Russian government quality award: 25 years towards organizational excellence

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the Russian Federation Government Quality Award (RFGQA) over its 25-year existence. Design/methodology/approach: This paper looks into the evolution, model and key provisions of RFGQA, based on the authors’ long-time experience as an Award assessor. Apart from that, methodologically, this study uses the desktop research method, comparative literature review. Findings: The research results show that RFGQA over its 25 years has become the most popular approach to the development of organizational excellence for Russian enterprises and organizations, regardless of the sphere of activity. Research limitations/implications: This paper presents the core results of RFGQA’s 25-year existence. The comparison of the current Russian Quality Award model with the new European Foundation for Quality Management model is not analyzed. Originality/value: This research paper extends current knowledge of national quality awards and presents an original set of information about RFGQA, its methodology and results.