2003 Presidents Quality Award Program 
Criteria and Application Information

      
PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE
2003 Applications Due to OPM by September 5, 2003

This award will be given to organizations that have shown 
exemplary performance (approach and results) in any individual 
area of consideration and through their practices would serve 
as excellent role models for other organizations.  

The Office of Personnel Management proudly announces the 2003 
Presidents Quality Award Program.  In his management agenda, 
President George W. Bush has focused on several Governmentwide 
priorities for enhancing service to the American people.  This 
award program focuses on those priorities and recognizes the 
accomplishments of organizations that further the Administrations 
objectives.  Organizations will be recognized for their performance 
and results.  They will serve as role models and benchmarks for 
other organizations to attain similar success  so together we 
will attain President Bushs vision of a government that is 
citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based.

I. Criteria

AREAS OF CONSIDERATION

* An organization may apply for consideration under any 
one or all of the five initiatives  listed below, 
which we use as the categories for this program:

> Strategic Management of Human Capital;

>  Competitive Sourcing;

> Improved Financial Performance;

> Expanded Electronic Government; or

> Budget and Performance Integration.

CRITERIA FOR MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE

The criteria outlined below are aligned with, and are intended 
to support, the Presidents Management Agenda and the Executive 
Branch Management Scorecard.  Award nominations from Federal 
Government organizations will be evaluated based on the 
criteria outlined below.  Considerable attention will be given 
to the agency-wide level of success on their management scorecard.

Strategic Management of Human Capital

(a) Describe your human capital strategies and how they are 
linked to organizational mission, vision, core values, goals, 
and objectives.

(b) Describe how you are using strategic workforce planning, 
HR flexibilities, technology, and other tools to recruit, retain, 
and reward employees.
  
(c) Describe how you have developed your leadership and 
organizations culture to support a high-performing workforce 
that continuously improves its productivity.

(d) Describe your efforts in identifying the core competencies 
of the organization and how you determined the most effective 
and efficient way to develop and maintain those core competencies 
(i.e., building in-house capacity or contract for services).

(e) Describe how your human capital strategies and initiatives 
are supporting your agencys work on the other four 
government-wide management initiatives.

(f) What were your results?

Competitive Sourcing 

(a) Describe how you identify activities for potential 
competitive sourcing.

(b) Describe how you have promoted continuous improvement 
within the organization to ensure you have the most 
efficient organization.
(c) Describe your timely compliance with the FAIR Act 
and efforts made to accurately list all commercial 
activities performed by your employees.

(d) Describe how your senior leaders promote competition.

(e) Describe how your competitive sourcing initiatives 
are supporting your agencys work on the other four 
government-wide initiatives.

(f) What were your results?

Improved Financial Performance 

(a) Describe your efforts to improve timeliness, usefulness, 
reliability of, and access to financial management data 
such as operating expenses, budgets, cost data, erroneous 
payment rates, inventory, receivables, payables, etc., 
that support day-to-day operations.

(b) Describe how your financial management systems have 
been designed/reengineered to ensure that decision-makers 
have accurate, timely, and useful information.

(c) Describe how your financial management information is 
used to ensure your desired outcomes and affect performance.
(d) Describe how your improved financial performance is 
supporting your agencys work on the other four 
government-wide management initiatives.

(e) What were your results?

Expanded Electronic Government 

(a)  Describe your e-Government initiatives that enhance 
your mission efficiency (i.e., electronic applications, 
purchases, proposals, etc.)  How have these initiatives 
provided your customers better access, improved customer 
service, and reduced program costs?

(b) Describe your web enhancements that provide convenient 
customer-oriented access, and provide increased access for
persons with disabilities.

(c) Describe how your organization has realized productivity 
improvements by implementing customer relationship management, 
supply chain management, enterprise resource management, or 
knowledge management best practices. 

(d) Describe how your e-Government initiatives are supporting 
your agencys work on the other four government-wide management 
initiatives.

(e)  What were your results?

Budget and Performance Integration   

(a) Describe your process for developing performance goals 
and output targets.  How do you allocate resources in 
the context of past results?

(b) Describe how your planning and budget staff work with 
program managers to create an integrated performance plan 
and budget.  How do they monitor and evaluate program 
implementation?

