Sponsors

Basement
Systems, Inc.

Cartus, Inc.

Connecticut
Department of Labor

Honeywell
Life Safety

Mr. ComputerHead

On Site Gas Systems

Pfizer, Inc.

Pratt & Whitney

Robinson &
Cole, LLP

TRUMPF

The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award, America�s oldest state-level award using The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria for Performance Excellence has three levels of Baldrige-based awards:
� CQIA Innovation Prize (CIP)
� Connecticut Breakthrough Quality Award
� Connecticut Leadership Quality Award

Eligibility for the CQIA Innovation Prize: All organizations with a facility located in Connecticut are eligible: manufacturing, service, health care, education, and not for profit, as well as municipal, state and federal governments. No limit is imposed on the number of applications from any one organization. Groups within an organization are also eligible for CQIA Innovation Prizes.

"At On Site Gas, we feel it is a privilege to design and build systems that save lives, protect the environment, and offer simple, cost-effective solutions to our customers. We are honored to receive CQIA's Platinum Innovation Prize which represents the pinnacle of Connecticut business innovation, product ingenuity and sales success."
Guy Hatch, CEO, On Site Gas Systems

"With Open Yale Courses, Yale has opened its classrooms to the world. In receiving a CQIA Innovation Prize, we are proud to stand side by side with other innovators in our home state. This great honor will continue to inspire us to work vigorously and collaboratively to create innovative teaching and learning materials."
Diana E. E. Kleiner, Dunham Professor History of Art & Classics, Yale University

"St. Vincent's Medical Center's goal is to provide the Safest environment for our patients and to continuously drive new and better ways to provide care and service to our community. We are very proud to be recognized by CQIA and humbled to be amongst the other honorees both past and present."
Susan L. Davis RN, Ed.D, President & CEO, St. Vincent's Medical Center

"The Gold Plaque hangs proudly on our wall. The CQIA is a tremendous organization with nothing but excellence on their minds. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them as they seek out the best of the best."
� Vince Yevoli, President, Yardney Technical Product, Inc.

"TOPEX is very proud to receive the distinguished gold CQIA Innovation Prize from the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership. We are pleased for the recognition from such a quality focused organization for our innovative engineering efforts and clinical application of a specially designed x-ray system for the treatment of skin cancer."
� John Brenna, President, TOPEX, Inc.

Information:
For additional clarification and assistance with preparing CQIA Innovation Prize applications, please contact:

Sheila Carmine,
Founder and Executive Director The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc.

PO Box 1396
Stamford, CT 06904-1396

Telephone: 203 322-9534
Fax: 203 329-2465
E-mail: cqia@aol.com
www.ctqualityaward.org

"Yale is striving to be the "greenest" University campus in the world. The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award�s Innovation Prize validates our efforts in the use of bio-diesel fuels in our transit system, and spurs us to strive for future innovations to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet! We�re very proud to receive this award."
� Janet Lindner, Associate Vice President for Administration, Yale University

"Robinson & Cole is honored to have won a gold award for our SUCCESS program. We are pleased that the hard work, innovation and results of SUCCESS, which seeks to make attainment of a college degree more achievable for our urban youth, are so well in tune with CQIA."
� Eric Daniels, Managing Partner, Robinson & Cole, LLP

"We are very proud to receive this honor from the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership. Innovation is a hallmark of Pitney Bowes. We invest significant time and resources to deliver leading-edge mailstream solutions that help meet our customer�s needs.
� Jon Love, President, Pitney Bowes Government Solutions

"The Gold CQIA Innovation Prize validates our commitment to improving patient surgical outcomes by reducing the transfusion of blood bank products with their associated problems and exponential costs."
� Keith A. Samolyk, CCP, PCP, President and CEO, Global Blood Resources LLC

"It was a great honor to receive a gold innovation prize from CQIA. The award validates Xerox�s efforts in developing an innovative Toner Technology with many customer required attributes."
� Dr. Hadi Mahabadi, VP and Director, Xerox Research Centre of Canada

"Cartus is thrilled to have received a gold award two years in a row. The CQIA awards are clearly the best proof of Cartus� ability to consistently seek opportunities to enhance and improve daily processes that will ultimately benefit our global mobility clients."
� Kevin J. Kelleher, President and CEO, Cartus

"Being awarded an innovation prize adds credibility to our marketing efforts, and instills confidence in our customers."
� Lawrence Janesky, President, Basement Systems Inc.

"We are proud to be included with companies that are the State�s best innovators. It validates Griffin�s efforts to be an innovator and trendsetter in the change-allergic healthcare industry."
� Bill Powanda, Vice President, Griffin Hospital

"Receiving a gold CIP allows us to effectively communicate Trumpf �s innovation goals to our current and prospective clients."
� Rolf Biekert, President and CEO, TRUMPF Inc

2008 CQIA INNOVATION PRIZE WINNERS

PLATINUM
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Cheshire
On Site Gas Systems, Inc.
Newington

GOLD
ATMI
Danbury
Basement Systems Inc.
Seymour
CIGNA Pharmacy Management
Hartford
Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc.
East Hartford
GE ecomagination
Fairfield
GraphLogic Inc.
Branford
Insurity
Hartford
Pfizer Global Research & Development
New London
St. Vincent's Hospital
Bridgeport
Yale University
New Haven
Yardney Technical Products
Pawcatuck

