Baldrige Award Cycle Overview

About the Award | How to Apply | Is Your Organization Eligible | Award Process Fees | The Feedback Report

Award Process Evaluation Cycle PDF

Independent and Consensus Review

May–August

A team from the Board of Examiners is assigned to your award application.

Independent Review: Members of the team individually review your application against the Criteria for Performance Excellence (part of the Baldrige Excellence Framework) to identify and document strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Consensus Review: Led by a senior examiner, the team conducts a series of reviews, first virtually through a secure website and then through focused conference calls. Through these reviews, the team reaches consensus on feedback and scores.

Based on these reviews, the Judges' Panel determines which organizations receive site visits.

Site Visit Review

September/October

Organizations receiving site visits provide updates for all results in the application. Led by a senior examiner, a team of examiners visits the organization to verify and clarify the information in the application. Site visits consist primarily of a review of pertinent records and data, as well as interviews. The team submits a report to the Judges' Panel.

Judges' Review

November

The Judges' Panel conducts final reviews and recommends award recipients to the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who conveys the recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary of Commerce and the NIST Director determine whether recommended award recipients are appropriate role models and should receive the award. The purpose of this determination is to help preserve the award's integrity. The Judges' Panel also recommends non-award-recipient organizations that will be recognized for having one or more category best practices. In determining role models, NIST checks records on site-visited applicants and their highest-ranking officials to verify compliance with legal and various regulatory requirements. The Secretary of Commerce then selects the award recipients.

Feedback Reports

October–December

Members of the Board of Examiners prepare feedback reports detailing organization-specific strengths and opportunities for improvement based on the organizations' responses to the Criteria for Performance Excellence. Each organization receives a feedback report when it exits the process: after Consensus Review, after Site Visit Review, or when it is selected as an award recipient.

Award Ceremony

Spring

The President of the United States or a designee traditionally presents the awards (in recent years shortly before the Quest for Excellence Conference begins in early April).

Resources

Purchase Baldrige Excellence Framework Business/Nonprofit, Education, Health Care (2021-2022 versions coming soon)
Baldrige Process Calendar
Changes and Reminders
Application Content and Format
Baldrige Process Integrity

Related Links

Baldrige Award Recipient Listing
Baldrige Impacts
Self-Assessing Your Organization
Baldrige Improvement Tools
Testimonials
Baldrige FAQs