Assessment of Barriers in the Implementation of the Iran Quality Award in the Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran and Presenting Elucidations

For surviving and growth, educational organizations, among other institutions, have no choice except to move towards excellence and continuous improvement. The EuropeanFoundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM) can be used as a powerful tool.Experiences of other countries show that higher education institutions in the implementation of themodel have been faced with obstacles. The aim of this study was to determine barriers in theimplementation of Iran Quality Award based on EFQM model- in the universities of medicalsciences in Iran and to present solutions.

This is a cross-sectional study using qualitative methods. Through structured interviews with national experts, barriers in the stability of Iran Quality Award fundamental concepts and solutions in University of Medical Sciences.were detected.

The most important barriers mentioned by the interviewees included special features of the universities, weakness in the performance of senior managers, poor participation, lack of innovation and creativity, poor communication, poor preparation and stability in the process improvement, weaknesses in the allocation of resources and the problems caused by environmental factors.

Regarding the widespread use of the EFQM model in educational institutions indifferent countries and the obstacles observed, the barriers first have be identified then speculate onthe root causes and finally provide solutions for these problems.