U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award
for Virginia, Maryland and D.C.
Our Mission
The mission of SPQA is to promote continual improvement strategies and to provide training, mentoring, and recognition to organizations in pursuit of performance excellence.
SPQA is charged with administering the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award recognizing the highest caliber of performance excellence.
Our Work
SPQA fulfills its mission through the Award program and other lower-tier and mentoring programs. We provide Award applicants a comprehensive, low-cost organizational performance evaluation and an extensive feedback report. We train individuals to become experts at assessing and evaluating an entire organization based on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework and Criteria, and we conduct Baldrige-based workshops. See our Pathways to Excellence link in Services for our tiered approach to organizational improvement.
Our Story
Since 1982, SPQA has served organizations of all sizes from all sectors, and honored over 80 organizations with the prestigious Medallion Award in recognition of their achievement of performance excellence. We have trained hundreds of Examiners in the Baldrige criteria and methodologies to serve our Awards program and to support their own organization’s journey to performance excellence.
Featured Content
2025 Discovery Award
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) completed SPQA Discovery in May 2025, a Pathways to Performance Excellence (Tier III) milestone. Pathways milestones include a Tier IV Award Recognition also based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. Embracing the performance improvement journey signifies a critical leadership commitment and a superior focus on customers, stakeholders,…
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Training Opportunity 6/26
Making Excellence Routine: The Role of the BPR in a High-Performance System. Date & Time: Jun 26, 2025 01:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) Excellence is not a one-time achievement—it’s a habit built through disciplined, transparent processes. This session dives into how a well-executed Business Plan Review (BPR) becomes the engine of a high-performance system….
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SPQA Chair Letter
The Benefits of the United States Senate Productivity and Quality Award Pathways to Excellence Program: The United States Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA) Pathways to Excellence Program is a prestigious initiative designed to support organizations in their journey toward achieving operational excellence. Drawing inspiration from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the program…
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2025 Eastern State Hospital Award
The Achievement in Performance Excellence Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the SPQA program, recognizing organizations that demonstrate exemplary leadership, a strong commitment to continuous improvement, and a focus on delivering outstanding results. Congratulations to our 2025 award honoree, Eastern State Hospital (ESH). Their dedication to relentless advancement has set a benchmark…
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Performance Excellence
In this Introductory course, SPQA offers an opportunity for individuals and organizations to learn the foundations of performance excellence. The program is based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework. The Excellence Framework is a national model for organizational performance improvement. Through questions, the Framework guides organizations to a systemic and integrated perspective of an organization’s process. Process improvement…
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Pathways to Excellence
The Pathways to Excellence Program serves as a valuable resource for organizations seeking to enhance their performance and achieve excellence in their operations. Our structured framework, tiered assessment process, and emphasis on continuous improvement, the program helps organizations at all levels drive positive change and deliver greater value to their stakeholders. Our program is a…
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Kindness at Work Pays Off
Excellence involves many aspects of human interaction. Kindness is a valuable attribute and characteristic in high performance organizations. It may not be an item to check off in a process or task, but it is foundational to positive outcomes for organizations. As this article highlights, “Kindness is good for everyone.” Kindness at work fosters a…
Read More2024 VHHA Award
The Achievement in Performance Excellence Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the SPQA program, recognizing organizations that demonstrate exemplary leadership, a strong commitment to continuous improvement, and a focus on delivering outstanding results. In the 2024, Pathways to Excellence Award Cycle, VHHA is recognized due to its unwavering dedication to advancing healthcare…
Read More2023 Awards
Eastern State Hospital (ESH) & Educational Employee’s Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) Thank you to our 2023 award honorees, Eastern State Hospital (ESH) and the Educational Employee’s Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC). Their dedication to relentless advancement has set a benchmark in delivering superior service to customers, stakeholders, and employees alike….
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