Quality Improvement to Lead Organisational Change

We are very proud to have received this recognition and are grateful to RCVS Knowledge for providing us with the excellent resources to help deliver our strategy.”

Sean Cameron on behalf of Linnaeus Oral Health Working Group – 2025 Knowledge Award Champion

About the QI to Lead Organisational Change Award

The RCVS Knowledge QI to Lead Organisational Change Award celebrate organisations making a real difference in veterinary care by using clinical audit and QI to support their teams across practices, groups, or regions to make changes that lead to better outcomes, improved care, and an improved culture of continuous learning.

Applications should show how clinical audit has been used to make measurable improvements, especially in line with the domains of quality veterinary healthcare.

Who can apply

This award is open to any veterinary organisation that is using clinical audit and recognised QI theory to support organisation-wide improvements for patients and teams.

Applications can be submitted by any team member representing their practice or organisation. This includes veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, practice managers, administrative staff, and other support roles, regardless of seniority or job title.

Projects involving any species are welcome, including farm, equine, companion animal, exotics, zoo, and wildlife.

How to apply

All applicants should read the RCVS Knowledge Awards terms and conditions before applying.

The application process for the QI to Lead Organisational Change Award is made up of two sections.

1. Online application form collecting key information.
2. RCVS Knowledge Awards case example template detailing your audit, attached to the online form.

Closing dates

Applications must be received by 9th January 2026.

Winners will be notified in the second quarter of 2026. 

What we’re looking for

Your application will be evaluated based on several key criteria:

• Use of RCVS Knowledge resources and recognised QI methods: demonstrate how you’ve applied RCVS Knowledge resources and recognised QI techniques to achieve measurable progress in your organisation.
• Impact and innovation: demonstrate the real-world benefits of your project and its role in driving positive change. This can be illustrated through measurable improvements in workflows and patient safety, as well as a positive practice culture, and systems to enhance team communication and support team wellbeing.
• Comprehensive audit cycle: applications must demonstrate a full audit cycle to be awarded first, second or third place. Promising projects in progress are also welcome, but will only be considered as a potential ‘Highly Commended One to watch’.
• Teamwork: demonstrate how you are working with, listening to, and supporting your teams; adapting your approach to achieve the best chance of sustained improvements. 

Supporting evidence

You can enhance your application with supporting evidence such as team presentations and updates.

Please note, any supporting evidence may be published in its entirety along with your case example. Ensure you have permission from your practice leadership and management teams to provide such evidence.

To maintain a fair and unbiased review process, all additional documents must be anonymised. If your application or supporting documents contain prominent branding (including logos, colours, and job titles that are specific to your organisation) or details that have been previously published, we may not be able to anonymise them effectively. In such cases, these documents will not be included in the materials reviewed by the judging panel, which may affect your overall score.