Staffordshire businesses are being encouraged to submit their entries for the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

The awards celebrate the success of the exciting and innovative businesses, charities and public authority units that are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.   

The application process for the 2021 awards is now open until 9 September 2020, and categories available for submission include:

• Innovation
• International Trade
• Sustainable Development
• Promoting Opportunity through social mobility.

Winning a Queen’s Award offers businesses multiple benefits, including global recognition that they are outstanding in their field.  It also provides excellent marketing opportunities, as well as boosting staff morale and increased growth.  73% of previous winners in the International Trade category directly attributed increased sales to winning a Queen’s Award, and 90% of all 2020 winners were SMEs.

Winners are invited to a Royal Reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales, and will be presented with the award at their premises by Mr Ian Dudson CBE, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.  Winners can fly The Queen’s Award flag, use the emblem on marketing material and receive a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and commemorative crystal trophy.

In recent years, a number of Staffordshire-based winners have had links with Keele University.  These include long-term Science and Innovation Park tenants Cobra Biologics and Dermal Technology Laboratory (DTL), as well as a number of Business Gateway collaborators such as Addmaster and Allett Mowers.

The Innovation category recognises new-to-market innovations which have been available for at least two years and shown outstanding commercial success in that time.

For Sustainable Development, the judges will be looking for outstanding sustainable development for more than two years along with evidence of the benefits or positive outcomes of the organisations actions or interventions.

To be eligible for the International Trade Award, a business must have a minimum of £100,000 in overseas sales and demonstrate steep year-on-year overseas sales over three years or substantial year-on-year growth over six years.

Organisations may apply for more than one category, but all applications must be made online. Detailed criteria for each Award category, along with entry details, is available on the Government website at www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise.

About Queen’s Awards for Enterprise

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the UK. The awards were first established in 1965 and since then over 7,000 companies have achieved a Queen’s Award.

The awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.

To be eligible for an Award the business must:

• be based in the UK
• have at least 2 full-time UK employees or part-time equivalent
• file its company tax return with HMRC
• be a self-contained enterprise that markets its products or services under its own management
• demonstrate strong corporate social responsibility.