Background
Fortia Insights (Formerly RSM Consulting – Strategy, Economics and Policy) was commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a series of rapid literature reviews during 2022/23, aimed at informing the development and implementation of CQC’s new assessment methodologies under its transformation programme. The work focused on drawing out key findings and practical considerations across several thematic areas critical to regulatory effectiveness.
These included
- Effective systems review
- Safety cultures review
- Professional judgement review
- Inequalities in dementia care review
- Health inequalities in local areas review
- Improvement support offers across sectors review
- Strategy assurance indicators review.
Broader collaboration
Through this work, Fortia Insight strengthened its relationships with key actors in the UK’s health and social care regulatory landscape, including
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
- Care Inspectorate Scotland (CIS)
- Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
- Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)
- Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)
- Health Research Authority (HRA).
This collaborative approach facilitated exploration of how indicators are developed, used and interpreted across regulatory contexts, supporting shared learning across the UK’s four nations.
Report linkChallenges
- Navigating an evolving regulatory landscape: the project required an up-to-date understanding of CQC’s strategic transformation, including the scope of its new single assessment framework and changing regulatory priorities.
- Bridging research and practice: each review had to be both evidence-informed and actionable, with clear implications for CQC’s operational and policy decisions.
- Coordinating with multiple stakeholders: the reviews required engagement with internal CQC stakeholders and, in some cases, other UK regulators to understand cross-sector learning and alignment.
- Synthesising complex evidence bases: the topics covered were diverse and often conceptually complex, requiring nuanced synthesis across peer-reviewed and grey literature.
Impacts
- Providing strategic insight: the reviews helped refine CQC’s thinking around critical enablers and barriers to effective regulation, such as organisational culture, systems thinking and professional autonomy.
- Supporting policy and operational planning: each review offered tailored recommendations to inform CQC’s internal strategy, implementation plans and stakeholder engagement.
- Stimulating further research and evaluation: the quality and utility of the reviews contributed to the commissioning of subsequent research and evaluation projects across CQC’s portfolio.
- Enhancing sector collaboration: particularly through work on CQC 9 – Strategy Assurance Indicators, Fortia Insight helped extend CQC’s network of collaboration, engaging with peer regulators and advisory bodies to share insight on indicator development and use.