The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise reward outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development, and promoting opportunity through social mobility.

The awards are valid for five years. If you win one, it will be presented at your company by a Lord-Lieutenant, one of the Queen’s representatives. You will be able to use the official emblem on your marketing materials.

According to the official gov.uk website, winners have reported “benefiting from worldwide recognition, increased commercial value, greater press coverage and a boost to staff morale”.

Businesses in the West Midlands are under-represented among winners of Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, and we all know that’s not down to a lack of talent! Here in the Black Country there is a drive to encourage businesses to put modesty aside and make time to apply for one of these prestigious prizes. In Sandwell it is being led by the Business Ambassadors, a collective of high-profile businesspeople in our borough, with support from Think Sandwell.

If you believe your Black Country business to be eligible (you can check the application criteria here) you are invited to attend a workshop at the Business Solutions Centre at the University of Wolverhampton on Tuesday 21 May. There you’ll meet previous winners, representatives of the West Midlands Lieutenancy Office, and professionals in writing winning applications to get valuable insight into making a successful application.

It’s free to attend and part of the Black Country Business Festival 2019 which also aims to showcase the brilliance of businesses in our region. You can sign up here.

If you are from an eligible business and can’t attend the workshop but would like to talk about applying for a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, we are able to put you in touch with Sandwell Business Ambassador John Wood. As well as being a group director for Liberty Engineering, John is a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands. Please contact us here at Think Sandwell with a brief summary of your intention to apply for a Queen’s Award and we will pass on your details.

Do keep us posted on your success stories. If your Sandwell business has won an award or accolade this year, we’d love to celebrate with a story on our news page. Contact Think Sandwell today.