK to drive towards excellence, through self assessment and the implementation of real improvements.

The scheme consists of a three stepped approach, though it can be entered at any stage, dependant upon the current level of self assessment and improvement implementation within your organisation.

To recognise the progress your organisation is making towards Excellence the scheme enables for accreditation against the varying levels of Excellence, which when successful, provides your organisation with a certificate and entitles you to use the insignia on your stationery /promotional literature. Those organisations who have already achieved one of the marques are shown in the following link...

Step 1 - Commitment Marque

To receive accreditation to this level you will need to have developed a business/service plan which incorporates an improvement plan or have a separate improvement plan.

The improvement plan may have been developed using the simple self assessment matrix and must be supported by a progress monitoring process.

The top management of the organisation must be visibly demonstrating their commitment to the implementation of those improvements.

Step 2 - Achievement Marque

To receive accreditation to this level you will need to have developed two successive improvement plans, one of which, as a minimum, was based on the output of using the simple self assessment matrix.

The current improvement plan must be supported by a progress monitoring process.

The top management of the organisation must be continuing to be visibly demonstrating their commitment to the implementation of the current improvements.

Step 3 - Continuity Marque

To receive accreditation to this level you will need to have carried out a detailed self assessment against the EFQM ExcellenceModel and achieved a score of 400+.

The self assessment must have been carried out through one of the approved self assessment methods 2-4.

The top management of the organisation must be committed to developing and implementing an improvement plan based on the outputs of that self assessment.

Investors in Excellence Standard

The Investors in Excellence Standard is a national standard which is based on the concepts of Excellence and the nine criteria of the widely used European Excellence Model (EFQM).

It is designed for all organisations, both large and small, in any industry.

The key benefits of working towards the investors in excellence standard are:

It can assist in fully embedding continuous improvement into your organisation.
It can be seen as a logical step from the Investors in People and ISO9001:2000 standard
It provides an assessment of your organisation against Excellence, which is carried out by an experienced external assessor

Those organisations meeting the Standard will receive a plaque and certificate to mark their achievement and will be authorised to use the Investors in Excellence insignia.

Re-assessement is required every two years. Those organisations who have already achieved the investors in excellence standard are shown in the following link...

If you wish to be assessed against any of the stages of the Marques of Excellence Scheme or the Investors in Excellence Standard please complete an aplication form and submit it to North of England Excellence.

For further information please contact North of England Excellence on 01925 715245.

- Download our 2008 Marques Application Form

- Download our 2008 Marques Scheme Fees

- Download the IIE Application Form

- Download the IIE Overview Document