ECES' latest copyright, LEAD-Q is an original methodlogy stemming from lessons learnt over 10 years.
The “Leadership and Quality Management Skills for Electoral Administrators” is a capacity development methodology (LEAD-Q) which is the result of lessons learnt over the last 10 years of ECES in assisting electoral administrators in vast parts of the world, in view to strengthen internal efficiency, effectiveness and reliability.
The LEAD-Q is developed from an already ECES copyrighted training methodology as a base, namely the LEAD (Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for electoral Stakeholders).
LEAD-Q is original because it prescribes a set of rules, routines and procedures developed to address common weaknesses within electoral administrations targeting a quality management in their electoral processes. If these rules, routines and procedures are applied, it will inevitably lead to greater internal effective performance and increased transparency.
A thorough process
The application of the procedures are the final stage. Before that, the electoral administration must undergo training and forge institutional cohesion for the buy-in of the quality management system of all the electoral administration’s staff. The benefits are many and results are easily measured and assessed via specific indicators that are developed by ECES following its comparative experiences in more than 50 countries worldwide since 2010.
The LEAD-Q methodology is essentially a tailored management model for Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs). The decision to implement the management model “LEAD-Q” should always be a decision coming from top management of organisations to make sure the appropriate knowledge is not just acquired but also shared and used at all levels.
ECES LEAD-Q management model can be used by any EMBs, to assess the organisation's ability to consistently meet:
- legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the services it provides
- the organisation's own requirements
- objectives to enhance electoral stakeholders satisfaction and acceptance of results.
- All the requirements of this international model are generic.
The application of the management model can differ from one EMB to another depending on the statutes of the EMB, the remit of the embs work as per the law or constitution. It is not the intent of the LEAD-Q quality management model for electoral management bodies to imply the need for uniformity in the structure of different quality management models, or to impose specific terminology to be used within the organisation. The quality management model requirements specified are complementary to requirements for each electoral management body.
Multi-dimensional benefits
Some of the benefits of implementing LEAD-Q methodology and ECES’ management model for EMBS are:
- leadership development
- consistent control of organisational processes in elections
- understanding and follow up of the needs of electoral stakeholders
- increased internal clarity and knowledge on rules and procedures
- increased potential for transparency
- strict monitoring of electoral law requirements
- electoral risk management based thinking
- participation and awareness of personnel to the electoral management process
- increase in the effectiveness of external and internal communication in the context of an election
- enhancing the efficiency of an EMB throughout the entire electoral cycle
- reduction of errors in electoral management
- development of a culture of quality management in the electoral context
- process approach to the organisation of elections