GRQC is your trusted partner on the path to sustained excellence.
GRQC helps area organizations achieve sustained performance excellence by helping their leaders and teams learn and adopt best practices in improvement processes and organizational culture. We offer a broad range of easy-to-access services to meet the needs of all organizations, regardless of size, sector or experience with continuous improvement.
Apply Now for the 2026 Performance Excellence Awards!
The Greater Rochester Quality Council (GRQC), an affiliate of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to announce the 2026 Performance Excellence Awards.
The GRQC Performance Excellence Award Program supports organizations across all sectors of the economy gain valuable insights into strategic areas of their operations, connect with like-minded leaders in high-performing organizations, and earn formal recognition for achieving excellence through continuous improvement methodologies.
Application deadline extended to June 5, 2026. Apply now!
Join us for these upcoming events
Wed, Jun 24WebinarThe military is an oft-overlooked source of knowledge about the application of quality and leadership principles.
Learn About Partner Programs and Events
Upcoming PEN Programs
We are pleased to invite you to these programs presented by Performance Excellence Network (PEN).
When Everything Is a Priority: Leading Strategic Focus in Disrupted Systems - June 11 PEN Webinar
In an environment where disruption is constant and competing demands are relentless, organizations often find themselves in a state where everything is a priority. This session focuses on what leaders actually do in that moment: how they decide what to stop, what to sequence, and what to defer - and how they communicate those decisions in a way that maintains trust and alignment.
Attendees will explore how leaders can cut through complexity to establish clarity, focus, and disciplined execution. This session will outline a practical, integrated approach that connects the strategic plan, organizational action plan, and project portfolio management processes into a cohesive system for decision-making. Participants will learn how to define a limited set of organizational priorities, translate them into actionable goals, and use structured portfolio management methods to assess which projects advance strategic outcomes and which should be deferred or stopped.
Participants will:
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Simplify deployment of your strategic priorities to the workforce
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Apply structured methods to evaluate and prioritize initiatives
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Establish governance models that ensure execution discipline and accountability
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Use data-driven approaches to continuously reassess priorities in dynamic environments
This session is for leaders working in environments where:
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priorities regularly compete for limited time, capacity, and resources
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multiple initiatives are active, but focus and alignment are unclear
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decisions about what to stop or defer carry real organizational impact
Click here for more information and registration.
June 25 PEN Webinar: TBA
New Course Offerings at MCC
The Economic & Workforce Development Center of Monroe Community College offers easy-to-access programs for people with a wide variety of learning needs, schedules and budgets. Here are some of their offerings.
New sessions of the LSS Green Belt and Black Belt start in March. Here are links to full descriptions of both courses:
To ensure quality, cost control and on time project delivery, Project Management skills are essential not only for those leading key projects but also for project team members. MCC’s Corporate College is offering the following Project Management courses in February 2026:
Fundamentals of Project Management
Project Management Body Knowledge Best Practices
Click here for a listing of all of the Professional Development courses.
The Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center is designed to focus on rapid training, retraining and upskilling of technical middle-skilled workers in demand by local employers. Through innovative partnerships and technical programming, the FWD Center is a catalyst in developing our region’s economy. Employers and individuals, click here for more information.
New Courses from RIT|Certified
Yellow, Green and Black Belt certification via an academic (for-credit) pathway are available every semester. Use the following links for information about these programs:
We are launching four courses that would enable someone to gain entry into the semiconductor industry (three begin in March, one in May). Through four integrated courses, learners will explore the principles of semiconductor technology and its impact on society, gain hands-on knowledge of integrated circuit design, dive into thin film processes and vacuum systems, and master CMOS processing fundamentals. Participants will learn how to analyze, design, and troubleshoot fabrication processes while building a strong foundation in the physics and chemistry that drive semiconductor manufacturing.
Integrated Circuits Technology
Complementary Metal-Oxide Processing
Networking Technologies equips people with core networking skills and knowledge aligned with the CompTIA Network+ certification. Participants will learn how to install, configure, and troubleshoot networks across various environments, as well as how to support essential operations and apply security best practices.
Click here to visit the RIT|Certified website and search for courses.
GRQC Partner Events
View presentations and videos from recent
GRQC programs
Organizational Change Management: From Theory to Practice
All organizations are navigating unprecedented shifts—technological transformation, evolving expectations, demographic pressures, and the need for agile, innovative leadership. This virtual panel brings together two distinguished leaders from RIT’s Saunders College of Business to explore how institutions can successfully design, implement, and sustain organizational change. Through a management and leadership lens, the discussion examines real-world change initiatives implemented at Saunders College of Business, and the strategies leaders can use to build resilient, future-ready organizations. The session offers theoretical and practical insights for professionals committed to continuous improvement and organizational excellence.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording of this event.
Deep and Calm: Leading Resilient Organizations
Change comes in waves: leadership transitions, funding shifts, staff turnover, community crises. Are you leading your organization through it with clarity and intention - or just reacting to the current.
Gerianne Puskas brings neuroscience and real-world leadership experience into a practical, engaging conversation about what genuine organizational resilience looks like. You'll walk away knowing how chronic stress quietly affects leadership decision-making, how to honestly assess your own resilience patterns, and how to shift into the kind of grounded, steady leadership that keeps your people moving forward, even when the water gets rough.
This isn't a pep talk. It's a framework, a self-assessment, and strategies you can put to work the very next day.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording for this event.
GRQC Resource Center
GRQC is your resource for tools and templates, case studies, local consulting resources, and links to industry-leading websites to aid you in your pursuit of performance excellence and quality improvement. Click on the links below to access information.
Download favorite tools of GRQC Board members
Dowload presentations from recent GRQC events.
Visit these websites for useful tools and templates.
Check back often to access new material that you can use!
Tools You Can Use - Free From GRQC!
GRQC has assembled a searchable library of tools developed by our members, partners and friends, and is offering them free to website users. Find tried and tested tools, templates and information about a wide variety of quality processes: control charts, FMEA, Lean, Pugh matrix, and many others. You can search the library by keyword or by sector (business, healthcare, education, etc.). When you find what you need, simply click on the tool name to download it to your PC.
Click the button below to go to the webpage Homegrown Tools in the GRQC Knowledge Center, and take advantage of the expertise of our members and friends.
Find Resources You Can Use On The Job
Be a Part of GRQC's Mission - Volunteer!
Would you like to partner with GRQC to advance performance excellence in the community without making a long-term commitment? We have just the thing for you – volunteering to help one of our committees! GRQC has eight committees that help us achieve our strategic objectives. These committees are staffed by GRQC Board members and volunteers. We invite you to visit our new Volunteer Opportunity website page and reach out to any of the committee contacts to lean more or to express your interest. Volunteer opportunities are open to GRQC members and non-members alike. We’d love to have you join us!
Become a GRQC Member
GRQC benefits its members through a wide variety of program activities and membership services, including:
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Participation in GRQC Workshops and Programs.
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Participation in GRQC’s community projects.
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Interaction with leaders and innovators regarding best practices in quality.
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Contributing to making the Greater Rochester area a community of excellence.
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Opportunities for networking with other organizations on the journey to excellence.
Our Champion and Advocate Level Members
