On January 1, 2022, "Qualiopi" quality certification will become a legal requirement for all organizations offering training courses and wishing to benefit from public or mutualized funds. If some of the participants at your conference are part of a continuing education program, you are concerned.

Unlike Datadock, Qualiopi is a certification process, so it's far more demanding and requires a great deal of preparation. As Qualiopi is part of a quality approach, it can be a real opportunity for you and your association to improve or even professionalize your training offer.

This may seem a daunting task when you consider the certification of the entire congress, but you should be aware that it is possible to apply for certification for a specific training course within the framework of a congress. This allows you to concentrate your efforts on certain sessions aimed at the continuing education public.

What is the difference between Datadock and QUALIOPI?

Datadock is a listing obtained by submitting documents to an online platform. The financer then checked the documents before issuing the listing. It was based on declarations. QUALIOPI is a certification issued by a certification body. The auditor visits your premises to check that the training organization is applying the provisions laid down in the National Quality Standards.

I'm Datadock registered. Do I need to be certified?

As of 12/31/2021, Datadock will no longer allow you to benefit from public or mutualized funding. If you still wish to benefit, the answer is YES.

What are the steps involved in certification?

Step 1: Apply for certification from a certification body on this list.

Step 2: Sign a contract with a certification body

Step 3: 6 to 9 months before the audit, we recommend that you engage the services of a consulting firm to help you prepare for certification. This company will not be the one to carry out the audit.

Step 4: If necessary, have a pre-audit carried out. This step is not mandatory and is not part of the certification process. It will enable you to situate yourself in relation to the standards.

Step 5: You will undergo an initial audit, at the end of which Qualiopi certification will be issued for a 3-year period. Once certification has been obtained, you may undergo a surveillance audit.

What are the quality criteria on which Qualiopi is based?

The audit is based on a set of 7 criteria, broken down into 22 indicators that apply to all service providers (common core), plus 10 specific indicators for training courses leading to certification, apprenticeships and skills assessments. In the case of a conference, you are therefore only concerned by the common indicators.

7 CRITERIA

1. The conditions for informing the public about the services on offer, the time required to access them and the results obtained.
   >This criterion concerns all your communication materials, which must clearly and objectively describe the training content, its objectives and the target audience. The contractual and financial aspects of the training should also be detailed. To ensure that the public is fully informed, you should also produce and publish figures on the results of your training program.
   
   
2. The precise identification of the objectives of the services offered and the adaptation of these services to the target audience, when designing the services.
   >Here, you'll need to show how you assess the needs of your participants, and how you take these elements into account when putting together your program and, more broadly, your training offer. You'll need to make sure things are formalized.
   
   
3. Adaptation of services, reception, support, follow-up and evaluation methods to the target audience.
   >Here again, the audit will consider communication media, which should be highly detailed. We'll also be looking at the evaluation tools you've put in place (satisfaction or evaluation questionnaires, etc.), as well as the elements you propose to ensure that participants are properly engaged (interactivity, briefing of speakers, etc.).
   
   
4. The adequacy of teaching, technical and supervisory resources for the services provided.
   >This criterion covers both the provision of premises and, more broadly, of suitable material resources (convention center, audiovisual equipment), as well as the effective coordination of all these resources for the benefit of training beneficiaries.
   
   
5. Qualification and development of the knowledge and skills of the staff responsible for implementing the services.
   >This criterion will take into account the way in which you build your program and, above all, choose your speakers. For a congress, there's no real need to deal with the "submitted" part of the program, but you'll need to take care to formalize the "guest" part, for example by drawing up minutes of scientific meetings or collecting CVs. In this criterion, the audit also looks at the training of the training organization's staff.
   
   
6. The service provider's involvement and investment in its professional environment.
   >Here, you need to formally demonstrate that you keep a watch on your specialist field, as well as on training (mainly regulations and innovation). This criterion also takes into account your approach to disability issues and the way in which you ensure that your subcontractors comply with quality standards.
   
   
7. Gathering and taking into account feedback and complaints from stakeholders.
   >This last criterion focuses on debriefing. What analyses or surveys do you carry out? How do you collect and track complaints? And above all, how do you ensure that they are taken into account?

A few things to keep in mind for your organization

• Participants in the same session may or may not be registered for continuing education. It is therefore possible to mix different delegate populations.
• There's no need to identify participants specifically on the spot, for example by badge.
• Qualiopi has no impact on your on-site organization, particularly in terms of rooms or reception flows.
• If your convention is being held at a Palais des Congrès, you can rely on the latter to ensure that your facilities and reception conditions are compliant.

Useful links

The Ministry of Labour's reading guide in version V7 of March 29, 2021