U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award
for Virginia and DC
Our Mission
The mission of Virginia 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
Virginia 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 winning the award.
Our Story
Since 1982, Virginia 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.
The Discovery Program is designed to introduce organizations and their leaders to a business improvement framework based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework.
Featured Content
January Webinar
Cultural diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility insights while using the Baldrige framework January 17, 2023 | 1:00 am to 2:00 pm Eastern Time ADD TO CALENDAR REGISTER NOW For more info click here DESCRIPTION Baldrige is a powerful approach to organizational excellence, with 36 years of experience improving U.S. product and service quality. Organized cultural…
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Apply to Become a SPQA Examiner
Work alongside dedicated others from a variety of sectors and positions to help improve the economic engine of the region one organization at a time. Apply to become a member of the 2023 Board of Examiners and immerse yourself in this proven methodology. More details are available in the downloadable Examiner Guide including relevant dates…
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Baldrige for Beginners
In this Introductory course, SPQA offers an opportunity for individuals and organizations to learn the foundations of the Baldrige Excellence Framework using the Baldrige Excellence Builder to help achieve long-term success. The Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework is a national model for performance excellence. Through questions, the Framework guides organizations to a systemic and integrated perspective…
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August Volunteer Spotlight
At SPQA, our support in helping organizations on their journey to excellence leverages the talents and experiences of our volunteer workforce. Each volunteer workforce member has a unique story to tell. In this article we have interviewed Henri Haskell, our former Vice-Chair for Operations. What interested you in becoming an Examiner with SPQA? Have always…
Read MoreMay Volunteer Spotlight
At SPQA, our support in helping organizations on their journey to excellence leverages the talents and experiences of our volunteer workforce. Each workforce member has a unique story to tell. In this article we have interviewed Jim Spengler, our Chair, to get his story. Why did you choose to become a Board Member for SPQA? …
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Organization Recognition
Participating in a Self-Assessment and receiving feedback from an Examiner team is the start of any organization’s improvement journey using the Baldrige Framework for Improvement. At the SPQA this program is called “DISCOVERY”. This year, the Educational Employee’s Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) submitted their Discovery Self-Assessment. They clearly have recognized the benefit…
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UNOS wins 2021 Award
SPQA is excited to announce UNOS winning the 2021 SPQA Achievement in Performance Excellence Award. We applaud them as they continue their journey toward implementing the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework. About the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the mission-driven non-profit…
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ESH wins 2021 Award
Eastern State Hospital took an important step this year on its journey toward implementing the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework by winning the 2021 SPQA Commitment to Performance Excellence Award. As the first public mental health hospital in the United States, Eastern State Hospital traces its roots back to…
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2021 SPQA Membership
Member Benefits When you become an SPQA member, you demonstrate to your customers and employees that you are committed to the SPQA mission and principles of performance excellence. Member benefits include: Demonstration of a commitment to excellence, 10% discount on all individual training, 10% discount on the Forum for Excellence, Discounted SPQA Award Program application…
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