Eligibility and guidelines for participation

Applying for the Delaware Quality Award—a win-win endeavor

The Delaware Quality Award external assessment process relies on the volunteer efforts of its Board of Examiners and expert Panel of Judges. This makes the Delaware Quality Award process extremely affordable and one of the best values of its kind.

Award eligibility requirements

The Delaware Quality Award in honor of W. L. (Bill) Gore was created in 1987 as a public-private initiative with the active support of the State of Delaware. By charter, the following eligibility requirements are in effect.

• To be eligible for the Delaware Quality Award, a business or organization must be in operation in the State of Delaware for at least three years.

• Only Delaware operations are eligible if an organization has operations outside of Delaware.

• Organizations receiving the Gore Award of Excellence are not eligible for the award the following year.

Please note the options available for organizations that do not qualify for the Delaware Quality Award.

Options for ineligible organizations

Companies or organizations that are not eligible or do not wish to apply for the Delaware Quality Award may take advantage of these options:

• Your company or organization may request a Baldrige Express or Baldrige Explorer eSurvey at any time without applying for the Delaware Quality Award.

• Depending upon availability of DQA Examiners, an organization may receive a full team assessment, including Site Visit and Feedback Report, without applying for the Delaware Quality Award. These application will not go to the Judges’ Panel. All application fees will apply. Contact the program manager for details.

Guidelines and recommendation for applicants

To improve the caliber of applications and to ensure that we can accommodate all eligible companies and organizations that apply, we ask applicants to adhere to these guidelines and recommendation.

1. Obligation to the Board of Examiners

• It is strongly recommended that organizations planning to apply for the Delaware Quality Award have at least one employee serve as a member of the Board of Examiners and complete one “full cycle” prior to submitting the organization’s application.

• Each applying organization should contribute at least one examiner in the year in which an application is submitted. If there are not enough examiners to accommodate all applications, preference will be given to organizations that have an examiner on the current Board of Examiners.

2. Using the Baldrige eSurvey

• The Baldrige Express or Explorer eSurvey may be used in place of a written narrative application at the Commitment or Merit Award levels. At the Gore Award of Excellence level only the Baldrige Explorer eSurvey may be used in place of a written application. Please contact the program manager to discuss the scheduling of a Baldrige eSurvey.

3. Guidance in writing the application

• The Delaware Quality Award offers several workshops throughout the year that focus on using the Baldrige Criteria. It is strongly recommended that organizations intending to submit an application send one or more representatives to the Delaware Quest for Excellence in February and attend a workshop on “Building Quality into Your Application.”

• Contact the program manager for mentoring opportunities with past recipients of the Delaware Quality Award and eSurvey options.

4. Deadlines and availability of Examiner Teams

• Please be cognizant of the deadlines for the Intent to Apply (March 1) and Written Application Submission (May 31). For applicants using a Baldrige Express or Explore eSurvey, completion of the survey will be scheduled in consultation with the program manager. A minimum of 25 employees must complete the eSurvey.

• In fairness to all participating organizations, if there is an inadequate number of DQA Examiners available, we respectfully reserve the right to either suggest alternative assessment, or recommend that external assessment be conducted in the following calendar year.

Questions?

Please contact the Delaware Quality Award to discuss any of the above guidelines.