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Search is on to find the most enterprising place in Scotland
18 Feb 2008
The search to find the most enterprising place in Scotland began today, with the launch of the Enterprising Britain competition. Now in its fourth year, the competition celebrates and rewards the most enterprising areas in the UK: those places where enterprise has helped transform the community and led to improved economic prospects in the area.
Managed by Make your Mark on behalf of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, it is run in two phases, regional and national, with twelve regional winners selected from the nine English Development Agencies and one each from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The Scottish winner stands to gain a substantial monetary prize and a place in the UK final in London. All entries for the Scottish regional competition must be received by 18 April. Once the 12 regional winners from across the UK have been selected, they will be visited by members of a high profile national judging panel including entrepreneurs Peter Jones and Lynne Franks, who decide which place should be crowned the national Enterprising Britain 2008 winner.
Peter Jones, well known for the BBC's Dragon's Den, said: "As an Enterprising Britain judge, I have been extremely impressed by the strength, determination and innovative thinking demonstrated by those people who have used enterprise to transform the social and economic fortunes of their community. The Enterprising Britain Competition is a great chance for enterprise success stories from across Scotland to shine and I urge people to enter."
Last year's Scottish winner was Edinburgh Science Triangle, a collaborative marketing project that promotes the breadth of science capabilities in Edinburgh and the Lothians to attract new investment and encourage interaction between industry and universities.
Barry Shafe, project director of Edinburgh Science Triangle, said: "Our win in the Scottish heat of the Enterprising Britain competition was appreciated by all the stakeholders in recognition of their hard work and has proved to be valuable in drawing widespread attention to Edinburgh".
Terry Currie, senior director for Growing Businesses at Scottish Enterprise, commented: "Communities that embrace enterprise are able to offer their residents healthy opportunities for starting a business, creating jobs and wealth for the local area and beyond. Scotland needs more of these enterprising areas; we want to encourage everyone involved in projects like Edinburgh Science Triangle to enter this year's Enterprising Britain competition."