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Search is on to find the most enterprising place in the East Midlands

25/02/2009

The search to find the most enterprising place in the East Midlands began today with the launch of the Enterprising Britain 2009 competition.

The competition, which is now in its fifth year, is a key part of the Government’s drive to create the right conditions for enterprise across the UK. The competition will seek out areas of enterprise excellence from across the East Midlands’ counties, cities, towns, villages, and neighbourhoods that have helped transform the social and economic fortunes of their area. The winner of the regional heat will go forward to compete in the national finals of Enterprising Britain in October, where the overall UK winner will be selected.

One of Britain’s highest profile female entrepreneurs, Rachel Elnaugh, original Dragon from the hit BBC TV series Dragons’ Den will be part of the prestigious judging panel which includes, Stan Crawford, emda board member and Chief Executive of Sherwood Energy Village (crowned national winner in 2005) and Amanda Woolley, Business Editor for Business East Midlands and Property East Midlands magazines.

Judges will be looking for a project that demonstrates a culture of enterprise, and supports and encourages entrepreneurs and businesses to survive the downturn and emerge stronger.

Andrew Morgan, emda’s Skills and Communities Director, said: “The Enterprising Britain competition has highlighted some excellent examples of enterprising activity in the region over the last five years. We are encouraging anyone who thinks their idea or project should be showcased to get involved. Enterprise is important now more than ever to ensure the region’s future prosperity and to help it flourish.”

The East Midlands has a strong track record in the competition, with the Welland Sub-regional Strategic Partnership (SSP) securing a prestigious award at the European finals of the competition in 2006, and Sherwood Energy Village winning the Enterprising Britain competition in 2005.

Last year’s regional winner, BioCity, was singled-out for its success in building a culture of enterprise in the East Midlands. It is one of the largest, most successful bioscience business incubators in Europe. BioCity provides a highly supportive environment for early stage bioscience businesses and has contributed to raising the profile of Nottingham as a national centre of excellence for bioscience.

Enterprising Britain is free to enter and is open to all places in the East Midlands that can demonstrate the impact enterprise has had on their community in the past two years. To register interest contact Jennifer Delaney on 01159847021 or e-mail Jennifer.delaney@themarketingdivision.co.uk. All entries must be submitted by Friday 24 April 2009. Judging will take place in early May, and the winner of the East Midlands regional heat will be announced on Thursday 7 May 2009.

The Enterprising Britain Competition in the East Midlands is part of the Unleashing Enterprise campaign, managed by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), which seeks to create a partnership for all enterprise educators to pioneer a culture of enterprise across the region. The national competition is run by Make Your Mark on behalf of the Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

Ends

For more information about this press release or Enterprising Britain 2009, please contact Jennifer Delaney at The Marketing Division; 0115 9847021 / 07717 363348 or email jennifer.delaney@themarketingdivision.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Enterprising Britain is a nationwide competition that celebrates and recognises enterprise achievement throughout all the regions of the UK. For more information please visit www.enterprisingbritain.org.uk
Enterprising Britain is open to all places (in the UK) that can demonstrate how they have transformed the community through enterprise in the last two years. All entrants must represent an identifiable geographic area, such as a town, a city, a parish or neighborhood and be able to demonstrate that enterprise is central to the economic and or social transformation of the place.
The competition runs nationally across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and operates in two stages: a regional nomination stage and a national competition between the regional finalists.
The East Midlands heats for the competition will run from 25 February 2009 to 24 April 2009. The 12 regional winners will be visited by members of the judging panel over the summer, with the national winner being announced in October 2009.
The Enterprising Britain 2008 winner was The Scarborough Renaissance Partnership and the runner up was Herefordshire Council (West Midlands).
The Enterprising Britain 2007 winner was North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone and the runner-up was The Paper Trail.
The Enterprising Britain 2006 winner was West Kilbride Craft & Design Town.
The Enterprising Britain 2005 winner was Sherwood Energy Village, Ollerton.
The overall winner and runner-up of Enterprising Britain 2009 will be entered into a Europe-wide competition – the European Enterprise Awards. For more information visit www.european-enterprise-awards.org
The European Enterprise Awards are inspired by the Enterprising Britain Competition, and aim to reward local and regional initiatives that are improving business prospects. The European Enterprise Awards are open to the 27 Member States of the European Union as well as Iceland, Norway and Turkey.

About emda

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.
Working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations the aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) ‘A Flourishing Region’, which sets out regional priorities until 2020.
The RES, coordinated by emda, highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and builds on the previous two strategies; ‘Prosperity Through People’ and ‘Destination 2010’.
In early 2007 the National Audit Office announced emda had received the highest possible grade of 'performing strongly' in an independent assessment of our work - scoring 22 out of 24.
For more details visit www.emda.org.uk.

About the Unleashing Enterprise Partnership

Building on the partnership work developed over the past four years and the model that has made previous enterprise campaigns successful, the Unleashing Enterprise Partnership, managed by emda already comprises more than 1,000 individuals directly involved in unleashing the enterprising abilities of young people.
The Partnership is committed to the creation of an environment that allows enterprising behaviour to flourish. It is critical for the economic prosperity of the region that people believe in themselves and strive to make their ideas happen; if they need encouragement and help, the partners are on hand to provide this through www.unleashing-enterprise.co.uk.