Wisconsin Forward Award—You Choose the Path
Applying for a Wisconsin Forward Award sets your district, school or classroom on a journey toward excellence. Whether returning as an applicant or just beginning your involvement with the WFA/Baldrige Criteria, the knowledge and insight you gain will help your organization improve efficiency, engage and satisfy students, parents, stakeholders and staff and helps demonstrate good stewardship of resources. Think of it as a low cost, high impact consulting service.
The Criteria are not a flavor-of-the-month management technique. They’re a comprehensive, proven approach to running your business. If you already use quality tools like Lean, Six Sigma or a Balanced Scorecard–great! The Criteria provide a framework for these tools and will help you align your improvement efforts so they work more effectively.
For organizations that are new to quality management, WCPE offers training and programming to address all levels of experience. We can help you launch a new era of performance and growth. No matter where you are in the process, the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence is here to help you along the way.
Wisconsin Challenge Profile is the perfect starting place for organizations new to WFA/Baldrige. The Challenger helps organizations get started by responding to straight forward questions about their organizational context and key results which will help lay groundwork for future improvement efforts—as well as future applications. Customized mentoring and follow up is available. Contact us for other quick, no cost assessment tools to jump start the conversation about WFA/Baldrige in your organization! Wisconsin Challenge Profile applications are accepted throughout the year.
Wisconsin Fast Forward is the beginning-to-intermediate-level application—it’s a stepping-stone for organizations aspiring to complete a full 50-page written Wisconsin Forward Award application. Wisconsin Fast Forward applications are accepted at any time throughout the year. Organizations submit a 15-20 page Fast Forward self assessment (there is no page limit) based on the basic and overall requirements of the Criteria for Performance Excellence. Organizations are welcome to submit a Fast Forward application whenever convenient for them. Fast Forward applicants are recognized at the annual awards gala to showcase their pursuit of advancing to higher levels of performance.
The Fast Forward application is most suitable for organizations that:
• Are new to internal organizational self-assessments and the Baldrige/WFA Criteria
• Want to engage employees in the organization’s management practices and related results
• Have some, but not most, of their key processes documented in some format
• Have favorable measures/results, and have started to trend data and use comparative data
Wisconsin Forward Award is a 50-page narrative application that is accepted twice a year—the Intent-to-Apply must be postmarked by October 31 or April 30 with applications being postmarked by January 15 or July 15.
Organizations submit a 50-page self-assessment based on the seven categories of the WFA/Baldrige Criteria:
1. Leadership
2. Strategic Planning
3. Customer Focus
4. Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
5. Workforce Focus
6. Operations Focus
7. Results
The Wisconsin Forward Award application is most suitable for organizations that:
• Conduct strategic planning
• Have a set of measures and targets
• Have identified, and are beginning to document, and measure the effectiveness of key customer, product, service, business and support processes
• Have human resource plans
• Have generally positive results over time (trends) in many to most key business areas and are using comparative and benchmark data to set targets
• Most importantly, are open to continued feedback for improvement, and want to celebrate their successes!
Baldrige Express Survey is an expanded organizational profile and key results designed for organizations in the to mid-to-advanced stages of the performance excellence journey who have limited time or resources to write a full 50-page narrative. Click here to go the Baldrige Express Survey page of our website.
DOWNLOADS
Download the Wisconsin Challenge Profile
Download the Wisconsin Fast Forward (short form application)
Download the Wisconsin Forward Award full application (50 page narrative application)
Download the Baldrige Express Survey application
Download the Baldrige Express Intent-to-Apply form
2011–2012 Business/Nonprofit Criteria for Performance Excellence
2011-2012 Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence
2011-2012 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence
If you are applying using the Baldrige Express survey pathway, use these adapted Criteria questions to develop an expanded Organizational Profile and present key results. Contact the WFA Office at (608) 663-5300 or menzer [at] wisquality [dot] org to arrange for your organization to take the Baldrige Express Survey.
Other documents that may be useful to you include:
• Tips for Applicant Organizations (Word)
• A Guide to the WFA Review Process (PDF)
You can also download a guide to WFA scoring bands and recognition levels, which includes characteristics of each scoring band in terms of both process and results.
Sample Application Materials
Application summaries for many Baldrige-winning organizations can be found on the Baldrige National Quality Program website
