Become a Baldrige Examiner
Clickhere for the online Examiner Application
Applications to serve on the 2026 Baldrige Board of Examiners are now open, due Friday, May 15 at 8:00PM ET!
Improve American Performance & Enrich Your Career!
If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind professional development and networking opportunity – and the chance to make a meaningful contribution to organizational and community improvement as well as U.S. competitiveness – apply to serve as a volunteer on the 2026 Baldrige Board of Examiners.
Each year, leading experts from U.S. business, health care, education, nonprofit and governmental organizations serve in a unique and elite role on the Baldrige Board of Examiners. These volunteers represent every size and type of organization in the nation, as well as every functional role important to organizational and community success.
Benefits of Serving as an Examiner
- Gain experience in organizational and community assessment by reviewing applications from applicants across the United States, observing and learning what drives true performance excellence and resilience
- Develop analytical, consensus-building, and many other professional skills that can advance your career and your organization’s improvement efforts
- Network with leaders and professionals who are all passionate about continuous improvement and personal growth
- Be recognized for service by the Secretary of Commerce and the NIST Director
- Be recognized for your contributions to U.S. performance excellence at the Baldrige Award Ceremony and Quest for Excellence Conference
Who Should Apply
- U.S. Citizen or permanent resident of the United States
- Experts in leadership and governance, operations, workforce, customer and markets, finance, strategy, organization development and learning, and community collaboration
- Experts in manufacturing, service, health care (acute and long-term care), education (K12 and higher education), and nonprofit (including government)
- Quality, continuous improvement, and performance excellence experts and consultants
Reflecting the changes to the 2026 Award cycle, examiner selection will follow the following guidelines:
- Preference given to examiners with recent (last 2 years: 2024-25) national examiner experience
- Consideration given to examiners with recent (last 4 years: 2022-25) Alliance member experience
- Other considerations given to examiners with less recent experience (before 2022), both national and Alliance member programs
- Limited number of new examiners (in 2026, most new examiners will be redirected to Alliance member programs)
Clickhere for the online Examiner Application
Applications to serve on the 2026 Baldrige Board of Examiners are now open, due Friday, May 15 at 8:00PM ET!
All examiners agree to uphold the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest statements. Members of the Board of Examiners are not compensated for their time; they serve voluntarily (however, site visit travel expenses are reimbursed).