Can we use Baldrige?

I subscribe to the Baldrige Blog and this interesting piece recently appeared. Basically, two federal government agencies were trying to prove that Baldrige is a good fit for government. Here's a summary of their findings:

STRENGTHS
•The Criteria are time tested, and results are proven.
•Receiving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is a thrill for the workforce, and the workforce becomes even more engaged and committed to the agency and its mission, vision, and values.
•Organizations that adopt the Criteria become learning organizations.
•The feedback from applying for the Baldrige Award comes from the "world's best consultants" at an extremely nominal fee (less expensive than almost all management consulting).

WEAKNESSES
•There is an incorrect mindset that Baldrige does not apply to government agencies.
•It is hard to capture immediate return on investment.
•There are a lack of role models and benchmarking opportunities among nonprofits.
•Leaders often change in federal agencies, with different leaders valuing performance excellence and Baldrige differently from other leaders.

OPPORTUNITIES
•Great opportunities exist in the feedback received and the chance to stand out among agencies as being stewards for taxpayer money.
•The President or his delegate recognizes Baldrige Award recipients as national role models.
•The Baldrige Criteria force an agency to become data-driven and a quality organization.

THREATS
•Other federal agencies may become jealous when one agency receives this Presidential honor.
•You make yourself transparent (not necessarily a threat) and expose organizational weaknesses.
•Bureaucracies are not very good at sharing best practices.
•Money does need to be spent on benchmarking, and budgets can be cut.
•Some agencies say they are too busy (however, Umber said that once the agency becomes more efficient with Baldrige, you find more space).

Based on this business case, what do you think?

We are beginning the Baldrige process in IPS. I hope we see these outstanding results!