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SQM (Sustainable Quality Management)

SQM has its origins in the EU research project INSURED (Instruments for Sustainable Regional Development, 1996-1998) with partners from Germany, Italy, Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. This project was aimed at elaborating a holistic approach towards sustainable development.

INSURED Sustainable Development. A comprehensive approach INSURED Final report

Previously, the term Sustainable Quality Management appeared in the 1990s in theoretical considerations and in a programme of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) aimed at analysing the entrepreneurial tendencies in several countries. However, it was only on the basis of the INSURED project that two of the INSURED partners (Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser of EURES Germany and Filippo Strati of SRS - Italy) created the SQM Sustainable Quality Management ® system with the associated mark in 1999. These partners founded also a company (SQM-praxis Gmbh) in 2001 to develops operational tools for practitioners in order to support evaluation procedures and decision making processes. Following the closure of SQM-praxis the 31st of December 2005, the trade mark rights were transferred to the its former founders (Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser and Filippo Strati), while SRS acquired all the tools developed till then through research and pilot projects both at European, national and local level.

In June 2005 the European Union (EU) Council approved the Declaration on Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development which partly echoes the Earth Charter Principles elaborated in 2000. Taking into account these important documents, as well as the results of several projects, the SQM general descriptors have been updated to disseminate the EU commitment to sustainable development and to mainstream its basic principles into policies and practices.

The SQM framework answers five critical questions while comparing the present situation and the future perspective:

Present	Future	SQM aspects (32)
What is done?	What should be done?	Orientation (10 components)
Why it is done?	Why it should be done?
How it is done?	How it should be done?
Who does it?	Who should do it?	Social Potential (16 key factors)
When it is done?	When it should be done?	Dynamics (6 levers of transformation)

SQM Orientation aspects
What should be done?	The integration of 3 development dimensions	Environmental dimension Economic dimension Socio-cultural dimension
Why it should be done?	To integrate 3 equity dimensions	Equity between individuals Equity between communities Equity between generations
How it should be done?	Through the integration of 4 systemic principles	Diversity Subsidiarity Networking and Partnership Participation

SQM Social Potential aspects
Who should do it?	Institutional Capital	Distribution of competence for decision making Budget autonomy for decision making Fair interactions Access to information, dialogue and debate
	Human Capital	Variety of development approaches Creativity and innovation Complexity and change management Attainment and fulfilment Self reliance Skills integration for innovation process
	Social Capital	Local knowledge for diversification process Multicultural cohesion Social cohesion Mobilisation of all actors Shared value system Shared visions of development

SQM Dynamics aspects
When it should be done?	Problem understanding Open collective learning Negotiation and co-decision Creation of a shared vision Client orientation Result orientation

1999 SQM general descriptors 2006 SQM general descriptors
Some projects and publications on SQM