The 23rd Annual Quest for Excellence® Conference

The Official Conference of the Baldrige Award

Registration Now Open

Join Us and Learn from the Best!
April 4-6, 2011
Pre-conference workshops Sunday, April 3
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC

Quest is the leading conference to learn the real-world, proven role model practices of Baldrige Award recipients. Attend and learn how to: 

• improve your organization’s performance results, including student learning results and health care outcomes
• enhance leadership effectiveness
• build customer and employee engagement
• increase organizational innovation to gain and sustain competitive advantages
• improve process management
• create an environment that fosters social responsibility and ethical behavior
• increase organizational sustainability 

The 2010 Baldrige Award recipients will share best performance practices, their journeys to performance excellence, and lessons learned. The conference will also showcase former Baldrige recipients presenting on special topics of interest.

General Information

Location
The Marriott Wardman Park is located at 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington DC at the intersection of Woodley Road and Connecticut Avenue. It is easily accessible by cab and shuttle from Ronald Reagan National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. From Reagan National Airport it is also accessible from Metro at the Woodley Park-Zoo metro stop. 

Accommodations
Rooms will be reserved at the Marriott Wardman Park at the conference rates of $279 single or double. You may reserve rooms by calling 202-328-2000 or 800-228-9290 and asking for the Baldrige Quest for Excellence group. The online room reservation site will be posted soon.

Conference Schedule
There will be dozens of presentations centered around the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The full schedule will be available in January. Pre-conference workshops will be held from 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday, April 3. The conference will begin around 8:00am on Monday, April 4 and conclude around noon on Wednesday, April 6.

Pre-conference workshops
Limited seats available. Reserve early.
$100 with Conference Registration; $150 Workshop Only
Sunday, April 3, 2011 • 1:00-4:00 pm

Workshop 1
Getting Acquainted with Baldrige

• Designed for those who have had little or no exposure to the Baldrige Criteria
• Participants will learn the history and structure of the Baldrige Program, the benefits of self-assessment and feedback, the structure of the Criteria, how to focus improvement and communication efforts, how to use the Criteria and the Award recipient application summaries to enhance learning from the conference

Workshop 2
Intermediate Baldrige: Moving From Interest to Action

• Designed for those who have begun to use the Criteria or self-assessment tools and are ready to learn more – not for experienced Criteria users
• Participants will learn the benefits of conducting a self-assessment using the Organizational Profile, an approach for managing an initial organizational self-assessment, and the value of using the Criteria to more fully articulate an organization’s attributes, challenges, and needs

Registration
Register online or by phone at 1-800-248-1946.

Conference Registration Fees
Advance registration $1120 and due by March 7, 2011. Registration after this date is $1270. 

Group, Faculty, and Examiner Discounts
Groups of 5 or more receive a $100 discount per registrant off the advance or regular registration fee. Registrations must be made as a group. The full conference fee will be charged if cancellations reduce the group to fewer than 5 people. Substitutions may be made at any time. Full-time academic employees are eligible for discounted fees of $795 (advance) or $945 (regular). A $100 discount is also available to members of the 2010 National Baldrige Program Examiners. The faculty and examiner discounts cannot be combined with any other discounts.

Payment Information
Payment is due with all registration forms. Phone or fax registrations must include the expiration date and number of a major credit card (except Discover Card). If using a purchase order, ASQ must receive the hard copy with your registration form. Make checks payable to 23rd Annual Quest for Excellence. You will receive confirmation of your registration.

Cancellation and Substitution Policy
Requests for cancellation received on or before March 7, 2011 will receive a full refund. Requests received between March 8, 2011 and March 25, 2011 will incur a $200 processing fee. No requests for reimbursement for cancellations will be accepted after March 25, 2011. Substitutions may be made at any time.

Registration Fees:

Pre-Conference Workshop Fees

	Sunday, April 3 1:00-4:00 pm (Limited seating)	Advance Fee By March 7, 2011	Regular Fee
	Pre-Conference Workshop with Conference (In addition to the Conference Registration Fee)
•	Getting Acquainted with Baldrige	$100	$100
•	Moving from Interest to Action	$100	$100
	Pre-Conference Workshop Only    (Does not include Conference Registration)
•	Getting Acquainted with Baldrige	$150	$150
•	Moving from Interest to Action	$150	$150

23rd Annual Quest for Excellence Conference Fees
April 4-6
Includes conference materials, breakfast daily,
lunch for 2 days, and a Tuesday evening reception.
Does not include Pre-Conference Workshop

		Advance Fee By March 7, 2011	Regular Fee
•	Individual or Shared Registration	$1120	$1270
•	Faculty Discount	$ 795	$ 945
•	Group Discount All registrations must be submitted at the same timeto receive the group discount. The group discount may not be combined with any other discounts.	$1020	$1170
•	2010 Baldrige Examiner Discount A discount of $100 is available to the 2010 National Baldrige Program Examiners. The Examiner discount may not be combined with other discounts.	$1020	$1170
•	One Day Conference Registration Fee __Monday  __Tuesday  __Wednesday	$520	$520
•	Guest tickets to the Conference Reception Tuesday, April 5, 6:00 pm	$50	$50

Sponsor
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Co-sponsors
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)