Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Panel of Judges

AGENCY:

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of Closed Meeting.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app., notice is hereby given that the Panel of Judges of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will meet on Monday, November 14, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, November 17, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Friday, November 18, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Panel of Judges is composed of twelve members prominent in the fields of quality, innovation, and performance management and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, assembled to advise the Secretary of Commerce on the conduct of the Baldrige Award. The purpose of this meeting is to conduct final judging of the 2011 applicants. The applications under review by Judges contain trade secrets and proprietary commercial information submitted to the Government in confidence.

DATES:

The meeting will convene November 14, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. and adjourn November 18, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. The entire meeting will be closed.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Building, Lecture Room E, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Harry Hertz, Director, Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, telephone number (301) 975-2361.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Assistant Secretary for Administration, with the concurrence of the General Counsel, formally determined on March 7, 2011, that the meeting of the Judges Panel may be closed in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4) because the meeting is likely to disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person which is privileged or confidential and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B) because for a government agency the meetings are likely to disclose information that could significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action. The meeting, which involves examination of Award applicant data from U.S. companies and other organizations and a discussion of these data as compared to the Award criteria in order to recommend the 2011 Baldrige Award recipients, may be closed to the public.