Who We Are Southwest Alliance for Excellence (SWAE), formerly Arizona Quality Alliance, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that advances improvement and excellence in organizations, communities and individuals throughout Arizona, Nevada and Utah. SWAE is administered by a professional staff under the leadership and guidance of its members and elected Board of Directors. SWAE is also a member of the Alliance for Performance Excellence, a national network of state programs that advance improvement in organizations by using the Baldrige Criteria. Why We Do It As part of an alliance of diverse organizations and individuals committed to excellence and continuous improvement, we encourage the exchange of skills, ideas, and learning. The aim is to grow as individuals, improve organizational performance, and contribute to the well-being of our work systems, community, and state. How We Do It 1. Administer the Performance Excellence Program based on the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria; and annually recognize and showcase outstanding achievement in performance excellence. 2. Train individuals to become experts at assessing and evaluating entire organizations or individual processes using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. 3. Facilitate programs so organizations can share and learn proven best practices to achieve a competitive advantage. 4. Provide organizations with a comprehensive, cost-effective performance evaluation with extensive feedback based on the Malcolm Baldrige criteria. 5. Create and deliver relevant workshops, benchmarking tours and seminars that will develop the skills and knowledge of performance excellence professionals. 6. Provide a dynamic environment for professional networking and knowledge sharing. Our Mission to empower organizations to pursue performance excellence, improve outcomes and contribute to the economic strength of their community and state.