Baldrige Excellence Framework (2026 Revision)(Digital Download)

Strengthen performance. Build resilience. Advance excellence.

The Baldrige Excellence Framework® is a nonprescriptive, systems-based framework that helps organizations improve performance, align strategy and operations, strengthen resilience, and achieve meaningful results.

Whether your organization is beginning its improvement journey or advancing toward national recognition, the Framework provides a clear structure for understanding where you are, identifying what matters most, and building the capabilities needed for long-term success.

A Proven Framework for Better Organizations

High performance does not come from improving individual departments in isolation. It requires leaders to understand how strategy, customers, workforce, operations, information, and results work together as one integrated system.

The Baldrige Excellence Framework helps leaders ask better questions, identify strengths and gaps, establish priorities, and create an organization capable of learning, improving, and adapting.

It does not prescribe a single method or operating model. Instead, it helps organizations evaluate their own approaches based on their mission, environment, stakeholders, and strategic objectives.

What Is Included

The Organizational Profile

Establish the context for your organization by examining its mission, vision, values, workforce, customers, stakeholders, operating environment, strategic challenges, and competitive position.

Six Integrated Categories

Evaluate the systems and practices that shape organizational performance across leadership, strategy, customers, organizational intelligence, workforce, and operations.

Three Maturity Pathways

Use the Establishing, Developing, and Maturing Pathways to apply the Framework at the level that best reflects your organization’s current capabilities.

Evaluation Dimensions and Scoring Rubrics

Assess organizational processes using ADLI and evaluate organizational results using LeTCI. The scoring system provides a disciplined way to understand maturity, identify priorities, and measure progress.

Core Values and Concepts

Explore the beliefs and behaviors commonly found in high-performing organizations, including systems perspective, visionary leadership, customer-focused excellence, valuing people, agility, resilience, organizational learning, innovation, ethics, and management by fact.

Guidance for Today’s Operating Environment

Consider emerging leadership and management issues such as artificial intelligence, technology, resilience, innovation, organizational learning, workforce capabilities, and long-term competitiveness.

Glossary and Application Guidance

Use the expanded glossary, examples, explanations, and supporting guidance to improve understanding and promote consistent application across your organization.

Designed for Organizations at Every Stage

The Framework can support organizations that are:

1. Establishing foundational leadership and management practices
2. Strengthening consistency and process discipline
3. Aligning systems across departments and functions
4. Conducting an organizational self-assessment
5. Developing strategic and operational priorities
6. Preparing for an external assessment or recognition process
7. Building a culture of improvement, innovation, and organizational learning

The Framework is applicable to businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities of every size.