(c) Describe your process for ensuring resources 
(staff and $) are aligned to support achievement of 
organizational goals. 

(d) Describe how your improved budget and performance 
integration is supporting your agencys work on the 
other four government-wide management initiatives.

(e) What were your performance and financial results?

EVALUATION GUIDELINES

We will consider the following areas when evaluating your 
application:

* Results  specific measurements that document success
* Impact on the success of your mission 
* Value to your customers  customer satisfaction
* Deployment  the extent of implementation
* Integration  the degree to which your process is 
integrated with other PMA initiatives and internal 
management systems
* Transferability  the degree to which your process and 
results can be replicated by other Federal Government 
organizations
* Sustainability  not a quick fix but rather long-term impact

II. Application Information

To qualify for the Award Program, an agency submission 
must meet the following conditions:

General Eligibility

> The submission must come from an agency that is part of 
the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

> The submission must cover an entire function, not just a 
branch or division.  For example, if an IT solution is being 
phased in but does not yet cover all the divisions in a 
bureau, it is not eligible.

> In the case of an interagency project that affects a number 
of agencies, the submission must come from the agency with 
lead responsibility.  

Future Eligibility of Previous Award Recipients

> Previous winners of the Presidential Award for Management 
Excellence may not apply again for 2 years, and only then if 
there has been significant change in terms of development and 
extension of the project.  For example, the 2002 award winners 
may not apply again until award year 2005.

> Award finalists may apply again at any time 

Agency Nomination Limitations

> Applications are limited to a maximum of five applications 
per cabinet department and executive agency.  

> The Department of Defense may submit a total of 20 applications 
for all their military departments and other Defense agencies.  

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Applications must:

* be narrative responses that clearly respond to each item 
(bullet) under the category for which you are applying;
* discuss your approach and breadth of deployment;
* indicate if the project (or process) has been adopted by 
other organizations;
* have documented results;
* be submitted in four hard copies and in electronic format 
on disk or CD-ROM (submitted with the hard copies);
* be submitted on 8  x 11 paper, with 1-inch margins and 
in no less than 12-point type;
* be accompanied by a nomination form (if submitting an 
application under more than one category, complete a 
nomination form for each); and
* be accompanied by a completed Organization Background 
form no longer than two pages.

Responses are limited to:

* no more than 10 pages for each nomination plus the Nomination 
Form and Organization Background Form.  No additional attachments 
or supporting documents exceeding the 10-page limit will be 
accepted.

Nomination forms must:

* be signed to certify accuracy of submission by the highest 
ranking official in the project organization; and
* be signed and submitted by the head of the agency or 
his or her designee.

Mail applications to:	Office of Personnel Management
      Presidents Quality Award Program
      1900 E Street NW, Room 5H36
      Washington, DC  20415

Program Point of Contact is:  Charles Kawecki
				202-606-1474
				cckaweck@opm.gov

SELECTION AND RECOGNITION PROCESS

* Initial application review:  September 2003
* Notification of winners: November 2003
* Awards ceremony:  December 2003

Organization Background
Tell us a Little About Yourself
(Maximum of 2 pages)

What is your mission?

What are your primary strategic goals and objectives?

Who are your primary customers?

What is your primary product or service?

How many employees do you have in your organization?  
(List by type of employee:  i.e., Federal 
Government, contractor, etc.)

NOMINATION FORM

NOMINATION CATEGORY:  (Please check one only.  
A separate Nomination Form is required for 
each category nominated)

___	Strategic Management of Human Capital	

___	Competitive Sourcing

___	Budget and Performance Integration		

___	Improved Financial Performance

___	Expanded Electronic Government

1. Name of Organization (responsible for the 
project/initiative/process being submitted):  

 

2. Name of Parent Department or Agency (i.e., Department 
of Labor, Department of Defense, Environmental 
Protection Agency, etc.):  

 
3. Department/Agency Point of Contact: 

Name: 

Title:  

Mailing Address:  
		
   
Phone Number:

E-mail Address:  

4. Certification by Responsible Organization:  The 
person most senior in the organization responsible 
for the project must sign below:

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the 
information contained in this application is accurate.

Printed name 					

Title

Mailing Address: 

Phone Number: 

E-mail Address:  

Signature						

Date

5. Head of the Agency/Department:
 

Printed name					

Title

Signature						

Date