Baldrige Transition Website
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is excited to share with you a new Web page (http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/transition/index.cfm) to keep you apprised of how it is transitioning to a sustainable, enterprise model, in which the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Alliance for Performance Excellence, the American Society for Quality, and state and other performance excellence programs will work together toward a national, integrated model of excellence.
Baldrige Creates Great Value for the U.S. Economy
An impressive benefit-to-cost ratio of 820-to-1 is the conclusion arrived at in the new study released on January 17. The report summarizes, “The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, with the imprimatur of national leadership and a prominent national award . . . , creates great value that could not be replicated by private sector actions alone. . . . If the social costs were compared to the benefits for the economy as a whole, the benefit-to-cost ratio would be considerably higher."
2011 Baldrige Winners Announced
We’d like to extend our congratulations to Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, MO (nonprofit), Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI (health care), Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, IN (health care), and Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, AK (health care). These organizations demonstrated their ability to achieve their visions through Performance Excellence.
Baldrige Funding Cut
On Friday, Nov. 18, U.S. President, Barack Obama, signed an appropriations bill that cuts federal funding for the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) for fiscal year 2012. The Baldrige Foundation, a non-profit organization, will continue to offer the BPEP funding through FY 2012. ASQ is in talks with the BPEP and organizations involved to identify alternative business and funding models. Check back regularly for progress reports.
NIFA Offers Financial Incentives
The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority today announced they are accepting applications under the Asset Modernization Initiative which offers financial incentives to encourage small manufacturing, agricultural processing or food processing companies to invest in modernizing their assets. The incentives are available for eligible investments made by existing Nebraska for-profit companies. The Initiative is designed to assist small businesses (those with fewer than 100 employees), increase market share or target international markets by improving productivity. More details about the Initiative and each program, including the application forms, are available on NIFA’s website at www.nifa.org