The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program was developed in 1987 by the U.S. government in response to a crisis in the ability of U.S. businesses to compete most effectively. The award is named for its creator, former US Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige.
Foreign manufacturers’ superior management systems had enabled them to seriously challenge inferior U.S. quality and overall performance standards, or to risk further significant losses.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, presented annually by the President of the United States, was created to inspire American companies to improve their core business practices, benchmark against the best and to continuously adapt to become more effective, efficient, and responsive to their customers by using objective evidence to guide critical decision making.
Former US Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige.
Baldrige CriteriaSince then, the Baldrige program has proven to be so extraordinarily powerful and transformative across multiple business sectors that, now, it is viewed as a competitive necessity by the healthcare industry. In fact, more than 50% (12 of the 22) organizations that applied for the Baldrige Award at the national level in 2014 were hospitals or health systems. This data can be found at www.NIST.gov.
The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) has projected that, 65% of all hospitals across the U.S. will be on the Malcolm Baldrige journey, according to the FutureScan 2013: Healthcare Trends and Implications 2013-2018.
Dr. Kenneth Cohen receives recognition from George Benson, PhD and Al Faber in honor of The Synergy Organization’s longstanding support for the Baldrige Program.
Clearly, just as the healthcare industry has adopted evidence-based approaches to providing clinical services, healthcare has responded to the evidence about Baldrige’s incomparable value.
The 2026 Quest for Excellence Conference — the 37th annual Baldrige Foundation event — featured Molly Baldrige as one of its keynote speakers.
Molly Baldrige is the daughter of Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and a prominent figure in the Baldrige community. She is known for her leadership in advancing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and promoting performance excellence across sectors.
Molly Baldrige’s keynote address illuminated her deep connection to the Baldrige legacy, her work in quality and performance excellence, and her insights into how organizations can achieve sustained high performance.
The conference also included sessions with Baldrige Award recipients, plenary talks, and networking opportunities with leaders from across industries.
Molly serves as a vital champion for the Baldrige Foundation. She frequently speaks at the annual Quest for Excellence conferences and helped spearhead the “Baldrige Family Challenge,” providing the largest single gift in the foundation’s history to support competitive organizational framework.