[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 103 (Friday, May 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33660-33661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12483]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award (Judges Panel) will meet in on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 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 2015 
judging process; and the 2016 Award process. A portion of this meeting 
is closed to the public in order to protect both proprietary data to be 
examined and discussed and information that could significantly 
frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action.

DATES: The Judges Panel meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 
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 2015 judging process and on the 2016 Award 
process. This session is closed to the public in order to protect both 
proprietary data to be examined and discussed and information that 
could significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency 
action.

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 8, 
2016 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. 
The Judges Panel will 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. The agenda will include: Judges Panel 
roles and processes; Baldrige Program updates; new business/public 
comment; lessons learned from the 2015 judging process; and the 2016 
Award process. A portion of this meeting is closed to the public in 
order to protect both proprietary data to be examined and discussed and 
information that could significantly frustrate implementation of a 
proposed agency action.
    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 
related to the Judges Panel's 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

[[Page 33661]]

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 2, 2016, and she will provide 
you with instructions for admittance. Non-U.S. citizens must submit 
additional information; please contact Nancy 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 2015 judging 
process and on the 2016 Award process, and is closed to the public in 
order to protect both proprietary data to be examined and discussed and 
information that could significantly frustrate implementation of a 
proposed agency action. The Chief Financial Officer and Assistant 
Secretary for Administration, with the concurrence of the Assistant 
General Counsel for Administration and Transactions, formally 
determined on May 19, 2016, 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 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,
NIST Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-12483 Filed 5-26-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P