E6-17588. Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

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. 2, notice is hereby given that the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will meet Monday, November 13, 2006, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, November 16, 2006, and Friday, November 17, 2006, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Judges Panel is composed of ten members prominent in the fields of business, health care, education, performance, and quality management and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program, processes, and procedures within the guidelines set forth by the Baldrige Program's Board of Overseers.

DATES:

The meeting will convene November 13, 2006 at 9 a.m. and adjourn at 3 p.m. on November 17, 2006. The entire meeting will be closed.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building 222, Room A230, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Harry Hertz, Director, National Quality Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, telephone number [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The agenda will include review of the site visit process, review the final judging process and meeting procedures, review of post meeting feedback discussion with site visit team leaders, final judging of 2006 applicants, learning and improvements for 2007 judging cycle, update on the 2007 program, and review 2007 judges calendar. The Assistant Secretary for Administration, with the concurrence of the General Counsel, formally determined on December 27, 2005, that the meeting of the Judges Panel will be closed pursuant to Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, as amended by Section 5(c) of the Government in the Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94-409. The meeting, which involves examination of Award applicant data from U.S. companies, and health care and education organizations, and a discussion of this data as compared to the Award criteria in order to recommend Award recipients, may be closed to the public in accordance with Section 552b(c)(4) of Title 5, United States Code, because the meetings are likely to disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person which is privileged or confidential.

Dated: October 13, 2006.

James E. Hill,

Acting Deputy Director.