Revision of Baldrige Framework to Increase its Value as Improvement Guide

During its current revision, the Baldrige Excellence Framework®, the core document of the Baldrige Program, is undergoing revolutionary change—being reorganized, simplified, and refocused—to make it as easy to use as possible and to expand its value and reach. The revision aims to provide clear guidance for organizations of all types and at all maturity levels, including more value for organizations beginning to establish processes and activities to help them achieve a competitive edge and long-term success.

Change takes time to ensure proper reviews, the correct content, and the intended product. Given the significance of the proposed changes, the Baldrige Program is building in additional opportunities for review by and input from key stakeholder groups.

Goal of the Revision

As part of the Baldrige Reimagined effort, the Baldrige Program refocused the award process on its primary purpose: evaluate high-performing organizations to identify role models from which others can learn. Award process changes included streamlining the award criteria and evaluation rubric—both derived from the framework. These changes have created the opportunity to similarly focus the framework on its primary purpose: guide organizational development and performance improvement.

The goal for this framework revision is to clearly articulate the progression of process maturity in all areas addressed by the framework. The content will be presented in a way that will be easier for an organization to (1) understand, (2) recognize its level of maturity, and (3) determine the next steps to improve and progress. Another important goal is to revise the framework to be not just a tool for organizational improvement but also a tool for organizations to achieve world-class results and identify their paths to Baldrige Award recognition as U.S. role models.

Evolution of the Framework

Since 1987, the Baldrige Criteria booklet served as both the Baldrige Award application and as a guide for overall organizational improvement. For 37 years, new concepts and themes were added to remain current with proven leadership and management practices that enable high performance, and the Baldrige Criteria booklet became the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

During this revision cycle, more than 75 contributors have offered detailed feedback, and multiple focus groups have provided recommendations that focus on both content and structure. In addition, leadership trends and challenges have been studied and vetted for relevance. All feedback was added to other suggestions, including from Baldrige advisory bodies, on ways to improve the framework.

Whole-Organization Assessments

The revised framework will still be the best resource of proven leadership and management practices for organizations seeking a comprehensive tool that speaks to wide ranges of best practices. Use of the framework for a systems approach to performance improvement and organization-wide assessments will lead organizations to resilience and long-term success.

For more information on any of the framework publications, contact the Baldrige Program at baldrige [at] nist.gov (baldrige[at]nist[dot]gov) or (301) 975-2036.