The Standards

The quality of practice development is measured against an explicit set of standards.

Each Practice Development Unit must demonstrate:

1. Information on the unit, nature of the service it provides and the staff team.



2. The reasons for seeking accreditation as a Practice Development Unit and how the team came to this decision. A plan of how the organisation will support and resource the PDU journey.



3. A clear philosophy and vision for practice, and how this relates to service delivery.



4. A unit action plan and how this supports the organisation’s strategic plan.



5. Personal development plans for all staff that link to the local agenda and identify how learning needs will be achieved, funded and evaluated.



6. A clearly identified leadership structure that ensures:


• An identified leader with clear responsibility and accountability
• Clear succession planning
• Development plans for leadership development with the Unit
• A steering group to support the Practice Development Unit and its leaders.


7. A clearly defined communication structure to ensure effective collaboration and sharing of knowledge within the multi-agency/disciplinary team.



8. A clear partnership with:


• Service users and carers
• Other agencies required to provide a seamless service to the client group.


9. How a spirit of enquiry has been developed.



10. Explanation of how service delivery is based on sound and critically appraised evidence and represents best practice and continuing development in light of new evidence.



11. Demonstrate which areas of practice have been developed, evaluated and disseminated locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.



12. Demonstrate a clear partnership with an academic department to support research and dissemination of practice.

The organisation supporting the Practice Development Unit should:

1. Demonstrate how the Practice Development Unit has been incorporated into the strategic plan for the development of services within the organisation.
2. Show how support for evaluation of practice and the development and dissemination of research activity will be provided.
3. Demonstrate how the development plans for both practice and leadership will be supported and resourced.

• Two Year Accreditation Process (PDF 32kb)