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Twenty-seven organizations from a variety of sectors and U.S. states have submitted applications for the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Reflecting the ongoing relevance and value of the Baldrige Excellence Framework to organizations of different sizes, sectors, and sites, the 2018 Baldrige Award applicants include 14 health care organizations, 5 education organizations, 6 nonprofit organizations, and 2 small businesses.
These numbers are similar to those of last year, when the 24 Baldrige Award applicants included 12 health care, 5 education, and 4 nonprofit organizations, as well as 3 small businesses. Through the rigorous, three-phase Baldrige Award process, five of those applicants were determined to be national role models and named Baldrige Award winners last November (including 2 health care organizations, 1 nonprofit organization, and 2 small businesses).
The Baldrige Award process will begin later this month. 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. 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 2018 Baldrige Award recipients will be selected in November 2018.
In conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the private sector, the Baldrige Program manages the Baldrige Award. The program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessment tools and criteria; and 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, 118 awards have been presented to 110 organizations (including eight two-time award recipients). Visit the Baldrige Program for more information.