New Eligibility Rules for the Baldrige Award

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

As we prepare for the 2012 Baldrige Award cycle, the Baldrige Program has enacted some changes to the Award eligibility rules that leverage the larger Baldrige enterprise—in particular, the state and local Baldrige-based award programs. We’re confident that these changes will ensure a healthy Baldrige enterprise long into the future, as we develop a new business model that relies on non-appropriated funds to operate the Baldrige Program.

As you all know, the decision by Congress to eliminate our federal funding is causing the Program to adopt a new business model. What you may not be aware of is that we have been exploring ways to become less dependent upon federal funds for much longer than the recent events through our strategy mapping.

With the larger enterprise in mind, the Baldrige Program is enacting changes to our eligibility requirements that will formalize the de facto feeder system that currently exists between the Alliance award programs and the national award program. Starting in 2012, in order to be eligible for the national award, organizations must meet our existing requirements AND one of the following conditions:

• Be a previous Baldrige Award recipient
• Have received the top-tier award from an Alliance member award program within the past 5 years
• Have received a site visit at the national level within the past 5 years
• Have received a combined scoring band range of 8 or better (e.g., process band 4 and results band 4) in the past 5 years
• Have 25% or more of your employees/staff outside of your organization's home state
• Have no Alliance member program available for your organization.

There are additional details available on the award application web page:  http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/award_application.cfm

We have not made this decision lightly, and believe it is not only necessary but an important step towards a brighter Baldrige future.

This will be the last Blogrige post for 2011, so I wish all Blogrige readers a happy holiday and a healthy and rewarding New Year!

Comments

[Craig Anderson]

First reaction: this is the direction we need to go. Good job. And Happy Holidays to the entire Baldrige community.

[GB (Robin) Rowland]

Makes sense. But part of strategy has to be finding ways to strengthen the Alliance organizations certainly through technical assistance and perhaps through expanding the mission of the Foundation to include Aliance members in grants or project funding.

[Dave Fountaine]

Sounds like a plan Harry - although I hope you meant this is the last we'll hear from you for 2011 and not 2012!!

[Harry Hertz]

Thanks for the comments! Dave it should be 2011 and I am correcting it. Robin, we are working with the Alliance for Performance Excellence to strengthen all member prgrams and bring more uniformity to critical aspects.