[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30049-30050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12573]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of partially closed meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award (Judges Panel) will meet in on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, from 
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The purpose of this meeting is to 
discuss and review the role and responsibilities of the Judges Panel 
and information received from the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) in order to ensure the integrity of the Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award (Award) selection process. The agenda 
will include: Judges Panel roles and processes; Baldrige Program 
updates; new business/public comment; lessons learned from the 2014 
judging process; and the 2015 Award process. A portion of this meeting 
is closed to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be 
examined and discussed.

DATES: The Judges Panel will be held on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 from 
9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The portion of the meeting, 
from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will include discussions on the Judges 
Panel roles and processes and Baldrige program updates. This session is 
open to the public. Please note admittance instructions under the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. The portion of the 
meeting from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., will include discussions on 
lessons learned from the 2014 judging process and on the 2015 Award 
process. This session is closed to the public in order to protect the 
proprietary data to be examined and discussed.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, Building 101, Lecture Room A, 100 Bureau 
Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Fangmeyer, Director, Baldrige 
Performance Excellence Program, National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1020, Gaithersburg, Maryland 
20899-1020, at telephone number (301) 975-2360, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3711a(d)(1) and the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App.

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 
U.S.C. App., notice is hereby given that the Judges Panel of the 
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will meet on Wednesday, June 
10, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The Judges Panel is 
composed of twelve members, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, 
chosen for their familiarity with quality improvement operations and 
competitiveness issues of manufacturing companies, services companies, 
small businesses, health care providers, and educational institutions. 
Members are also chosen who have broad experience in for-profit and 
nonprofit areas. The Judges Panel will assemble to discuss and review 
the role and responsibilities of the Judges Panel and information 
received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 
order to ensure the integrity of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award selection process. The agenda will include: Judges Panel roles 
and processes; Baldrige Program updates; new business/public comment; 
lessons learned from the 2014 judging process; and the 2015 Award 
process. A portion of this meeting is closed to the public in order to 
protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed.
    The portion of the meeting, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern 
time, will include discussions on the Judges Panel roles and processes 
and Baldrige program updates and is open to the public. Individuals and 
representatives of organizations who would like to offer comments and 
suggestions related to the Panel of Judges' general process are invited 
to request a place on the agenda. Approximately one-half hour will be 
reserved for public comments, and speaking times will be assigned on a 
first-come, first-served basis. The amount of time per speaker will be 
determined by the number of requests received, but is likely to be 
about 3 minutes each. The exact time for public comments will be 
included in the final agenda that will be posted on the Baldrige 
Performance Excellence Program Web site at http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/community/overseers.cfm. Questions from the public will not be 
considered during this period. Speakers who wish to expand upon their 
oral statements, those who had wished to speak, but could not be 
accommodated on the agenda, and those who were unable to attend in 
person are invited to submit written statements to the Baldrige 
Performance Excellence Program, Attention Nancy Young, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 
1020, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-1020, via fax at 301-975-4967 or 
electronically by email to [email protected].
    All visitors to the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
site will have to pre-register to be admitted. Please submit your name, 
time of arrival, email address and phone number to Nancy Young no later 
than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Thursday, June 4, 2015, and she will 
provide you with instructions for admittance. Non-U.S. citizens must 
submit additional information; please contact Nancy Young. Contact Ms. 
Young, by email at [email protected] or by phone at (301) 975-2361. 
Also, please note that under the REAL ID Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-13), 
federal agencies, including NIST, can only accept a state-issued 
driver's license or identification card for access to federal 
facilities if issued by states that are REAL ID compliant or have an 
extension. NIST also currently accepts other forms of federal-issued 
identification in lieu of a state-issued driver's license. For detailed 
information please contact Ms. Young or visit: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/.
    The portion of the meeting from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern 
time, will include discussions on lessons learned from the 2013 judging 
process and on the 2014 Award process, and is closed to the public in 
order to protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed. The 
Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, 
with the concurrence of the Acting, Assistant General Counsel for 
Administration, formally determined on May 19, 2015, pursuant to 
Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended by 
Section 5(c) of the Government in Sunshine Act, Public Law 94-409, that 
a portion of the meeting of the Judges Panel may be closed to the 
public 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 meeting 
is likely to disclose

[[Page 30050]]

information that could significantly frustrate implementation of a 
proposed agency action. Portions of the meeting involve examination of 
prior year Award applicant data. Award applicant data are directly 
related to the commercial activities and confidential information of 
the applicants.

Kevin Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2015-12573 Filed 5-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P