NICE process and methods

Update information

Update information

July 2024

We published the interim process statement for a more proportionate approach to quality standard development, which

describes the interim process changes that NICE will use over the next 24 months to support proportionate approaches to the development and maintenance of NICE quality standards

July 2021

We updated section 3.1 to reflect changes to the topic overview and the sources used to develop it. In section 3.9 we made changes to the process for reviewing quality standards.

We made minor changes to the appendix: Committee terms of reference and standing orders to reflect a change in approach to working with topic expert advisers.

November 2020

We updated the process guide throughout to reflect:

  • NHS England is now NHS England and Improvement.

  • Department of Health is now the Department of Health and Social Care.

  • scheduled update of the QSAC terms of reference and standing orders

  • changes to NICE internal teams

May 2016

We included the QSAC terms of reference in this guide and updated throughout to align with:

  • New NICE team structures

  • Removal of endorsing and supporting organisation logos from QS pages

  • Language change from 'revisions' to 'minor updates'

  • NICE's commitment to Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

April 2014

We updated this guide to include further information on the process for reviewing and updating published quality standards. We changed the term 'endorsing organisations' to 'supporting organisations' throughout and included details of the process for producing developmental quality statements.

August 2013

We updated the following sections of the process guide to reflect changes to consultation comments:

  • section 2.2.1 to reflect the quality standards team will now be preparing a summary report of consultation comments and themed responses rather than responding to individual consultation comments and suggestions.

  • Section 3.5: Stakeholder comments will not be formally considered if they are submitted by unregistered stakeholders or after the relevant deadline.

  • Section 3.6: A summary of consultation comments will be presented to the committee as currently happens and the quality standard will be amended accordingly. Individual responses will no longer be provided to stakeholder comments.

  • Section 4.2: The committee minutes will now summarise discussions and associated decisions regarding the stakeholder comments and stakeholders that submit comments will be sent a link to these minutes at publication.

  • Section 6.2: Individual responses to stakeholder comments will no longer be produced.

We updated the process guide throughout to reflect that:

  • NICE's name changed to the 'National Institute for Health and Care Excellence'.

  • Patient and Public Involvement Programme (PPIP) is now called the Public Involvement Programme.

  • NHS Commissioning Board is now NHS England.

  • Commissioning Outcomes Framework (COF) is now the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS)

  • The team will now be preparing a summary report of consultation comments and themed responses rather than responding to individual consultation comments and suggestions.

Stakeholder comments will not be formally considered if they are submitted by unregistered stakeholders or after the relevant deadline.

Minor changes since publication

2018

In section 3.2 on prioritising areas for quality improvement, we clarified how the committees consider resource implications.

2017

In section 3.9 on reviewing and updating quality standards, we have made minor changes to the process for aligning quality standards with updated NICE guidance.

ISBN: 978-1-4731-5884-9