(Alliance for Performance Excellence: Phoenix) -- Thirteen U.S. businesses and organizations—the highest number in nearly a decade—have been named finalists for the 2026 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and will receive site visits this fall.

The Baldrige Award identifies national role models of excellence among U.S. businesses, other organizations, and communities. The award is presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce, overseen by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and is now being administered by the Alliance for Performance Excellence on behalf of NIST.

The 13 finalist organizations will receive rigorous evaluations of their performance against criteria that benchmark organizational results and the processes used to achieve them. Evaluations focus on leadership, strategy, customer focus, organizational intelligence, workforce, and operations, and culminate with hybrid site visits that will include both virtual and onsite interviews of organizational leaders.

This is the first year that all applicants automatically receive finalist status and a national site visit, having either received an Alliance Top Tier Award (recognition of excellence within their state, region, or sector), a recent national Baldrige site visit, or demonstrated high performance with a pre-application screen. The new 2026 Award eligibility standards were released in March 2026.

The 13 finalists represent a mix of size and sectors, including nine healthcare organizations, two nonprofits (one being a government entity), and one each in service and small business (a manufacturer). Applicants range in size from 450 to 5,500 employees and come from every region of the country.

A volunteer board of examiners will conduct evaluations. This year, 132 examiners were selected from more than 230 who applied and average 10 years of Baldrige experience. Examiners represent a broad range of sector and industry expertise.

Baldrige recipients will be announced later this fall/winter and will be recognized at the 2027 Quest for Excellence Conference, hosted by the Baldrige Foundation in Baltimore.

Background

With the passing of Public Law 100-107, the Baldrige Award was created by Congress in 1987, with the purpose of recognizing and raising the importance of performance excellence in driving U.S. and global economies; providing assessment tools and criteria; and educating leaders in all types of organizations and communities. The Baldrige Award recognizes the nation’s top-level performers in seven categories: manufacturing, service, small business, healthcare, education, nonprofit, and community. The award is not given for specific products or services, but rather overall organizational or community performance. Since the first Baldrige Award recipients were recognized in 1988, 144 awards have been presented (including 11 two-time award recipients and two three-time award recipients).

During the first year administered by the Alliance, the 2026 Baldrige Award cycle introduces several meaningful enhancements designed to simplify participation, strengthen feedback, and increase value for applicants and examiners. Those changes were announced in March 2026.

The Alliance for Performance Excellence is the umbrella organization for regional Baldrige-based programs throughout the United States. It promotes the Baldrige Excellence Framework and fosters a culture of excellence by providing resources, training, and recognition to organizations and communities seeking to enhance their performance. Beginning in 2026, the Alliance also administers the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on behalf of NIST. Learn more about the Alliance.