How we're improving our membership process

Over the past year, we’ve been reflecting on what it means for Q to be a thriving, diverse, and accessible improvement community. 

Q has always brought together people with a shared commitment to improving health and care across the UK and Ireland. We offer a space to learn, connect and collaborate across boundaries. As the community has grown, we’ve been thinking carefully about how people first encounter Q and how we can make that experience more supported and motivating.  We are also always wanting to improve and make sure how we work better enables collaboration. 

This has led us to make several changes and, as of today, moving from an assessed application to a simpler membership form process for joining Q.  
 
We wanted to share some of the thinking and process which led us to this point, and the role of members in supporting this. 

We want Q to be accessible to a broader range of people working to improve health and care, people who bring different experiences, perspectives, and forms of expertise. 

While the assessed application process helped shape Q in its early years, we heard increasing feedback, from members and non-members alike, that it could feel like a barrier. We particularly heard this from those newer to improvement, those with roles that don’t solely focus on improvement, or those who bring lived experience and community insight. 

Expanding membership aligns with Q’s purpose, by connecting people who are passionate about improving care, regardless of job title, organisational home, or route into improvement. It also should create conditions that we know help communities thrive: diverse voices, a sense of belonging, and opportunities to contribute in ways that feel meaningful. 

To shape this shift, we worked with a group of existing Q members representing a range of roles across the system, including patient and public voice partners, alongside members who have been with Q from the beginning, to understand what this change would mean to them. We asked them what they most value about Q, what helps people feel part of the community, and what can get in the way of belonging. 

Several key themes emerged: 

• There was strong support for removing assessment, alongside careful thought about how to protect Q’s purpose. Most participants felt that removing the assessed application would make Q more inclusive and accessible, particularly for people in underrepresented roles or sectors. The existing process was seen as a barrier that favoured certain professional groups. 
• At the same time, some noted that applying had offered a sense of validation due to the community’s reputation and quality, and they wanted to ensure Q maintains its integrity, purpose and shared values. 
• Members highlighted the importance of setting people up well and fostering genuine connection. They valued aspects of the current welcome journey but felt it could be more purposeful. They called for clearer next steps, more accessible language, and early opportunities to connect with others, such as cohort-based or interest-based introductions. 
• Participants discussed the need to ensure Q remains a purposeful, trusted community. They highlighted risks associated with expanding membership, such as people joining with purely commercial motives or the community becoming too large to sustain meaningful engagement. They emphasised the importance of a strong community ethos, clear expectations, and communication that honours the contributions of existing members. 
• Members saw a clear opportunity to welcome greater diversity of experience. The shift to open membership was viewed as a way to broaden Q’s reach, particularly to people who contribute through lived experience, community leadership, change and transformation roles, or less formal improvement pathways. They felt that this diversity, supported well, could strengthen Q considerably. 

These insights directly shaped the changes we’ve made, from refining the reflective questions in our membership form, to strengthening our welcome journey. Overall, we’re taking a more proactive approach to understanding membership needs and supporting engagement over time. 

We’ve replaced the assessed application with a simple registration form. Anyone with improvement, transformation or change experience – whether through professional roles, lived experience, community leadership, research, or other routes – can now join Q by sharing their details and responding to two core questions. 

We’ve kept and refined the two questions that previously sat at the heart of the application. Even though membership will no longer be assessed, these responses help us understand our members’ evolving interests and needs, informing how we shape Q’s support and services over time. These questions focus more clearly on who you are, what motivates you, and what you hope to contribute to and gain from the community. 

Alongside the new registration process, we’ve refreshed the information new members receive when they join, making it easier to understand what Q offers and how to get involved at a pace that feels right.  
 
We’ve also redesigned our introductory call. Previously known as New to Q, it now runs every two months as Making the Most of Q, and can be registered from our events page. This session is open to both new and existing members and creates space to meet others in the community, hear about members’ work and emerging opportunities, and explore how to navigate Q’s groups, events, and resources. This more regular rhythm aims to help people feel connected sooner and more consistently. 

These changes are part of a wider commitment to ensuring Q continues to evolve in ways that reflect the needs and realities of people working to improve health and care. Making it easier to join the community is not about growing for growth’s sake, it’s about strengthening the community’s diversity, deepening participation, and ensuring Q remains a place where people can learn from one another and create meaningful change. 

We’ll be monitoring and evaluating how these changes are working over the coming months, and as always we’ll continue to listen, iterate, and work with members to understand what supports belonging and contribution. And we’re excited to welcome new voices, experiences, and perspectives into Q. 

We hope these insights will inspire you to discover what the Q community has to offer. 

If you’re interested in joining, please visit the Join Q page to find out more about the benefits of membership and sign up. 

Already a Q member? Please pass on the opportunity to someone you know who would benefit from the support of the community.