The fees for the 2013 Baldrige Award cycle will increase in order to recover costs associated with administering the award process and to reduce the annual financial commitment needed from the Baldrige Foundation. Previously, federal funding covered the majority of costs for the award process.
There is a nonrefundable fee of $360 for eligibility filing (covers expenses associated with the review of applications and the development of feedback reports), as well as an application fee. An additional processing fee of $1,250 is required for applications submitted on CD. The table below shows 2013 application fees by sector.
2013 Award Application Fees by Sector
|
Manufac-turing and Service
|
Small Business
|
Education
|
Health Care and Nonprofit
|
|
For-profit
|
Nonprofit
|
>500 Staff
|
≤500 Staff
|
| >500 Faculty/Staff |
≤500 Faculty/Staff
|
K-12
|
Higher Education
|
|
$18,000
|
$9,600
|
$18,000
|
$9,600
|
$4,200
|
$9,600
|
$18,000
|
$9,600
|
Site visit fees also will increase in 2013, but these fees are paid only by applicants receiving site visits, with the amount depending on the number of sites, the number of examiners assigned, the duration of the visit, and other factors.
Each application for the Baldrige Award receives 300–1,000 hours of review by a team of experts who examine applicant organization objectively and identify strengths and opportunities to improve. The experts come from all sectors of the U.S. economy and complete the Baldrige Examiner Preparation course (which has been rated by Leadership Excellence magazine as one of the top-ten government training programs in the country) as well as extensive just-in-time training and peer mentoring. Baldrige examiners look for achievements and improvements in all categories in the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, based on the applicant organization’s own key organizational characteristics and strategic situation.
The value of this Baldrige feedback greatly exceeds the cost. For example, in the words of Nancy Schlichting, CEO of Henry Ford Health System, a 2011 Baldrige Award recipient, “Baldrige [is] THE way for our very good health system to get even better. . . . For those considering the Baldrige framework, I want to testify to the magnitude of results you can achieve.” In addition, Larry Potterfield, CEO of MidwayUSA, a 2009 Baldrige Award recipient, has said, “MidwayUSA has benefitted tremendously from Baldrige . . . : Our sales are up over 20 percent per year over the last five years. Our profits are up over 40 percent per year for that same time. Customer satisfaction at 93 percent is at an all-time high. Employee satisfaction at 82 percent is at an all-time high also. All the winds are blowing in the right direction at MidwayUSA and it’s all because of our efforts in engaging the Baldrige Criteria.”
Although cost recovery is the biggest consideration for the fee increase, the Baldrige Program also benchmarked other quality award programs around the world. For example, award cycle fees for the EFQM Excellence Award (PDF) (formerly known as the European Foundation for Quality Management Award) are determined based on the size of the organization, varying between € 8,000–€ 15,000 (approximately $12,500–$23,500 in U.S. dollars). EFQM site visit fees are additional. The Japan Quality Award also charges comparable award cycle fees.
Costs associated with running the award process include recruiting, selecting, and training examiners; administering the BOSS (online scorebook) system; offering technical support to teams; processing applications; and other administration and logistical support provided by ASQ; among others.
The fees will go into effect for the 2013 Baldrige Award process that begins in spring 2013.
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