The program, modeled after the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, offers a thorough and objective educational process through which an organization can learn and apply quality implementation techniques and assessment methods.

Organizations participating in the Award process join a growing number of Missouri organizations that are dedicated to promoting quality as a vital element to enhancing customer satisfaction and operational performance. Since its inception in 1992, 51 organizations have received the Award and have been regarded as role models for successful quality strategies. Through their willingness to help others, the Missouri Quality Award Recipients have encouraged other organizations to undertake their own quality improvement efforts.

Missouri Quality Award Process
The objectives of the Missouri Quality Award are to promote an understanding of the requirements for performance excellence and continuous improvement, and to stimulate sharing of improvement information on successful performance strategies and the benefits derived from using these strategies.

Award Participation
Any organization located in Missouri may participate in the MQA process. Separate Award categories are established for manufacturing, service, public sector, education, and health care. Within each eligibility category, Awards may be presented in the following size classes:

• Small--less than 100 employees
• Medium--100-499 employees
• Large - 500 employees or more

Criteria
Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria for Performance Excellence, the MQA Criteria set a common standard of excellence for all organizations and are the basis for granting the Award and providing feedback to applicants. The Criteria focus on results, are non-prescriptive and adaptable, support a systems approach to organizational goal alignment, and permit goal-based diagnosis.

Application Requirements
Applicants must submit an application package that consists of three parts:

1. An Eligibility Determination Form showing that eligibility has been approved
2. A completed Application Form
3. An application report consisting of a Business Overview and responses to the Award Criteria.
   

Application Review
Applications are reviewed and evaluated by members of the Board of Examiners in accordance with strict rules regarding conflict of interest, in a four-stage process:

Stage 1 - independent review and evaluation by at least five members of the MQA Board of Examiners;
Stage 2 - consensus review and evaluation for all applications;
Stage 3 - site visits to high-scoring applicants;
Stage 4 - Judges review and recommendations.

Feedback to Applicants
All applicants receive feedback reports at the conclusion of the review process. The feedback is based upon the applicant’s responses to the Award Criteria.

Non-disclosure
The Missouri Quality Award program is administered under a strict code of ethics which ensures that no applicant names are ever released unless they receive the MQA. In addition, any commentary and scoring information developed during the review are kept strictly confidential. Such information is available only to those individuals directly involved in the examination and only on those applications to which they are assigned.

Fees
Award fees have been established at modest levels to help defray expenses while still encouraging all eligible organizations to apply. Fees include a non-refundable payment of $150 that must accompany the Eligibility Determination Form, as well as a written application fee ranging from $3,600 to $5,000, depending on the size of the organization. These fees are set to cover all expenses associated with distribution of applications, review of applications, and development of feedback reports.

Applicants reaching the Site Visit stage will be assessed an additional fee to cover expenses and travel costs associated with site visit participation and development of site visit reports. The site visit fees are set at the time visits are scheduled.

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