Baldrige Program Collaborations

Central components of the Baldrige Program’s mission include educational and outreach activities to increase knowledge of the Baldrige Criteria so that organizations can improve their performance. To that end, the Baldrige Program has established several collaborative relationships over the years to promote the program and to encourage as many organizations as possible to use the Criteria not only as a management tool to achieve performance excellence but to also apply for the Award. These collaborations are meant to reach as many organizations as possible and to not exclude any organizations.

Organizations for collaboration are selected based on their willingness to capitalize on the combined resources of the Baldrige Program and the organization to educate the business, education, or health care communities on the benefits of improving organizational performance. The Baldrige Program looks at selecting those organizations that will have the greatest impact, can reach a large audience, and have the greatest chance for success in helping to spread the message about the benefits of using the Baldrige Criteria to improve performance. The Baldrige Program also screens for those that do not exclude any interested parties. As with all the processes associated with the Baldrige Program, both Baldrige Program staff and the Board of Overseers scrutinize all collaborations against conflict of interest requirements so that the integrity of the program is not compromised.

As a result of discussions with the Board of Overseers the Baldrige Program identified the purpose, focus, and criteria for establishing collaborations, which are detailed below.

Purpose of Any Collaboration

Capitalize on the combined resources of the Baldrige Program and collaborating organization to bring value to both organizations and to educate communities about the benefits of using Baldrige for improved organizational performance.

Primary Focus of Any Collaboration

Help increase awareness of the benefits of using the Baldrige Criteria to improve organizational performance.

Criteria for Establishing Collaborations

• Must bring new value to the Baldrige Program and to the collaborating organization
• Must provide a strategic benefit that directly links to the Baldrige Program’s strategy
• Must consider ease of implementation and ensure the costs to implement provide maximum benefit to the organizations
• Should provide an opportunity to improve existing relationship or build new one
• Must not be exclusive or exclusionary and must be developed on a voluntary basis,
• Can be developed for short-term needs and not necessarily for the longer-term