Continuous Improvement
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Continuous Improvement Directorate plays a critical role in supporting the performance, efficiency, and effectiveness of fire and rescue services across the UK. This directorate focuses on delivering and implementing tools, products and processes from identified good practice, shared learning and FRS priorities to improve overall service delivery.
The following functions and hubs make up the CI Directorate.
People, Culture, and Leadership
The aim of the People, Culture, and Leadership hub is to create a positive and inclusive working environment that supports the development and well-being of all personnel. It focuses on leadership development, cultural change, diversity and inclusion, and ensuring that the workforce is skilled, motivated, and engaged​
Organisational Learning
The Organisational Learning function focuses on capturing and analysing lessons from fire and rescue service learning, research, and evaluation. It aims to enhance the capabilities and knowledge of fire service professionals, support development of fire related national policies and guidance, and inform objectives to improve public safety. The Organisational Learning workstream focuses on capturing and analysing lessons from incidents, initiatives, and practices to improve future operational performance. By systematically reviewing and disseminating best practices and areas for improvement, it aims to enhance safety, efficiency, and effectiveness across the fire and rescue services​
Content and Guidance
The Content and Guidance function coordinates the maintenance and supports development of NFCC products and guidance, ensuring a consistent approach across the NFCC. The function is also responsible for managing the digital content of NFCC products.
Prevention
Prevention aims to reduce the risk of fire and other emergencies by supporting services to develop strategies implementing prevention activities, promoting community engagement, and taking proactive measures to improve community safety. Through targeted initiatives, it seeks to protect vulnerable populations and prevent incidents before they occur, thus ensuring public safety and well-being
Protection
The Protection function is dedicated to enforcing fire safety regulations and improving building safety to minimize fire risks. It focuses on ensuring compliance with legislation, providing guidance on best practices, and supporting fire safety audits and inspections to protect lives and property.
Operational Response and Fire Control
This function focuses on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of emergency response and fire control operations. Fire control is the function of planning receiving managing and commanding operational incidents, and operational response is the planning, preparedness, response, and resilience to such incidents. This area of work aims to ensure that fire and rescue services are prepared and equipped to handle emergencies effectively
Fire Standards
The Fire Standards Board is responsible for overseeing the identification, organisation, development and maintenance of professional Standards for fire and rescue services. It monitors the effectiveness of the Standards produced for the profession to support continuous improvement and works with NFCC teams to develop implementation strategies to ensure that services are able to embed the Standards and use them as a key component of their organisational self-assurance.
Improvement and Implementation
The Implementation team supports colleagues in services to use and embed NFCC products and helps them to identify some of the business transformation changes and challenges that come with product implementation. The team provides a consultancy-style improvement offer, supporting services in several ways including through workshops to support benchmarking, organisational self-assurance, identify governance methodologies and engage in benefits management.
