Framework conditions
Before starting a Calidena process, it is crucial to clarify the objectives and motivations of the various stakeholder groups involved and to verify framework conditions for the process.
Suitable starting conditions
- Quality is a relevant issue – opportunity or threat?
- QI institutions want to strengthen their user orientation
- Examples for other organisations that are also committed to supporting the value chain in a broader way
- national ministries
- private sector promotion programmes
- regulatory bodies
- development agencies
Sufficient resources are available to implement actions afterwards.
The verification of appropriate conditions is part of the management of expectations. It is important to clarify that Calidena is mainly about awareness-raising, learning and trust building.
Kick-off Workshop
The kick-off workshop is a condensed, guided and participatory process in which several purposes can be achieved:
- Information and awareness-raising about quality-related issues
- Participatory self-assessment of quality requirements and service gaps
- Platform for interaction and trust-building
- Starting point for closer collaboration between value chain stakeholders and supporting institutions in the area of quality
- Elaboration of an action plan
The facilitator guides the workshop and encourages participation. He or she should be sufficiently knowledgeable about the value chain and QI, but need not be an expert. Technical input should be given by representatives of the QI organisations. The participants should be enabled to self-diagnose quality issues in the value chain
Follow up process
The follow-up process consists of implementing the action plan and is accompanied by meetings of the follow-up committee, which is set up at the end of the kick-off work shop, includes one or more one-day follow-up workshops and culminates in a concluding workshop. The process follows the typical plan-do-check-act cycle in which the action plan is continuously updated, adapted and improved. To maintain momentum, the cycles should be no longer than 3 months and the whole follow-up process should be concluded within a maximum of 1 1/2 years.