On 7 July 2020, the Scheme Application Redesign Project Steering Group approved the Discovery Stage Report and Design Plan.
Discovery is a process of collecting and analysing information to inform the project and help better define its intended objectives. As part of discovery, we engaged an independent consultant, PIRAC Economics, to carry out interviews with nominees from six associations who have current professional standards schemes or are considering applying to have a scheme approved, as well as with a consultant with experience of developing applications with a number of associations.
The interviews showed that associations are positive about the initiative to improve the application process and were keen to be further involved. Interviewees made a number of suggestions about how the new application could be improved, including how the application could be staged or segmented so that it can adapt to different sizes and types of association. Interviewees also suggested that the Professional Standards Authority and the Councils could hold the most comprehensive and up to date knowledge relevant to professional standards and to make it available to associations to assist their role in regulating their members.
We also undertook a good regulatory practice review, a workshop with users to understand expectations and needs, reviewed survey results from the last Professional Standards Improvement Program annual reporting cycle, and established a Reference Group to advise on the design and development of the new scheme application framework.
The Discovery Stage Report has been used to produce a Design Plan, which sets out the principles underlying the design stage and details how the different modules of the new application framework will be developed and approved.
We expect to work closely with associations and other stakeholders who have nominated to be involved in the design and development process through July and August 2020 to prepare the new modules for the scheme application template and guidelines.
View updates on the work we are doing to modernise the application process on the Scheme Application Modernisation webpage