The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has named three Donor Alliance employees to the Board of Examiners for the 2016 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.

Donor Alliance Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Prinz, Director of Performance Excellence Grace Harcek and Director of Information Systems Steve Selby have each been appointed by the NIST Director and are responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Baldrige Award, as well as other assessment-related tasks. The examiner board is composed of more than 350 leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, health care and nonprofit (including government) organizations from across the United States.

Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition, demonstrating competencies related to customer focus, communication, ethics, action orientation, team building and analytical skills. All members of the board must take part in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring/evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987. Awards may be given annually to organizations in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care and nonprofit. The Award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 109 awards have been presented to 102 organizations (including seven repeat recipients). The 2015 winners are MidwayUSA, Columbia, Mo. (small business; won in the same category in 2009); Charter School of San Diego, San Diego, Calif. (education); Charleston Area Medical Center Health System, Charleston, W.V. (health care); and Mid-America Transplant Services, St. Louis, Mo. (nonprofit).

NIST manages the Baldrige Award in close conjunction with the private sector.

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program also offers the 2015–2016 Baldrige Excellence Framework: A Systems Approach to Improving Your Organization’s Performance, which includes the world-emulated Criteria for Performance Excellence; Baldrige Excellence Builder, an entry-level version of the framework; nationally ranked leadership training; and the Baldrige Collaborative Assessment and other assessment tools. For information on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and the Baldrige Award application process, call (301) 975-2036, send an e-mail to baldrige@nist.gov, or visit http://www.nist.gov/baldrige.