EFQM Excellence Award
The EFQM Excellence Award is a transnational quality award that recognises European businesses with "excellent and sustainable results" across all areas of the EFQM Excellence Model. It was established in October 1991 as the European Quality Award by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The assessment process is one of the most robust of any award, with a team of independent assessors spending an average of 500 hours per applicant reviewing documentation and conducting interviews on-site. Award Categories. The Award is open to organisations from both the Private and Public Sectors. Applicants will either be  recognized as "Finalists", "Prize Winners" or "Award Winners". An "Award Winner" is an organisation that is able to demonstrate that they are considered a role model for the Fundamental Concepts of Excellence, as defined in the EFQM Excellence Model. There are 4 categories: 1. Large Private Sector (over 1000 employees) 2. Small / Medium Private Sector (less than 1000 employees) 3. Large Public Sector (over 1000 employees) 4. Small / Medium Public Sector (less than 1000 employees) An independent jury of experts review the applications and the reports from the assessments. Each year, they can decide to give multiple awards, in line  with the Award Categories. The last time there were multiple winners was 2008, when BMW won in the Large Private Sector category and St. Mary's College won in the Small / Medium Public Sector category. However, if no organisation can adequately demonstrate they are a role model, they can decide there is no Award Winner that year. This last happened in 2010.