Every community deserves access to strong, high-quality local infrastructure and volunteering support.
Our LIQA (Local Infrastructure Quality Accreditation) and VCQA (Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation) help organisations reflect on their work, develop for the future, and demonstrate their impact.
Completing LIQA or VCQA not only strengthens your organisation locally, by enabling you to use the only brand for independently assessed infrastructure quality — it also highlights your quality nationally, showcasing examples of effective local infrastructure across the NAVCA network.
Our Quality Accreditations help you to:
Both accreditations are independently assessed, then awarded by NAVCA.
We think Quality Accreditation is great, but don’t just take our word for it. We spoke to accredited organisations to hear what they found most valuable about the LIQA and VCQA.
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“LIQA provides some much-needed positivity at a time when there is bleak news around funding and general understanding of the work we do. It provides confidence that what we deliver is of a high standard apparent to others outside of our organisation.”
- Jess Sumner, CEO, Brighton and Hove Community Works
- Hear from Garry Jones, CEO at Support Staffordshire, about their experience with the LIQA.
“The LIQA award is a powerful validation of our team's hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment to supporting the voluntary and community sector in our region. More importantly, it reinforces our promise to our members that they can rely on us for high-quality support that truly makes a difference.”
Karen Loftus, CEO, Community Action Network (CAN)
You can choose from the two accreditations based on what’s most relevant to your organisation’s purpose and focus.
The LIQA is designed for local VCSE infrastructure provision, and assesses NAVCA members across the four functions of infrastructure.
The VCQA is designed for volunteer centres, and is open to both NAVCA members and non-members providing volunteer centre services in their local communities. It assesses organisations across the five functions of volunteer centres.
Leadership and advocacy
Partnerships and collaborations
Capacity building
Volunteering
Strategic development of volunteering
Good practice development
Developing volunteering opportunities
Brokerage
Voice of volunteering
The LIQA Foundations Workbook is your starting point. It helps NAVCA members use the LIQA criteria to self-assess their performance and impact, identifying both strengths and areas for growth. Foundations also helps you understand how ready your organisation is for a full LIQA assessment.
Submitting your completed workbook is the first step toward full accreditation — but there’s no rush. If you’d like more time to build on your self-assessment before progressing, you can. And if you decide not to move forward right now, completing Foundations still gives you a clear benchmark to guide your organisation’s future development.
We’re always happy to talk through your options — just contact us using the button below, and a member of our team will be in touch.
