The RAT (which stands for Readiness Assessment Tool) is designed to help third sector organiastions plan for the future - your readiness to move on. This is the second release of the tool: the questions have been streamlined, the guidance updated and the action plan improved from the version that you may be familiar with.
It will take you step-by-step through many of the issues, barriers and opportunities that your organisation, project or partnership needs to think about so that you can plan more effectively. The actions you then create may need to be implemented either right away or in the longer term and RAT will help you to decide what to do first, as well as where to go for further help. RAT is not a quality standard or accreditation process- you are not being assessed! Instead it prompts you to think about what changes you need to make to plan for the future and encourages you to get all your information in one place. This will create a baseline - a starting point - which can then be revisited at regular intervals in the future to assess your progress, as well as creating a great starting point for writing a business plan, funding application or making a case to your supporters and/or investors.