Baldrige Applications for 2006 Top Last Year

GAITHERSBURG, MD – This year 86 organizations have filed applications for the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

That’s up from a total of 64 organizations that applied for the 2005 award, according to the Baldrige National Quality Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The gains came in the healthcare and nonprofit categories.

	2006	2005
Manufacturing	3	1
Service	4	6
Small Business	8	8
Health Care	45	33
Education	16	16
Nonprofit	10	N/A

This is the first year that nonprofit organizations are eligible to participate in the Baldrige program. Because the nonprofit category is still a pilot program, the 10 applicants will not be eligible to receive an award this year. Nonprofits should be eligible for a Baldrige award in 2007.

ASQ led the efforts to open up the Baldrige Award to include a nonprofit category.