Excellence in Motion | April 4–7, 2027 | Baltimore, Maryland
Join us for the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference, the official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award®, taking place April 4–7, 2027, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.
The premier conference for leaders committed to achieving world-class performance, the Quest for Excellence® Conference provides an opportunity to learn directly from Baldrige Award recipients and other high-performing organizations. Attendees will gain insights into best practices from the nation’s role models for organizational excellence, learning how to elevate performance results, strengthen leadership effectiveness, and drive lasting cultural transformation.
Through engaging presentations, interactive sessions, and opportunities to connect with leaders across sectors, participants will explore role-model best practices and learn ways to build deep customer and workforce engagement, foster continuous innovation, enhance resilience and sustainability, and align strategy with measurable outcomes. Whether you lead in business, health care, education, government, manufacturing, energy, or the nonprofit sector, the Quest for Excellence will equip you with the proven systems, strategies, and inspiration to achieve and sustain long-term success.
Learn. Connect. Engage.
Conference highlights include:
Presentations from 2026 Baldrige Award Recipients and other high-performing organizations
Keynote, Speakers, and Engaging Sessions featuring best practices across sectors
The Baldrige Award Ceremony and Reception honoring the 2026 Award Recipients
NEW THIS YEAR: State of Competitiveness—A National Leadership Conversation on Excellence, Innovation, Resilience, and Economic Strength
Opportunities to exchange ideas, build connections, and discover approaches to improving organizational performance
Pre-Conference Workshops
Attendees can expand their learning through three pre-conference workshop options:
Put the Baldrige Framework to Work: A Hands-On Experience in Assessing and Improving Organizational Performance
Culture Mapping: A Practical Tool for Building Intentional Culture
Value In, Excellence Out: Building Strategy and Excellence from the Stakeholder Up
Registration and Hotel Reservations
Conference registration and hotel reservations are now available through the Quest Event website. Once your Conference Registration is complete, you will be prompted to make your hotel reservations. IMPORTANT: DO NOT contact the Marriott directly to book your room. Any reservation made directly with the hotel will not receive the conference room block rate.
Hotel Room Block Deadline March 12, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Organizations are invited to become sponsors of the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference. Sponsorship provides valuable visibility among hundreds of attendees representing business, education, government, health care, nonprofit, and cyber sectors while providing tangible support for the Baldrige Program.
To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact:
Josh Racette
President & CEO, Baldrige Foundation
202-559-9195
Angela Richardson
Director, Institute for Performance Excellence, Baldrige Foundation
202-559-9195
Important Dates
Sponsor Registration: Now Open
Conference Program Advertisement Deadline: February 5, 2027
Foundation Awards Program Advertisement Deadline: February 5, 2027
Hotel Room Block Cut-Off: March 12, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Sponsorship Listing, Logo, and URL Submission: Due upon registration
Join us in Baltimore, April 4–7, 2027!
Be part of the conversation, shaping the future of organizational excellence. Learn from national role models, connect with performance excellence leaders, and take home actionable strategies to help your organization achieve lasting success
