About COE2026For America to sustain its vitality, promote opportunity, and create a more equitable society during its second 250 years of existence, we must improve the performance of communities and the people who lead and live in them.In 2013, Communities of Excellence 2026 was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Initially, we plan to test and refine the framework and criteria of community performance excellence in pilot settings of differing sizes and complexities: A large rural region, large urban region, and a small rural and urban community within those regions. Work with these pilot communities will help to refine the criteria for community performance excellence and to identify the tools needed to support communities as they implement the criteria. Eventually this criteria will be spread to any community across the country that chooses to pursue community excellence.Communities of Excellence 2026COE2026_5521bb12-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c556326Communities of Excellence 2026 was formed in 2010 by two former healthcare CEOs whose organizations won the National Baldrige Quality Award under their leadership. Beginning with a dinner conversation between friends, these founders agreed on the need for fundamentally new ways to address the grand challenges facing our nation in the educational attainment, economic vitality, and health status of our residents. As they transitioned out of being CEOs, both believed that the value of the Baldrige framework, proven to show results in businesses and organizations worldwide, showed great promise to address the fundamental changes needed in this country. The approach needed for community leaders and residents to come together to improve their communities is similar -- a systems-based approach based on a set of principles of performance excellence to drive learning for improvement and sustained, ongoing, meaningful systemic change.Baldridge Criteria ExpertsGradually this conversation expanded to include other experts in core sectors from around the country, and by 2012, a steering committee had formed. This committee began to examine ways to adapt the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence for use across sectors at the community level focusing specifically on education, economic vitality, and health.University of MinnesotaThroughout 2012 and 2013, work continued on the criteria for community performance excellence and the establishment of an organization to help communities implement them. Steering committee meetings at the University of Minnesota and a convening conference held in St. Joseph, Missouri attracted participants from six central states representing sectors including universities, businesses, foundations, and city, state, and national governments.Performance Excellence Network of MinnesotaTwo state quality organizations -- the Performance Excellence Network of Minnesota and the Excellence in Missouri Foundation, which work to help health care, education, and business enterprises in their states implement the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence -- also participated.Excellence in Missouri FoundationCOE2026 Board of DirectorsLowell C. KruseMHA -- Co-Founder and Chair -- Senior Fellow, Heartland Foundation, St. Joseph, MissouriRichard A. NorlingMHA -- Co-Founder and Vice-chair -- Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, San Diego, CaliforniaBrian LassiterSecretary -- President, Performance Excellence Network, Minneapolis, MinnesotaJoAnn Sternke, PhDSuperintendent, Pewaukee School District, Pewaukee, WisconsinRobert FangmeyerDirector, Baldrige Performance Excellence Program at NIST, Gaithersburg, MarylandTommy GonzalezCity Manager, El Paso, TexasRichard J. Umbdenstock, FACHEPresident Emeritus, American Hospital Association, Spokane, WashingtonLillian Rivera, PhDAdministrator/Health Officer, Florida Dept. of Health in Miami-Dade County, Miami, FloridaNatasha WrightPolicy Coordinator, United States Dept. of Health and Human Services and Kruse Scholar Alum, Washington, D.CBy 2026, we will have successfully adapted and refined the Communities of Excellence Framework and sustained a course of action among communities across the United States to embrace the framework to achieve and sustain excellence. Over the ensuing decades, this growing archipelago of communities across the country will achieve and sustain community performance excellence. These communities will consistently be the top-performing communities in the nation and their success will meaningfully influence others across the country to strive for community performance excellence. Building on the foundation of democracy and liberty established by the nation's founders, communities engaged with Communities of Excellence 2026 will have set America on course to again lead the world in educational attainment, economic prosperity, health status, and other key measures of community health and well-being._5521bcca-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c556326To assist and support communities to implement the Communities of Excellence Framework and achieve and sustain the highest quality of life for their people._5521bd9c-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c556326VitalityOpportunityEquitabilityPerformanceAchieve performance excellence in communities._5521be50-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c556326We believe that a framework proven to drive performance excellence in companies and organizations, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework, can be adapted to achieve performance excellence in communities. This framework can be used to bring sustainable results to those that live, work, and play within them across the key focus areas of community performance (educational attainment, economic vitality, health status, and safety). The framework will promote collaboration across key sectors and align the efforts of the businesses, organizations, school systems, and governmental organizations community-wide to implement and sustain community change. Communities that commit to adapting the principles and practices of Community Performance Excellence will achieve and sustain, for their residents, improved health and well-being, better educational outcomes, and more robust economic conditions by encouraging collaboration across sectors, identifying and pursuing community-driven goals, fact-based evaluation of progress, and instilling a culture of leadership and responsibility across generations.The Communities of Excellence Framework, designed specifically for communities, is based on the adaptation and translation of the Baldrige Principles of Performance Excellence, which have transformed organizations across the country. Using the Baldrige principles, these organizations have achieved significant and sustained improvements in performance, quality, and cost. The framework consists of six categories that span strategic and operational processes which must be aligned to drive outcomes (results) for the community as a whole. It will help region's leadership and community partners collectively assess their performance, their leadership, and assess where improvements and innovations are most needed in order to get measurable results for their residents.Alignment & ChangePromote collaboration across key sectors and align the efforts of the businesses, organizations, school systems, and governmental organizations community-wide to implement and sustain community change. _5521bf18-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c556326BusinessesOrganizationsSchool SystemsGovernmental OrganizationsCommunities that commit to adapting the principles and practices of Community Performance Excellence will achieve and sustain, for their residents, improved health and well-being, better educational outcomes, and more robust economic conditions by encouraging collaboration across sectors, identifying and pursuing community-driven goals, fact-based evaluation of progress, and instilling a culture of leadership and responsibility across generations.CollaborationEncourage collaboration across sectors._5521bfd6-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c5563261GoalsIdentify and pursue community-driven goals._5521c094-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c5563262MetricsPursue fact-based evaluation of progress._5521c15c-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c5563263Leadership & ResponsibilityInstill a culture of leadership and responsibility across generations._5521c21a-1cec-11e8-91ab-11966c55632642018-02-28http://www.communitiesofexcellence2026.org/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net