2026 Baldrige Framework Updates & Webinar
Continuous improvement is a journey and your roadmap just got an upgrade! The national program has officially released the 2026 Baldrige Excellence Framework®, introducing a streamlined structure designed to meet your organization exactly where it is today.
One of the most groundbreaking changes to the Framework is a transition from Basic, Overall, and Multiple requirements to the NEW Baldrige Maturity Pathways. The new framework introduces three clear entry points:
Builds operational awareness, helping teams pinpoint how work gets done, what matters most, and what to measure.
Strengthens discipline, introducing consistency, reliability, and data-driven decision-making.
Advances system integration, aligning strategy, people, processes, and results into a cohesive, learning-driven system.
The updated Maturity Pathways meet organizations where they are by providing plain-language criteria to help them better understand how they currently operate, their consistent and reliable processes, and how effectively they use results to drive decisions and improvement. These enhancements are intended to simplify the assessment process for applicants and examiners and, hopefully, increase the accessibility of the Framework for new organizations interested in starting their Baldrige journey.
Want to learn more about the all the changes? Keep reading to learn how Oklahoma Quality Foundation plans to roll out the new Framework!
To ensure continuity, all 2026 OQF Award applicants will continue using the 2023-2024 Framework for this award cycle. No changes this year!
The National Baldrige Alliance will be hosting a free one-hour webinar on September 2nd at 12:00 CST with a high-level overview of the Framework changes. Register for the webinar through the button below.