King's Award for Enterprise Now Open to Norfolk Businesses

The awards, which are free to enter to businesses of all sizes, offer categories in:

• International Trade

• Sustainable Development

• Innovation

• Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility

Michael said: "As the regional lead for the King's Award for Enterprise, I recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our local businesses in innovation, international trade, sustainable development, and social responsibility. Leading in Norfolk this prestigious awards programme with the Royal Family, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the local business community."

International Trade

To apply for the International Trade award, you must also:

• Have made a minimum of £100,000 in overseas sales in the first year of your entry and show year-on-year growth

• Prove that your organisation has achieved outstanding growth in overseas earnings relative to your business size and sector

• Prove steep year-on-year growth (without dips) in overseas sales over 3 years – or substantial year-on-year growth (without dips) over 6 years

Sustainable Development

To apply for the Sustainable Development award, you must also:

• Show how you have achieved outstanding sustainable development for more than two years

• Provide evidence of the benefits or positive outcomes of your actions or interventions

Innovation

To apply for the Innovation award, you must also:

• Have an innovation that has not been sold before

• Have had your innovation available on the market for at least 2 years

• Have recovered all the investments made in your innovation or show that the innovation will recover its full costs in future

• Show outstanding commercial success as a result of innovation over 2 years – or continuous commercial success over 5 years

Your innovation should be in one of the following categories:

• Invention, design or production of goods

• Performance of services

• Marketing and distribution

• After-sale support of goods or services

Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility

To apply for this award, your organisation must have a programme that supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds in improving their job skills and their chances of finding work.

This includes doing one or more of the following, for at least two years:

• Providing work experience or careers advice

• Mentoring

• Offering interview and job-related training

• Making sure your recruitment process is open to everyone

You’ll need to prove the benefits for:

• The people you’ve supported

• Your organisation

• Your employees

• The wider community

You cannot apply if social mobility is the main focus of your organisation.

An organisation is eligible if it is:

• Based in the Norfolk

• Files its Company Tax Returns with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

• Is a self-contained enterprise that markets its own products or services and is under its own management

• Has at least two full-time UK employees or part-time equivalents

• Demonstrates strong corporate social responsibility

• The organisation can be business or non-profit.

More detailed information and a nomination form can be found on https://www.norfolk-lieutenancy.org.uk/honours-and-awards/the-kings-award-for-enterprise/