Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
This scale provides a basic template to assess a team’s progress throughout an IHI Breakthrough Series Collaborative or other improvement project.The scale is adapted to meet the needs of individual projects.
Background
The Collaborative Assessment Scale was developed at IHI in order to assess teams participating in IHI Breakthrough Series Collaborative projects. It has since been adapted to many different improvement initiatives. The tool allows Collaborative Directors and Improvement Advisors to determine how well teams are doing, on a scale of 1 to 5, in meeting improvement goals and implementing changes.
Directions
When planning an improvement project, use this template as a guide to create the specific assessment scale you will use to evaluate your project team(s). For example, you will need to clarify the meaning of "key measures" at level 2.5 by specifying the measures that teams are required to report. A careful rendering of this scale makes it clear to your teams how their progress will be assessed. An example of a customized assessment scale is also included below.
Teams are typically assessed on a monthly basis, and provided with feedback on their score, the justification for the rating, comments on their improvement activities, and suggestions on how best to proceed.