GB-London: Unlocking the potential of GDC Fitness to Practise data

The GDC invites tenders for a research project to improve the quality of data that we gather through the Fitness to Practise process and our ability to learn from the data. The aim of the research is to enable GDC to unlock the potential learning from data generated within our fitness to practice processes to:

• inform and underpin our ongoing ambitions to promote the principles of right touch regulation in our Fitness to Practise processes, including proportionality, consistency and transparency.

• inform our upstream strategy, which focuses on the prevention of harm rather than enforcement activity, including identifying insights to inform learning and action on the part of professionals to reduce levels of FtP concern raised.

• provide an important foundation for future research, monitoring and evaluation plans and

• provide evidence and insight that will inform GDC's continuing efforts to improve our approach to case analysis

Underpinning the research aim are four primary objectives:

-Understanding risk: to review historic Fitness to Practise case data (qualitative and quantitative) to enable us to better understand and profile where FtP-related risk lies in the dentistry profession, including understanding the complexity of risk.

-Defining considerations/categorisation: to review historical and current Fitness to Practise case data to make recommendations to better define considerations labelling/categorisation (these are the key factors/themes associated with each case) and to enable us to develop and revise our coding frame/s in order to be able to undertake in-depth and inferential analysis of qualitative case data.

-Understanding decision-making: to review historic Fitness to Practise case files to enable us to better understand our approach to decision-making in Fitness to Practise cases in relation to how or whether cases progress. We currently have a robust auditing processes in place; the aim of this research is to draw further depth and breadth of learning about our handling of cases using a range of methods and data sources to inform our wider strategic objectives -Sustainability: during and as a result of the review, to develop approaches, processes and use methods that can be trialled and tested at GDC to contribute to both Fitness to Practise casework coding and decisions and to generating data that could be adopted by GDC and used in all aspects of inquiry-based learning, reflective practice, transparent reporting and for a range of research purposes.

If you are interested in reading more about the opportunity, please download the ITT from the Delta portal : https://www.delta-esourcing.com/. The Access Code : 6X6Z6U3364

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.