Glasgow faces national judges in battle for UK enterprise crown
Glasgow’s Local Regeneration Agency, Enterprising Britain’s Scottish winner was given to the opportunity to show why it should be named the most enterprising place in the UK, when Enterprising Britain judge Nick Taylor visited last week.
Glasgow was crowned by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in May 2009 as the most enterprising place in Scotland in the regional heat of the Enterprising Britain competition due to the work being done to encourage enterprise. Glasgow has transformed itself from a position of industrial decline to a modern vibrant city recognised for economic growth.
Rob Pryce of Glasgow’s Local Regeneration Agency said: “We are delighted to be the Scottish winner of Enterprising Britain 2009 and we look forward to the National final in October. Glasgow’s Local Regeneration Agency Network is proud of its hard work in bringing much needed new jobs to Glasgow through its support for new enterprises, the social economy and the premises we provide for growing organisations. The award is recognition of the real opportunities that we bring to Glasgow’s economy.”
Enterprising Britain 2009 is a nationwide competition run by Enterprise Insight on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations. Now in its fifth year, the competition celebrates and rewards the most enterprising areas in the UK; those places of enterprise excellence that have helped transform the social and economic fortunes of their area.
The LRA has developed two city-wide projects to tackle a lack of enterprise activity in the city’s deprived communities:
• Enterprise Development in Glasgow’s Communities, and
• The Social Economy Project
Enterprise Development aims to embed a culture of entrepreneurship in the city. New businesses are encouraged to form through intensive one-to-one support during the start-up process. Access to finance and aftercare support is provided for up to three years to aid business sustainability. In addition, specialist support is available such as e-commerce advice and assistance with environmental sustainability.
The Social Economy Project encourages new and existing social enterprises and voluntary organisations. It provides tailored organisational development activity as well as tackling a range of local priorities through the Social Enterprise Practitioners Network, Community Knowledge Centre, Wider Action Engagement and Sector Specific Initiatives.
Together these projects in their first 9 months assisted over 900 individuals and organisations, created 116 enterprises and 195 jobs.
Physical regeneration has also been addressed, with the renovation and redevelopment of the former Govan Police Station at Orkney Street. The careful restoration of the building, which includes the cell block, will provide high quality accommodation for local social enterprises and community advice agencies.
Future plans include Enterprise Awareness Raising events throughout the city particularly focussed on disadvantaged groups such as the disabled, young people, ethnic minorities and lone parents.
It is now up to an expert panel of national judges, who will be visiting the projects, to decide which one best deserves the accolade of most enterprising place in the UK.
Born and educated in Bolton, Enterprising Britain judge Nick Taylor went away to sea for two years before returning to study Hotel Management at Sheffield Polytechnic – now Sheffield Hallam University. After twenty years managing a wide range of hotels around the country, Nick switched career to take on the role of Scarborough’s Renaissance Manager. The job involves engaging the community in public participation, then linking them with the local council and Regional Development Agency to deliver projects around the town to improve the economic viability of the place. Scarborough Renaissance Partnership has been successful in such levels of engagement and participation as well as producing results that Scarborough won Enterprising Britain in 2008 and was named the most enterprising place in Europe at the European Enterprise Awards in Prague in May 2009.
The national Enterprising Britain winner will be announced at an awards ceremony this October. The winner will then go forward to represent the UK in the European Enterprise Awards, which Scarborough went on to win earlier this year after winning the UK competition in 2008.
For more information about the Enterprising Britain competition and further details on how to enter, please visit www.makeyourmark.org.uk/enterprisingbritain.
* Enterprising Britain is a nationwide competition that celebrates and recognises enterprise achievement throughout all the regions of the UK. For more information please visit www.makeyourmark.org.uk/enterprisingbritain
* Enterprising Britain is open to all places (in the UK) that can demonstrate how they have transformed the community through enterprise in the last two years. All entrants must represent an identifiable geographic area, such as a town, a city, a parish or neighbourhood and be able to demonstrate that enterprise is central to the economic and or social transformation of the place.
* The competition runs nationally across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and operates in two stages: a regional nomination stage and a national competition between the regional finalists.
*The regional heats ran from 25 February 2009 to 29 May 2009. The 12 finalists will be visited by members of the judging panel over the summer.
* Enterprise Insight aims to increase levels of entrepreneurship in the UK. It was founded by the four leading UK business membership organisations – the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. It is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. www.makeyourmark.org.uk