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This paper presents research carried out in seven Portuguese organisations recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model between January 2009 and August 2011. Using a qualitative methodology, based on case studies, we conducted semi-structured interviews to find out the motivations behind the adoption of the EFQM Excellence Model of self-assessment, as well the company's current state of maturity, their route to improvement for a greater maturity level, their desirable future state of maturity, and finally, the definition of a methodology for using self-assessment based on the EFQM Model with all the inputs achieved in earlier stages. The main findings of this study are in accordance with other studies carried out across Europe, namely the fact that the internal motivations are the key factor for the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model, the prevalence of Public organisations due the investment of National Authorities, the key role of CEOs and Top Managers and the ISO 9001 standard role in the successful implementation of several criteria of the model. A new methodology has been designed where the self-assessment team, Benchlearning and Benchmarking have a remarkable mission in the implementation process of the EFQM Excellence Model.
