President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins in October, includes funds to keep the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) ticking over, after a fashion, for another year. The $7.7 million currently on the table is less than the $9.9 million he requested and $1.9 million less than last year’s appropriations. This leaves the BPEP in the increasingly prevalent quandary of taking care of business with a tightened belt.

In part the decreased funding signals the administration’s goal of weaning the program from federal funding altogether. Funding has supported Baldrige criteria development, publication of best practices, and the annual awards process. As the BPEP itself acknowledges, figuring out “alternative sources of funding” and “alternative cost models” are now high on its to-do list.

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