SILVER
Basement Systems, Inc.
Seymour
Cartus
Danbury
Common Ground High School
New Haven
Connect-ability
Hartford
Defibtech
Guilford
Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic
Education Connection
Litchfield
Fairfield University
Fairfield
FAST
North Haven
Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce
Glastonbury
Greenfield Online
Wilton
Greenwich Hospital
Greenwich
Hartford Hospital
Hartford
HID Corporation
New Haven
Housatonic Community College
Bridgeport
Insurance and Financial Service Center for Education Excellence
Bridgeport
InternHere.com
Rocky Hill
MXenergy
Stamford
Nufern
East Granby
Nuride
Essex
OPS
Shelton
Owl Computing Technologies
Ridgefield
Qualidigm
Middletown
Robinson & Cole LLP
Hartford, New London and Stamford
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
Hartford
St. Vincent's Medical Center
Bridgeport
Syfact
Stamford
Tournament One
Stamford
TriHealix
Norwalk
Triple Point Technology
Westport
TRUMPF
Farmington
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington
University of New Haven
West Haven

"The recognition we received from CQIA is like a giant pat on the back. The affirmation inspires us to further innovation. This yields performance improvement."
� Fred Sexton, Vice President, Northeast Foods, Inc.

"Winning a Gold (and Silver) prize is an honor for which we are most proud. The Award has provided our products with valuable exposure, reinforced our company�s innovative image, and added focus to quality innovation- results based issues."
� Mort Wallach, President/CEO, PEL Associates

"As a mid-sized nonprofit in the human services field, we are constantly striving to hold our quality standards equal to those of the corporate world. Our CIP award recognized our advances and encouraged our staff to continue their efforts toward high quality and innovative programming."
� Besty Perlato, Executive Director, ChapelHaven

"The CQIA Innovation Prize has prompted many requests from peers interested in seeing our robotic technology. We are pleased to share our experience and results with other industry leaders."
� Mary Inguanti, Vice President Operations, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center

"Winning a CIP had an immediate and very positive impact on the pride of our employees that has carried over into all aspects of our work. PR has been fantastic and helps us stay above our competition.
� Philip L. White, President and CEO, Better Packages, Inc.

"Being recognized as a CQIA Innovation Prize winner encouraged our staff, but applying for and winning the Connecticut Breakthrough Quality Award actually moved us closer toward ultimately submitting a Baldrige application."
� Lucille Janatka, President and CEO, Midstate Medical Center

"The Platinum CIP assured us that the large public companies in Connecticut ARE our peers. The opportunity to attend the luncheon, take pause from our day-to-day, and reaffirm why we all do what we do, regardless of the size, mission or product of the organization is priceless. It refills our fuel tanks and reenergizes our resolve."
� Frank Hersey, President, Z-Medica

"The next step is to dip into the waters of the Connecticut Breakthrough Quality Award. Our biggest customer expects us to receive recognition from outside organizations as validation of the improvements we�ve made."
� Steve Giacalone, Quality Systems Manager, Automatic Rolls of New England

Application Requirements: On your first letterhead stationery, please give your application a title followed by a short phrase explaining the innovation. Applications are limited to one 8 x 11 inch, with no less than 10 point font size having � inch margins all sides of typewritten page that includes the following three sections:

All winning applications will be published in the 2009 CQIA Innovation Prize Winning Applications benchmarking book.

On the cover sheet written on your second piece of stationery � using one sheet for each CIP application -- please list the name, title, company, address, telephone number and e-mail address, as well as signature of the following three people: 1) the organization�s highest ranking officer, 2) the contact person who wrote the application, and 3) the person who will speak at the 2009 CQIA conference for this particular application if it reaches the gold or platinum level. Also include the number of organization employees in Connecticut and a statement that all applications may be copied and distributed for use by The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc.

Fee: $150 each included with the application, check made payable to Connecticut Quality Improvement Award -- 501(c)(3) Federal tax ID 061231938 -- and mailed to
CQIA, PO Box 1396,
Stamford, CT 06904-1396.

The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not for profit Connecticut organization, receives no funds from either state or federal government. All funding comes from Sponsors, application fees and conference registration.

Deadline: Applications must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, April 28, 2009. For clarification, draft submissions must be e-mailed to cqia@aol.com no later than Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Winners will be notified by July 7, 2009.
If after five business days since mailing a CQIA Innovation Prize application, you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement, immediately contact Sheila Carmine at 203 322-9534.

Judges: A minimum of 15 CQIA 2009 Examiners trained in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria for Performance Excellence. To receive information about becoming a CQIA Examiner, please contact Sheila Carmine, Founder and Executive Director, 203 322-9534.

Prizes: Winners will be recognized on three levels based on careful and thorough understanding and completion of the three application requirements listed above. The three levels are Silver, Gold and the highest, Platinum. The selection of award winners at Platinum, Gold, or Silver levels involves a comparison with other applications. It is, by necessity, a subjective task based on the experience and judgment of the examiners although historically it has been shown that the highest level awards involve applications with at least some of the following characteristics: a) a new or significant improvement for the creating or adopting organization; b) a novel product, service or process, and c) potential for long-term impact or fostering ongoing innovation.

22nd Anniversary Conference: All winning applications will be published in 2009 Connecticut best practices book, Connecticut�s fourteenth benchmarking book that will be distributed along with recognition plaques and photographs at The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership�s 22nd Annual Conference on Quality and Innovation, Friday, October 23, 2009 at Water�s Edge Resort in Westbrook. Senior leadership from Platinum and Gold winning organizations may be requested to speak at the 2009 Conference and will be invited to serve with CQIA�s 2010/2011 Advisory Group.