Continuous Quality Improvement

What is CQI?

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a structured, ongoing approach to reflecting on practice and using evidence to improve programs over time. Rather than being a one-off evaluation activity, CQI is embedded throughout the life of a program and supports learning, adaptation, and responsiveness to community context.  

CQI:  

• Is a cyclical process of planning, doing, reviewing, and refining – often following a set framework or answering set questions at every point of review to track progress over time. 

• Uses data and reflective practice to understand what is happening in a program, how well it is working, and what could be improved.  

• Helps adjustments and improvements to be made as the program is underway, rather than waiting to the end.  

Why is CQI Used 

• To improve program quality and relevance over time 

• To respond to feedback from participants, partners, and communities 

• To strengthen decision-making using evidence rather than assumptions 

• To support accountability to funders, partners, and communities 

• To embed reflective and evidence-informed practice across partnerships 

Why is CQI Important 

• Our programs operate in complex, changing community contexts, and CQI allows programs to adapt rather than remain fixed  

• It helps identify what is working well, not just what needs to be improved  

• CQI supports programs that may be newer or less established to collect consistent evidence and improve quickly 

CQI is the model used to report on Study Hubs In Place (SHIP) activities to the Department of Education, so it is especially important that Hubs participating in SHIP understand CQI and embed it into their evaluation right from the design phase. 

How CQI Works in Practice 

CQI is grounded in a few core principles:  

• Continuous reflection: Learning is ongoing, not just post-project. 

• Evidence-driven: Decisions are informed by real data and feedback. 

• Whole team involvement: Improvement is everyone’s responsibility. 

To meet these principles, CQI is guided by a small set of core questions that are revisited regularly across the life of a program. 

1. How much did we do? 

This question focuses on what was delivered during a specific period. This data helps teams understand scale, reach, and consistency of delivery. Answer to this question commonly draw on quantitative data, such as: 

• Number of activities delivered 

• Number of participants engaged 

• Frequency or duration of sessions 

• Schools, communities, or cohorts reached 

2. How well did we do it? 

This question focuses on quality, not just quantity. This data helps teams understand how the program was experienced and whether it was delivered as intended. Effectively, it helps to tell a story based on evaluation data. Answers to this question 

may draw on quantitative and/or qualitative data, such as: 

• Participant feedback or satisfaction data 

• Reflections from facilitators or partners 

• Observations about engagement, accessibility, or delivery 

• Evidence of alignment with program aims or community needs 

Using CQI in Your SHIP Program 

The CQI approach used across SHIP widening participation programs has been tailored to unique contexts and specific reporting requirements. 

There are several resources to use to embed CQI into your programs as part of your evaluation approach. The below templates have been developed through the Eastern Australian Regional University Centre Partnership (EARUCP). These templates can be used to help design evaluation tools that can help answer the right questions. As you deliver your program and collect evaluation data, you will be able to complete these templates, but it important to have them in mind early in your evaluation design to set you up for successful CQI, and successful reporting.