Quality management is the application of a formalised system that documents the structure, responsibilities and procedures put in place for satisfying users. It helps in continuing to improve production processes and assesses how well the resources meet requirements. 

It includes 3 aspects: 

• quality assurance
• quality assessment
• quality documentation.

Quality documentation covers documentation on methods and standards for assessing data quality. It is based on standard quality criteria such as relevance, accuracy and reliability, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability, and coherence.

An enhanced quality framework 

Work on the key area of quality, within the ESS Vision 2020, involved reflections and proposals for the development of an enhanced quality framework of the ESS. It looked at the quality of the entire institution.

A first model includes overarching values and risk management – apart from the European Statistics Code of Practice. it uses general quality management standards and models, including the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) and the Generic Activity Model for Statistical Organisations (GAMSO).

The reflections on such an enhanced ESS quality framework will continue after the third round of ESS peer reviews is finalised, so as to benefit from the round's lessons and experiences.

Committed to Excellence - 2 star award

In 2015, Eurostat adopted the EFQM Excellence Model as a strategic management tool in order to refine ways of working and to identify strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.

Assessors evaluated Eurostat’s strategy, key results, process management, and the sustainability of its work and resources. 

Scores were subsequently attributed to: 

• leadership
• strategy
• people
• partners and resources
• processes
• products and services
• customers
• society
• business results.

The assessment covered the whole organisation, and more than 40 members of staff were involved.

As a result, Eurostat was awarded the 'Committed to excellence' 2 Star Certificate, valid from 2016 to 2019, and implemented several recommendations issued by the external assessors. Further work on this depends on the establishment of the enhanced ESS quality framework and will be undertaken in 2024.

A comparison between the European Statistics Code of Practice, the cornerstone of the ESS quality framework, and the EFQM can found in the report on  the Code of Practice and the EFQM Model.