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Twelve U.S. organizations have been selected to proceed to Site Visit Review, the final stage in the evaluation process for the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), the nation's highest award for organizational performance excellence.
During a recent meeting, the Judges Panel for the MBNQA reviewed scoring data from the first two stages of the evaluation process for the annual Baldrige Award. The panel determined which organizations will receive site visits based solely on scoring data from evaluation teams composed of trained volunteers who bring a variety of sector expertise to the process. Names of organizations selected for site visits are not revealed until the judges conclude all discussions and vote based on the data. This avoids any real or potential conflicts of interest and ensures the integrity of the award process.
The panel will reconvene in November to review findings about the site-visited organizations’ performance and determine which to recommend to the Secretary of Commerce to be named 2019 Baldrige Award recipients. The awardees will be honored at a ceremony during the 32nd annual Quest for Excellence® Conference, March 24–27, 2020, near Washington, D.C.
Twenty-six applicants were evaluated during the first two phases of the selection process for the 2019 Baldrige Award. The 12 organizations that are moving forward in the process will receive site visits in late September through early October. These organizations are based in 9 states representing most regions of the country. They vary in workforce size and sectors, even within award eligibility categories (e.g., the nonprofit category includes government). They include 6 in the health care category, 1 in education, 3 nonprofits, and 2 small businesses.
All Baldrige Award applicants receive a rigorous evaluation by members of the independent Board of Examiners for the MBNQA in seven areas of performance, as defined by the 2019–2020 Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence: 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.
The site visit evaluation teams will be composed of Baldrige examiners that include experts in each sector. The teams will spend several days at their assigned organizations’ sites, interviewing employees at all levels of the workforce to clarify and verify information submitted by each organization’s Baldrige Award application.
BPEP is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in cooperation with the private sector and with support from the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 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 educates leaders in all types of organizations about the practices of national role models. The Baldrige Award recognizes the nation’s top-level performers in six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care, education, and nonprofit.
The Baldrige Award is not given for specific products or services. Since the first Baldrige Award recipients were recognized in 1988, 123 awards have been presented to 115 organizations (including eight two-time award recipients).
For more information on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and the Baldrige Award, see www.nist.gov/baldrige.