2017 Baldrige Award Applications Have Arrived

Twenty-four organizations from a variety of sectors and U.S. states have submitted applications for the 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Reflecting the relevance and value of the Baldrige Excellence Framework to organizations of different sizes, sectors, and locations, the 2017 Baldrige Award applicants include 12 health care organizations, five education organizations, four nonprofit organizations, and three small businesses. The organizations are based in 15 different states, plus the District of Columbia, and represent every major region of the United States.

Working in teams over the summer, members of the volunteer board of Baldrige examiners will evaluate each of the award applicants against the 2017-2018 Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (released in late 2016 and early 2017). The assessment criteria encompass categories of leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce; operations; and results. Baldrige examiners provide each applicant with 500 to 1,000 hours of review and a detailed report on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement.

In August, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP)’s Judges Panel will determine which organizations will receive site visits by examiner teams to verify information in the application and clarify questions that come up during the review. From those site-visited organizations, the 2017 Baldrige Award recipients will be selected in November 2017.

BPEP is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in cooperation with the private sector. The program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessment tools and criteria; develops and educates leaders in all types of organizations about the practices of national role models.

Thousands of organizations worldwide use the Baldrige framework and Criteria, which are regularly revised to reflect leading practices, to guide their operations, improve performance, and get sustainable results. This proven improvement and innovation framework offers organizations an integrated leadership guide to key management areas, including strategy, operations, data and information, and results. 

The Baldrige Award is not given for specific products or services. Since 1988, 113 awards have been presented to 106 organizations (including seven two-time award recipients). For more information on the Baldrige Program, go to www.nist.gov/baldrige .