Drive is on to land more Queen's Award winners – Fishupdate.com

Drive is on to land more Queen’s Award winners Published:  05 September, 2006

A NATIONWIDE tour to urge businesses to bid for ‘corporate knighthoods’ takes Queen’s Awards officials from the South West to Scotland – with a visit to the East of England along the way.

It includes a high profile event in Cambridgeshire and visits to previous winners in Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

Stephen Brice, Secretary to The Queen’s Awards Office, and David Moore, Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee, are aiming to encourage firms large and small to enter for The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2007.

This year 145 companies in the UK won Queen’s Awards – the highest total for 11 years – with 11 winners in the East of England. But Stephen Brice is convinced that there are many more top performing businesses in the East.

He said:

“Wherever we go, previous winners tell us how much they have benefited from their Queen’s Awards. One said, ‘It’s just like a corporate knighthood,’ and another that ‘it’s the ultimate business accolade.’ More impressively, however, 92% of the 137 Award winners last year said they thought winning a Queen’s Award had brought added commercial value to their firm, with 22% noticing a significant increase in new business since winning the Award.

During the tour he and Mr Moore, backed by previous winners, will explain to prospective applicants how to apply for the Awards, and more importantly what the benefits are of winning. They will also invite nominations for The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, a relatively new Award for individuals.

Mr Brice added:

“Any firm of merit can enter – and size is irrelevant. It’s a popular misconception that only big companies can win a Queen’s Award, but there have been several winners with only a handful of staff. More than 60 of this year’s winners have fewer than 50 employees – and four companies have only three each.

“In addition to the business Awards, nominations are also being invited for The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, an Award for individuals introduced two years ago, for people making outstanding contributions in promoting the growth of enterprise skills and attitudes in others.”

Unlike the business awards, for which an application can be made, people must be nominated for The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, for instance by colleagues, associates or beneficiaries of their work in business, education, training or youth work. In the East of England there have so far been three recipients including Walter Herriot, Managing Director of St John’s Innovation Centre, Cambridge, in 2006 and Professor Alan Barrell, businessman and company chairman, in 2005. United States citizen Doug Richard, chairman and co-founder of Library House, best known for appearing on Dragon’s Den, was given an honorary Award in 2006.

The deadline for this year’s Awards is 31 October 2006. Winners and recipients will be announced on 21 April 2007.

*Application/nomination forms for the 2007 Awards are now available by downloading an electronic copy from The Queen’s Awards website (http://www.queensawards.org.uk). Alternatively it is possible to register to receive the appropriate form by contacting The Queen’s Awards Office, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS (Tel: 0207 222 2277; Fax: 0207 215 5770; e-mail: info@queensawards.org.uk)

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