Quality Management and Continuous Improvement

The Fisheries Information System (FIS) within NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology is committed to supporting communities of practice, called professional specialty groups, which convene experts from multiple disciplines in order to address a specific need or issue that is identified by the program management team. The Quality Management and Continuous Improvement (QM/CI) Professional Specialty Group brings experts together from across NOAA Fisheries and our partner institutions to provide trainings; conduct workshops; promote timely, cost-effective management and policy-making; and foster a broad and enduring culture of quality throughout the fisheries data community. The tools that we employ can solve the everyday challenges faced by scientists, managers, and others who work with fisheries data. Whether it’s integrating complex and divergent information streams into a single, accessible data source, or creating a strategic plan to drive a good idea from the whiteboard to the field, we can  help you promote integration, rationalize processes, and foster collaboration across agencies and disciplines—all with a focus on understanding and meeting the needs of end-users.

Funding 

Each year, the Fisheries Information System, National Observer Program, and National Catch Shares Program fund projects that enhance science and management. A key area of interest for this funding stream’s Request for Proposals is support for initiatives that incorporate quality management and continuous improvement practices—such as strategic planning or process analysis workshops—into new or existing projects to improve fishery-dependent data collection, storage, and dissemination. 

Learn how FIS supports innovative projects

Explore previously funded quality management and continuous improvement projects

Tools

A variety of exercises, tools, and best practices can help us understand and improve data, processes, and projects. Group members have provided descriptions, examples, and templates from completed projects to help understand the benefit of these tools. 

Learn about quality management and continuous improvement tools

Read about quality management and continuous improvement success stories

Contact Us

Members of this group provide guidance and expertise to the NOAA Fisheries community and our partners. To learn more about quality management and continuous improvement or to request help applying these tools to a project you’re working on, email the group or reach out directly to the group member from your region or office.

More Information

• NOAA Central Library Seminar: Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Principles for Fisheries Dependent Data
• Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Success Stories
• Fisheries Information System
• American Society for Quality