(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The 25th anniversary year of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will see 39 organizations vying for the honor of becoming an award recipient. Applicants for the Baldrige Award, the nation’s highest recognition for organizational performance excellence through innovation and improvement, include one manufacturer, three service companies, two small businesses, three educational organizations, 25 health care organizations, and five nonprofits or governmental organizations.

The 2012 applicants will be evaluated rigorously by an independent board of 478 examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; operations focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. Examiners provide each applicant with 300 to 1,000 hours of review and a detailed report on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Late this summer, organizations that distinguish themselves in the initial screening will be site-visited by teams of examiners to verify information in the application and to clarify questions that come up during the review.

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