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COE 2026 In the Media Across the Nation

Latest News Releases

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Presentations

October 28th, 2021 - Promising Practices from a Community of Excellence: Developing a Scorecard for Community Performance Excellence hosted by the Baldrige Institute for Performance Excellence.  The Baldrige Foundation, in conjunction with the Baldrige Institute for Performance Excellence, offers a series of webinars on topics of special interest. These webinars supplement the Quarterly Webinar Series and deal with issues that have a have special interest or are especially timely. Access the recording and slide deck using this link.

Delivering on our Commitment to Excellence - Toledo, Ohio's Journey.  This presentation was given as part of the 32nd Quest for Excellence Conference, a virtual showcase of best practices, April 12-15, 2021. 

October 6th, 2020 - The History of Communities of Excellence 2026 from Chair Lowell Kruse.  In August we recorded Lowell Kruse talking about COE 2026, how we formed, and why we believe this work is important.  The result is 2 videos.  The short version is 23 minutes long.  The complete presentation is 55 minutes long.

Introduction to Communities of  Excellence 2026 - A 9 minute presentation on Communities of Excellence 2026 including background on our organization, why we exist, and why we believe that adopting a Baldrige-based Framework is the approach communities need to address inequities and improve quality of life for residents

January 16th, 2020 - The Partnership for Excellence, Oklahoma Quality and Southwest Alliance for Excellence monthly webinar - Update on Communities of Excellence 2026.  In this hour long webinar COE 2026 Director Stephanie Norling provides a brief history of Communities of Excellence 2026, background on the Communities of Excellence Framework and the National Learning Collaborative, and concludes with stories from participating communities.

May 16th, 2019  - National Learning Collaborative Informational Webinar- This presentation by Stephanie Norling, Director of Communities of Excellence 2026. provides a history of our organization, an introduction to  the Communities of excellence framework, as well as details on how to join our National Learning Collaborative's next cohort.  Special guest presenter Angela Brandt provides the details of Toledo, Ohio's community excellence journey and panelists Lowell Kruse, Brenda Grant, Brian Lassiter and Manuel Castaneda add their insights to the conversation.  Download the slides here

March 28th, 2019  - The Baldrige Foundation Quarterly Webinar - in addition to organizational updates from Baldrige Foundation President and CEO Al Faber, Baldrige Performance Excellence Program Director Bob Fangmeyer, and Alliance for Performance Excellence Chair Brian Lassiter, this quarter's webinar features a presentation by Stephanie Norling, Director of Communities of Excellence 2026. Watch the webinar here.

January 17th, 2019 - The Partnership for Excellence monthly webinar - special guest Communities of Excellence 2026 Director Stephanie Norling.  In this hour long webinar Stephanie provides a brief history of Communities of Excellence 2026, background on the Communities of Excellence Framework and the National Learning Collaborative, and concludes with stories from participating communities. 

Parts I and II of the 2017 National Baldrige Quest for Excellence Conference Breakout Session: Communities of Excellence 2026:  San Diego's Journey.  Presented April 3rd, 2017 by Stephanie Norling and Anabel Poole.

Part I of a Learning Lab series on Communities of Excellence 2026: Using a Baldrige Framework to Drive Transformation. This five part series will share a framework for a systems-based approach to facilitating “community performance excellence”. Beginning with background context and the “why” of this approach, the series will also share success stories from high-performing communities and key learnings from field experts. It will culminate in a focus on sustainability and spreading what works.

Part II of our series:  Using Baldrige to Drive Transformation.  This Learning Lab centers on square-one fundamentals of a framework-based approach to community transformation, as well as context for this area of innovation. Participants will get to know the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and why it was adapted for community transformation, learn key features of the Communities of Excellence Framework, and identify first steps that a community can take.

Part III:  Learning From San Diego - Building Safe, Healthy, and Thriving Communities through Collaboration.  This Learning Lab will center on how government, non-profit, and business organizations in San Diego are using a Baldrige framework to create a safe, healthy, and thriving community for diverse residents. The effort is part of the Live Well San Diego initiative, which began in 2010 as a health improvement strategy, and evolved into a more holistic community improvement project.

Part IV:  Continue Learning From San Diego - COE Framework Aligning Community and Organization.  Guest Presenter Anabel Poole will discuss San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency Baldrige journey and how implementing the Communities of Excellence Framework has resulted in key insights regarding the way the Agency operates in the community.

Part V:  The Role of Values-based Leadership - Starting the Community Conversation.  Rick Norling, Vice-Chair and Co-Founder of Communities of Excellence 2026 will discuss the values that we believe underpin a Community of Excellence, the importance of community leaders that role model those values–based behaviors and how they can be reinforced to strengthen community partnerships. Guest Presenter Brenda Grant, Chief Strategy Officer at Charleston Area Medical Center will share experiences from the leadership team in Charleston of these values in action, what had to be in place to achieve them and how they’ve evolved. Brenda has worked extensively with the development, implementation, and long term success of community health programs and collaborative health networks at the Charleston Area Medical Center Health System.

From the 2016 National Baldrige Quest for Excellence Conference:  Using Baldrige to Improve Community Outcomes.  Presented April 5th, 2016 by Brian Lassiter, Max Summers, and Stephanie Norling

News & Events

Fundraisers and events help us raise awareness and generate crucial resources to serve our community. Join us at our next event and see how you can get involved.
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Events

Fundraisers and events help us raise awareness and generate crucial resources to serve our community. Join us at our next event and see how you can get involved.
Find out more.

The Need for Systems Change

To ensure better outcomes, all community sectors need to have a seat at the planning table, understand their role in improvement efforts, and work together on shared priorities. - Learn more about what we do

Kruse Scholars

Meet the Next Generations of Leaders:  Learn more about the Kruse Communities of Excellence Scholarship recipients
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