Enterprising Britain 2007
Plymouth has been shortlisted in a DTI competition to find the most enterprising place in the South West. Representatives of Plymouth Business Growth are today (22nd May) due to give a presentation to judges in Taunton about Plymouth's growing enterprise culture.
Key points of their pitch are likely to include the city's successful Enterprise Week celebrations, the Making Plymouth Great initiative, the Entrepreneurs' Bootcamp event and the way that there is now more partnership working to achieve common goals.
It is not known how many other locations have been shortlisted in the South West round of the Enterprising Britain 2007 competition.
Today Elaine Budd, Plymouth Business Growth project manager, and David Young, a businessman and a member of the Plymouth Business Growth local supply chain implementation group, are due in Taunton to present Plymouth's case to a five-strong judging panel.
The judges are Stephen Peacock, executive director for enterprise and innovation at the South West Regional Development Agency, Simon Faith, South West director of the Institute of Directors, Lucy Findlay, chief executive of the Regional Infrastructure for Social Enterprise, Ian Price, assistant director of the CBI in the South West, and David Ramsden, chairman of the South West policy unit of the Federation of Small Businesses.
Elaine and David will give a 20-minute presentation to expand on the written application they have already submitted, and will then take questions from the judges for 20 minutes.
Elaine said: "There has been a cultural change in Plymouth, a growth in confidence which demonstrates a growing desire to work in partnership.
"There have been so many things that have come together in Plymouth since 2004: the City Growth Strategy, Enterprising Plymouth and the Mackay Vision. There have been a lot of changes that have come together to create momentum that is giving Plymouth increased self-confidence and self-belief, which we need to shout about."
The Enterprising Britain competition, now in its third year, is run by the Department of Trade and Industry, along with RDAs and regional assemblies around the UK.
The first phase involves selecting 12 regional winners, from which the overall Enterprising Britain 2007 winner will then be chosen.
Enterprising Britain Background
Enterprising Britain is a nationwide competition to find the most enterprising place in the UK - the city, town, place or area in the country that is best improving economic prospects and encouraging enterprise.
It aims to:
- Identify and recognise successful activities and initiatives undertaken to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship
- Showcase and share examples of best practice in enterprise policy and implementation
- Create a higher awareness of the importance of enterprise and entrepreneurship in society
- Identify the UK entry to the European Enterprise Awards
Enterprising Britain has been developed in consultation across central government, and in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations and was run for the first time in 2004/5.
Enterprising Britain has two distinct stages:
- A regional competition managed by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and Devolved Administrations
- A national competition managed by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The first stage of Enterprising Britain 2007 will take place between 31 January 2007 and 31 May 2007. During this period, 12 regional winners will be selected from across the UK.
Enterprising Britain is open to all cities, towns, places or areas in the UK that can demonstrate how they have supported and enterprise in the last two years.
Entries will be judged by an independent panel of experts who will look for a candidate that can demonstrate the positive impact they have had on the region through enterprise. Case studies of previous winners will provide an idea of the sort of initiatives which have appealed to the judges in the past.