L7 - Senior Professional Economist: Grading descriptors

The grading criteria below is based on the following principles:

The distinction grading descriptors build on what is set out in the pass grading descriptor;
To achieve a pass for an assessment method: pass or above must be demonstrated for every KSB under that assessment method.
To receive a distinction for the professional discussion 11 out of 15 distinction grading descriptors must be met

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Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Explain how they appraise risks to quality of analysis and take steps to mitigate these; and explain the possible impacts of risks that cannot be mitigated. Explain how they design and implement a robust quality assurance process for their work. Describe the steps taken to ensure that outputs are error free.	Build upon and improves the quality assurance process used by their organisation. Show how they have drawn on new sources of expertise that are external to their organisation which substantially improve the robustness of, or insight from, findings.

K8 Team's capacity to deliver - organisation specific processes for: securing additional resource from within and without the organisation; work planning and associated risk management techniques; and the demands from clients.
S4 Prioritise scarse resources, including own time, and focus work on areas of greatest impact; deploy project management techniques; negotiate for additional resources where appropriate; manage delivery risks; build and maintain relationships with colleagues and clients and develop and utilise internal and external networks

Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Explain how they apply project management processes, either generic or employer specific, to deliver the task. Explain how they ensure that contributors to projects are informed of changes and kept on side Explain how they allocate responsibilities and manage risks at each stage of a project Describe how they negotiated for additional resources, if appropriate, and the steps they took to ntegrate these into the project. Describe the steps they took to build successful relationships with stakeholders, including colleagues and clients. Describe how they secured stakeholder buy-in to any changes in project scope or approach.	Explain how they show adaptability and flexibility in designing projects to reflect stakeholder needs. Describe how they have taken appropriate steps to get the project back on track when facing delivery challenges.

K9 The wider context affecting the work area and how changes might affect clients and analysis.
K10 Different communication styles and techniques; stakeholder theory; different ways of presenting data.

Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Give examples of how they selected different communication styles/presentation methods based on the needs of the audience. Describe how the wider work context influenced the selection, and conduct, of their analysis. Describe the impact of the analysis on the employer or clients.	Describe how they experimented with several techniques for the same audience and evaluated the effectiveness of these and explain why they worked or not. Demonstrates how they have adapted to a change in work context and the lessons they draw from the experience. Draw appropriate lessons to judge how impact can be improved through modifying or using different communication methods.

K11 Techniques to assess how future political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental developments could affect organization, work programmes or clients
K12 Understand high level business objectives and strategy in order to anticipate demands for economic analysis

Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Describe how they have used horizon scanning to justify opportunities to deploy economic analysis for clients and other stakeholders. Describe the wider context in which they work and describe how work might be affected by new trends or drivers. Explain these new trends and their impacts to their colleagues and to their broader stakeholders. Describe possible responses to these trends and risks associated with them	Describe how their active horizon scanning of the risk environment feeds into planning and decisions. Explain how they have evaluated trends and changes in policy or business priorities and adapted work to be more relevant to changed environment. escribe how they influence decision makers to include new areas for economic analysis through their anticipation of future trends.

B2 Proactive: seeks opportunities to apply analysis to policy and business problems; seeks ideas for improvements, such as new approaches and/or methods; willing to look beyond the narrow confines of a problem or opportunity when producing analysis; is a passionate advocate for analysis; uses professional judgement and reaches conclusions even when evidence is incomplete.
B5 Leadership: is willing to lead others, including outside organisational structures, to deliver outcomes.

Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Assess client’s analytical requirements and how they proactively went about establishing these requirements, taking account of the bigger picture. Describe how they use judgement where there is uncertainty and incomplete evidence and the factors they consider. Describe how they lead people to deliver client outcomes by arguing for a course of action Describe improvements made to improve the utility of analysis to clients.	Analysis is an improvement on existing techniques and / or is novel and improves client outcomes. Describe how they overcome leadership challenges to deliver client outcomes.

B3 Collaborative: understands others point of view and willing to adapt approach or ask; seeks to reconcile different views; builds trust with colleagues and clients; willing to share ideas and work with other professionals; respects and appreciates diversity; listens to others' points of view, however challenging; invites and considers feedback; aware of the impact of language and non-verbal behaviour on others.

Fail	Pass	Distinction
The minimum pass criteria as defined in this table are not met.	Systematically identify the key internal and external stakeholders that they need to consult (e.g. through use of engagement models). Actively seek out, take on board and reconcile the views of a diverse range of contributors through formal and informal feedback. Adapts use of language and non-verbal behaviour to the circumstances. Develop and maintain professional on-going relationships with stakeholders/clients and own external network of contacts. Work with other professionals and recognises the value they bring.	Explain how they have managed analytical aspects of external relationships, acting as an ambassador for their organisation Explain how they actively promote the economics profession to a wider audience in their organisation and beyond Describe how they initiate the exchange of ideas between economists and others, including other specialists.