[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 34657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12172]



[[Page 34657]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; 
Notice of Partially Closed Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award (Judges Panel) will meet on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, from 9:00 
a.m. to 4:00 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 2021 
judging process; recommended award process improvements from the Board 
of Overseers focus group; and the suspension of the 2022 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 meet on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 from 9:00 
a.m. Eastern Time until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The portion of the 
meeting that is closed to the public will take place on Wednesday, June 
15, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Courtyard Gaithersburg 
Washingtonian Center, 204 Boardwalk Place, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 and a 
virtual option will be available. Please note admittance instructions 
under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Fangmeyer, Director, Baldrige 
Performance Excellence Program, email [email protected] or 
phone number 301-975-4781.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 15, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The 
Judges Panel is composed of no less than nine and not more than twelve 
members, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, chosen for their 
familiarity with quality improvement operations and competitiveness 
issues of manufacturing companies, service companies, small businesses, 
nonprofits, health care providers, and educational institutions. The 
primary purpose of this meeting is to assemble to discuss and review 
the role and responsibilities of the Judges Panel and information 
received from NIST in order to ensure the integrity of the Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award selection process. During the closed 
session on June 15, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the Judges Panel 
will discuss lessons learned from the 2021 judging process and the 
suspension of the 2022 Award process. The agenda may change to 
accommodate Judges Panel business. The final agenda will be posted on 
the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/how-baldrige-works/baldrige-community/judges-panel.
    The open portion of the meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.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's business are invited to request a 
place on the agenda. Approximately 30 minutes will be reserved for 
public comments and speaking times will be assigned on a first-come, 
first-serve basis. The amount of time per speaker will be determined by 
the number of requests received but is likely to be about three minutes 
each. Questions from the public will not be considered during this 
period. Requests must be submitted by email to Robyn Verner at 
[email protected] and must be received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 
June 9, 2022 to be considered. 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 participate 
are invited to submit written statements by email to 
[email protected].
    Admittance instructions: All participants will need to pre-register 
to be admitted. Please contact Ms. Verner by email at 
[email protected] or 301-975-2361 and she will provide you with 
instructions for admittance in person or for virtual. All requests must 
be received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, June, 9, 2022.
    The portion of the meeting from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
will include discussions on lessons learned from the 2021 judging 
process and on the suspension of the 2022 Award process, and is closed 
to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be examined 
and discussed. The Acting Chief Financial Officer and Assistant 
Secretary for Administration, with the concurrence of the Assistant 
General Counsel for Employment, Litigation and Information, formally 
determined on November 1, 2021, 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 the meeting is likely to disclose information the premature 
disclosure of which would, in the case of any agency, be likely to 
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.
    Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.150(b), the Federal Register notice for 
this meeting is being published fewer than 15 calendar days prior to 
the meeting as exceptional circumstances exist. It is imperative that 
the meeting be held on June 15, 2022 to accommodate the scheduling 
priorities of the key participants. The Federal Register notice could 
not be published previously due to the need to accommodate schedules, 
as well as the logistical and scheduling challenges of arranging for an 
in-person meeting as well as a virtual option due to the COVID-19 
pandemic.

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

Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-12172 Filed 6-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P