Upgrade to Chartered Quality Professional – Fellow (CQP FCQI)

Progress indicator

This is a prestigious grade which recognises individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to quality.

To apply to become a Fellow you must have held the grade of Member (CQP MCQI) for at least two years.

Watch CQI’s Head of Membership Gareth Kingston talk about the Fellowship criteria and application process in the video below. If you want to watch this video with subtitles, please open the video in Youtube.

Fellow application process

Applying for Fellowship is a two-stage process:

Stage 1 – online application

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet at least three of the five criteria below, or equivalent, in order to be considered for the grade of Fellow. This is done through the submission of an online application where applicants write a statement supported by evidence for each criterion. Factors such as the depth and breadth of involvement, personal contribution, and activities that are ‘over and above’ are crucial and therefore should be covered in relation to all criteria.

If successful at stage 1 you will be invited to interview.

Stage 2 – interview

At interview, the applicant will have 15 minutes to deliver a presentation outlining how they meet the criteria. This will be followed by questions from the interview panel.

Invitation to interview is not a guarantee that you will be awarded the grade of Fellow, it is an opportunity for the interview panel to delve deeper into the applicant's activities to allow for an informed decision. If successful at this stage, you will be awarded the grade of Fellow.

Criteria

Have furthered the objectives of quality through voluntary contributions to the CQI
Are a peer-acknowledge expert with acclaimed contributions to a quality field
Have carried out outstanding service on professional committee/s
Have developed and supported the careers of others, especially less experienced quality professionals
Have made a voluntary contribution to the objectives of quality through other voluntary means, including activities started as part of a work requirement but taken beyond the original brief.

Score Assessment

You must receive a score of 4 or 5 against a minimum of three criteria. We are looking at contribution and impact and are looking for this to be significantly above and beyond what we would expect of an MCQI. Meeting this grade is not about being good at your job, it is about the difference you make to the profession as a whole.

Score	Indicators
1	Little or no evidence of contribution or impact.
2	Contribution and/or impact is limited to day-to-day work activities.
3	Contribution within the parameters one might reasonably expect of an effective CQP MCQI executing their day-to-day work and interacting sporadically with the wider quality community.·Activity without significant impact.·Evidence of a sustained commitment may be lacking.
4	Evidence of a significant contribution and impact.·Evidence of going above and beyond the requirements of their employment.·Evidence of a sustained commitment to the criterion.
5	Evidence of both an exceptional contribution and impact.·Evidence of a longstanding commitment to the criterion.

Guidance

Criterion	What we are/aren’t looking for	Evidence examples
Have furthered the objectives of quality through voluntary contributions to the CQI	Have you been involved in a Branch or Special Interest Group? Elected to a committee? Written for Quality World? There are many ways to contribute to the life of the CQI and you should present as many contributions as you can, in each case outlining what you did, when you did it, and the difference that you made. For example, if you are/were a branch or SIG Chair, what changed/improved as a result of your leadership? Playing a part in the life of the CQI through attending events is not enough. This is about your demonstrable contribution.	If you’ve written for Quality world, consider submitted the Articles you’ve written If you were a branch committee member, consider supplying a reference from the Chair. If you organised events, do you have the feedback to indicate member satisfaction?
Are a peer-acknowledged expert with acclaimed contributions to a quality field	One of the most common failings against this criterion is arguing that you are the quality expert within your company. Being the ‘go-to’ person in your company is not enough. We need to see that you have a reputation and standing that goes beyond your workplace. Do you have a track record of writing and presenting about a subject? Have you been invited to join a project or committee solely because of your expertise? Do other professional networks or bodies that you are a member of utilise your expertise? What have others said about you and your knowledge? In short – what is your area of expertise? Who, outside of your employers, has recognised your expertise? Are people asking you to write about it or in a presentation? What has been the impact of your expertise in action?	You can include evidence such as minutes, reports, articles, presentations, or documents to support some of these
Have carried out outstanding service on professional committee/s	Not including committees in your place of employ, what committees have you served on? How long did you serve on them? What was your role? Did you lead any working groups? What changed as a result of your involvement? What was the longevity? Again, we are not looking for someone who is simply good at committee work within the narrow confines of their employment. We are looking for someone whose knowledge and expertise is applied externally.	You can include evidence such as minutes or reports if you’ve served on a committee.
Have developed and supported the careers of others, especially less experienced quality professionals	We are not looking for good line managers who have developed their staff and seen them move on to greater things. We already assume that you are good in that respect as an MCQI. Instead we are looking for evidence of a commitment to the development of the careers of others that goes above and beyond the requirements of your job. Have you given talks to groups of quality professionals about quality or career progression? Have you mentored quality professionals? Are you a STEM ambassador? Have you taught on quality related courses? Within your organisation you might have initiated a major change or improvement in how the organisation trains and develops its quality professionals. What was the result? Did you share this experience with professionals in other organisations?	It is great to have testimonials to evidence any coaching or mentoring you’ve done
Have made a voluntary contribution to the objectives of quality through other voluntary means, including activities started as part of a work requirement but taken beyond the original brief	This is your opportunity to provide other examples of how you have promoted quality. The word ‘voluntary’ is significant. This should be activity that you were not required by your employers to undertake. However, if you started a piece of work through your employment and then it developed into something that required your involvement on a voluntary basis, this is acceptable.	Consider submitting minutes/reports if you’ve volunteered on a committee for example.

Interview guidance

Your presentation should be no longer than 15 minutes in length.

We recommended using the following structure for your presentation:

Your background – 1 slide to discuss your career history
Individual criterion – 2/3 slides per criterion to demonstrate the depth and breadth, personal contribution and impact of activities