How is Progress on the NQI PEP® Journey Recognized?
NQI provides external validation of progress. It reviews an organization’s submission and grants certification for the Level(s) successfully completed. An organization can apply for certification for a single Level, or for a combination of Levels, as long as previous Levels have been certified, or are included in the submission. Certification for NQI PEP® Level 4 requires prior certification for NQI PEP® Level 3. For NQI PEP® Level 1 recognition, the organization provides a written submission only. NQI PEP® Levels 2, 3, and 4 require a written submission and, if provisionally approved, a one-day site verification visit. Site verification is conducted by an NQI team member who engages the executive and representative groups of employees in focus groups. The verifier will ask questions in the focus groups, and review documents to validate the submission. Depending on the size of the organization, more than one site may be visited in the verification process. NQI grants certification if t
