How we are assessed
The Independent Performance Assessment 2006
It is important that the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are clear about what they need to achieve regionally, and that they have plans for delivery, have the capacity to deliver those plans, and can perform well. However, it is also important to assess whether each RDA is delivering and improving in line with its agreed priorities.
The Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) was designed to assess the progress and future plans of the RDAs. The IPA process was introduced by Government in 2005 and through it fewer time-consuming audits of the Agencies’ work will be needed.
What did the IPA aim to achieve?
The IPA allowed the RDAs, Government, partners and key stakeholders to better understand the role and the performance of the Agencies. In addition, the IPA provided each Agency with an assessment of its organisational performance and its capacity to carry out its work. A plan was also prepared outlining the action the Agency would undertake to improve its future performance.
Finally, the IPA looked for evidence that RDAs are organisations capable of managing their own affairs efficiently and effectively and improving their performance over time.
The Assessment
The assessors looked at some Key Lines of Enquiry within the context of three overall questions. These were:
- What is the Agency, together with its partners, trying to achieve?
In this area the audit aims to assess One North East's ambition and prioritisation (the way it sets priorities for improving its performance) - Has the Agency set about delivering its priorities for improvement?
In this area the Agency will be assessed on its performance management and capacity to complete its plans. - What improvements has the Agency achieved/not achieved to date?
In this area the assessment examines One North East's achievement.
Categorisation
The Agency was found to be performing strongly on ambition, performance management and achievement and performing well on prioritisation and capacity.
The full report from the IPA Inspectors, awarded One North East a score of 22 points out of a possible 24. The full report from the NAO can be downloaded below.
Independent Supplementary Review (ISR) 2009-2010
The Independent Supplementary Review (ISR) covers all English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) with the exception of London and is a tool to help provide assurance to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on the performance of the RDAs in responding to key current challenges.
This review will be carried out by the National Audit Office (NAO) on behalf of Government and will use a range of methods including interviews, focus groups and reviews of written documentation in order to answer key review questions.
ISR is distinctly different from the above IPA process that the RDAs went through in 2006 in that it is intended to be a lighter touch assessment, focused on three key question areas and resulting in a rating for each of these question areas.
Given the differences in approach and scope, the assessments made as a result of ISR will not be directly comparable to those made during IPA.
Further updates will be published on the website following One North East’s assessment.
Continuous Improvement Strategy [pdf]
(134 KB)
Continuous Improvement Strategy Action Plan [pdf]
(64 KB)
