Quality assurance in the social sector

The latest Mobile oil survey tells us that up to September 1997 more than 200,000 accredited ISO 9000‐family certificates had been issued worldwide. This figure reminds us of the fact that certified quality management is no longer a matter solely for production companies, but is nowadays practised in almost any industry around the world. In this article the implementation of an ISO 9000 system in a public‐owned home for mentally retarded and disabled people in Denmark called “Ebo”, is being analysed. The analysis focuses on three major areas: the motivation for choosing certification, the interpretation of the standard in the social sector, and finally the effects of the implementation process at Ebo. The research project has been conducted through action research methodology in which the author has been involved in the implementation process as a consultant.