The Enterprising Britain competition, a key part of the Government's drive to create the right conditions for enterprise across the UK, seeks out areas of enterprise excellence, such as villages, towns, cities and neighbourhoods, with transformational success stories which deserve to be rewarded and shared.
Launching the competition, Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, said:
"Enterprise is a long-term investment for the future and crucial for success in the current economic climate. In a downturn, it is more important than ever that entrepreneurs are supported and have the confidence they need to develop their ideas.
"Enterprising Britain allows communities to share their experiences of innovation, inspire others and drive forward enterprise."
The winner of last year's hotly contested Enterprising Britain competition was Scarborough, where embedding a culture of enterprise resulted in the transformation of what was a seaside town in decline into a shining example of enterprise achievement. Seasonal unemployment has been stamped out, new industry sectors created and more than £200m of private sector investment attracted. This year, Enterprising Britain is encouraging business-led projects, along with those led by public and voluntary sector groups, which have transformed their local communities to enter the awards and gain recognition for their fantastic work.
Carl Hopkins, entrepreneur and star of Channel 4's Secret Millionaire, visited Scarborough for the competition's launch. He said:
"Now more than ever, we need to tap into examples of what is working in places across the country in terms of supporting, encouraging and maintaining enterprise. Entering the Enterprising Britain competition is your chance to shout about what you've achieved and to ensure that other small and medium sized businesses, communities and enterprise projects can learn from your successes. The competition helps highlight and spread best practice in enterprise across the UK and I would encourage all the innovative projects out there that have harnessed entrepreneurial spirit to make Britain a better place to live and work, to enter and have a chance at being crowing the UK's enterprise champion."
Enterprising Britain is free to enter and is open to all places in the UK that can demonstrate the impact enterprise has had on their community over the past two years.
To register interest email your contact details to: enterprisingbritain@makeyourmark.org.uk
Entries must be submitted by 30 April 2009 and the winner will be announced in October. The competition is run by Make Your Mark, on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), working in close partnership with the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Application forms are also available from RDAs and Devolved Administrations or can be downloaded from www.makeyourmark.org.uk/enterprisingbritain
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