About awards

The awards listed on this site are those that can offer your business real cash, as opposed to just a certificate or plaque.

What can I get them for?

Awards are primarily given for work already undertaken, although some schemes will provide awards for work planned to commence after the application and decision process.

Who gives awards?

Awards are available from Government, government agencies, business support organisations, local authorities, private companies and not-for-profit organisations. Awards are a good source of support and opportunity for businesses - and if you are planning on making the effort to apply for a grant or loan, it may well be that you will have done most of the legwork you need to do to make applying for relevant awards quite easy.

What do I have to do to get an award?

Who enters my business for awards?

In most cases you need to nominate yourself for an award, although in some cases the organisation offering the award will nominate companies. The vast majority of awards are free to enter and require relatively little effort to apply to, although you may have to pay a fee to attend the awards ceremony.

What kind of things do business awards recognize?

Awards are offered to provide recognition and reward for hard work undertaken by businesses in a given year, and as such most awards are given in retrospect. Each scheme is likely to have been designed to reward businesses for a particular achievement, such as the creation of local jobs, providing training opportunities, successful business start-ups or business excellence through the use of e-commerce.

How do I find out if my business is eligible?

Obviously each award scheme will have its own specific entry requirements and criteria. In addition, there are a number of key areas that your business will have to satisfy to be eligible for any particular scheme. In virtually all cases the business must demonstrate why they should be rewarded for their efforts over the past year, whether this comes from the rapid growth and development of the company, or from recognising the value of training and developing staff.

Does where I'm located matter?

Yes. Different award schemes will be available in different locations.

Is there a bias towards certain industry sectors?

Not in general terms, although there will be specific awards for specific sectors. Award schemes are available for most industry types, and unlike grants and loans, do not tend to favour manufacturing or services related to manufacturing.