The National Enterprise Network is pleased to announce the winners of the fifth annual National Enterprise Network Awards – recognised at a dedicated ceremony at the Barclays sponsored National Enterprise Network Annual Conference yesterday. The winners and runners up of three categories were announced during a gala dinner in Stratford-upon-Avon. Awards for Customer Focus, Best Local Network or Partnership and Personal Achievement were presented on the night, as well as two Chairman’s Awards and a special acknowledgement from Barclays.
Developed by the organisation when operating as NFEA, the National Enterprise Network Awards launched in 2007 to support and celebrate the achievements of the membership network of enterprise support organisations. The awards recognise excellence in the delivery of enterprise support by encouraging the exchange of good practice and the development of improved services and
organisations.
The National Enterprise Award for Customer Focus sought to highlight approaches which have been specifically designed to address the distinct requirements of particular groups, be they women, young people, BAME, social enterprises, specific geographic or community sector etc. The award recognises examples of good practice in designing, delivering and communicating bespoke products and services. The winner was Colbea in Colchester who clearly demonstrated its commitment to meeting the needs of enterprising people with the creation of a Social Enterprise Network Hub for its local area and secondly in providing local support for a programme designed to stimulate enterprise culture in stroke survivors and carers.
Erewash Partnership in Ilkeston, Derbyshire was presented with the National Enterprise Award for Best Local Network or Partnership – an extremely competitive category. National Enterprise Network members are naturally embedded in their local communities and work in partnership with a wide variety of organisations. This award was designed to emphasise the lengths some organisations have gone to cultivate these relationships. From its rural base, Erewash Partnership has developed a fluid, comprehensive network over 17 years, encompassing businesses and organisations from a multiple of sectors and sizes – acting as a focus for all those interested in securing a more prosperous future for the area with enterprise. Thanks to the help of its wider partnership, Erewash is able to offer business support services including networking and events for over 1,500 people each year, as well as the management of less conventional projects such as town centre management and economic development for the Borough Council.
A runner up award in this category was also given to Wenta, based in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, for the creation of a robust network with a number of SME and multinational partners, delivering a range of innovative enterprise activities for the Business and Technology Centre (btc) in Stevenage. Wenta proactively drove the collaboration of all involved parties, all putting aside their own agendas for a bigger need within their community – and to great success. The partnership has proved so successful; it is now being used as a delivery model for additional enterprise centres across two counties.
The National Enterprise Network Award for Personal Achievement acknowledged the vital input of an individual who is less visible but whose contribution is crucial in meeting the needs of the business and its clients and acts as a shining example of how to be enterprising. The award winner was Salma Chaudhry from CENTA in Nelson, Lancashire. Salma has been a true pioneer in the agency’s community outreach strategy and her focus and personable nature has made her a known and trusted figure for hard to reach individuals. With a motivating and inspiring approach, Salma has been able to engage with groups previously found to be a challenge by the agency – increasing the scope of community groups by 20% above and beyond those previously engaged.
This year, Conference delegates at the gala dinner saw two additional Chairman’s Awards announced, recognising individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the enterprise support sector. Sandy Ogilvie, Chairman of the PNE Group in Gateshead, was recognised for his longstanding commitment and service to enterprise support, having been Chief Executive at The PNE Group until his retirement earlier this year. The PNE Group thrived under Sandy’s leadership over the years, retaining its reputation as an innovative and independently-minded agency and expanding the Shell LiveWIRE work into over 30 countries worldwide.
The second National Enterprise Network Chairman’s Award was given to George Derbyshire, Chief Executive of NFEA from 2002 until his retirement in April this year, in recognition of the significant part he played during his nine year leadership. George was the driving force behind NFEA’s vision for its members to be recognised as the leading source of advice and support for new businesses throughout the country and for NFEA to be seen as the premier membership body for all organisations engaged in business support.
The ceremony also included an award for the Barclays Let’s Talk programme – business start-up seminars run by National Enterprise Network members across the country. The Barclays Let’s Talk Contractor of the Year sought to recognise an organisation that is not only on track to hit its numeric targets for the year, but that has also demonstrated excellent scheduling and administration processes, producing well attended events and with high levels of positive client feedback.
The 2011 award winner was announced as Donbac, based in Doncaster, for exceptional delivery of the programme over the year. Despite being a small team, Donbac has demonstrated the highest levels of administration, has 100% client feedback and unparalleled reach into the 16-25 age range – a target audience for Barclays. A second runner up award was once again given to Wenta. In addition to delivering since the inception of the programme and across six distinct geographical areas, Wenta has a 100% client feedback rating and support from HMRC at their seminars.
Commenting on the 2011 awards, Dawn Whiteley, Chief Executive at the National Enterprise Network, said: “The objective of the National Enterprise Network Awards is to recognise outstanding achievement amongst our members and also to showcase successful projects and programmes. As one of the judges this year, it was encouraging to receive so many strong applications demonstrating examples of innovation and proactivity, initiatives that are both successful and impactful in supporting the pre-start and start-up clients our enterprise support organisations serve.”
The National Enterprise Network Awards ceremony was hosted by broadcaster and columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer at the Barclays sponsored 2011 National Enterprise Network Annual Conference gala dinner. Each award winner was presented with an engraved trophy and a bottle of champagne.