2008

Baldrige National Quality Program

Education Criteria for Performance Excellence

THE MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
A Public-Private Partnership
Building active partnerships in the private sector—and among the private sector and all levels of government—is fundamental to the success of the Baldrige National Quality Program in improving national competitiveness. Privatesector support for the Program in the form of funds, volunteer efforts, and participation in information transfer continues to grow. To ensure the continued growth and success of these partnerships, each of the following organizations plays an important role. board is appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and consists of distinguished leaders from
Award recipients in the 20 years of the Award have been extremely generous in their commitment to improving U.S. competitiveness and furthering the U.S. pursuit of performance excellence. They have shared information with hundreds of thousands of companies, education organizations, health care organizations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others. This sharing far exceeds expectations and Program requirements. Award recipients’ efforts have encouraged many other organizations in all sectors of the U.S. economy to undertake their own performance improvement efforts.

American Society for Quality
The American Society for Quality (ASQ) assists in administering the Award Program under contract to NIST. ASQ’s vision is to make quality a global priority, an organizational imperative, and a personal ethic and, in the process, to become the community for all who seek quality concepts, technology, or tools to improve themselves and their world.

Board of Overseers
The Board of Overseers advises the Department of Commerce on the Baldrige National Quality Program. The

The Baldrige National Quality Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce

To: From:

U.S. Education Community Harry S. Hertz, Director Baldrige National Quality Program

Subject: Why Is Baldrige Important for You? Because the Baldrige Education Criteria for