Tech companies urged to apply for Queen’s Awards

Scaleup companies in the tech sector are urged to apply for a Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation 2020 which close for applications on 10th September 2019. The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses, recognising and rewarding the most outstanding achievements in the fields of Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility).

The awards were first established in 1965 and since then over 6000 companies have achieved a Queen’s Award for Enterprise (QAE) which can bring substantial benefits to winners, including: increased staff morale; boost to turnover; increased international trade and recognition; and excellent marketing opportunities. Winners are also invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace.

On 23rd April 2019, Her Majesty The Queen named 201 businesses as among the best in the country, including 6 double award winners, in the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2019 to celebrate Her Majesty’s 93rd birthday. The winners included businesses leading the way in a huge range of industries – from construction, agriculture, motoring and software development. This year, three quarters of the total are SMEs, 30 of which have fewer than 10 employees.

There were:

129 International Trade winners
61 Innovation winners
6 Sustainable Development winners
5 Promoting Opportunity winners

Innovate UK funded 1 in 5 of the 2019 QAE winners

These awards are relevant to the foundations of the Industrial Strategy – Ideas, People, Infrastructure, Business Environment and Places. Through companies such as these, the UK will tackle the Grand Challenges and help put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future. Innovate UK has provided funding to 1 in 5 of this year’s winners.

“The dilemma for high growth tech companies beyond the startup phase has been that they are often investing for growth or expanding their market share, which means that although companies may have raised significant sums of funding, they are not yet showing profit,” said Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion winner Lopa Patel MBE, who focuses on helping startups scale, “my advice to innovative high growth companies is to apply, focusing quite narrowly on the merits of their innovation”.

“Many high growth tech companies also struggle to define what their innovation is, but, if for example, you are a fintech company providing services to under-served customers with poor credit scores, then you have an innovative business model. Innovation is not just about physical products or services, it can be in new methods of delivery or business model.”

“Also be wary of talking about ‘black box’ type of technology”

“Also be wary of talking about ‘black box’ type of technology. For example, if your company is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide navigation tools for autonomous vehicles then it is better to state what the AI is actually doing – using a camera feed to avoid obstructions, for example, or using scanned images to interpret road signs or GPS location to calculate fuel usage – rather than just saying AI runs the vehicle!”

“I also get asked about who should complete the application form. If you have in-house marketing and PR support, then they are probably the best people to start the application in conjunction with the ‘authentic’ voice of the founder or co-founders and or developers. If in-house support is not available, there are external agencies who can help complete the process but they will require significant input from the business so don’t leave it to the last minute to hire an external agency!”

Tips for high growth startup companies when applying for a Queen’s Awards

Lopa Patel MBE provides the following tips for high growth startup companies when applying for a Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation.

Narrative. Build your narrative very precisely in plain English. Do not use jargon or technical terms. Focus on the innovation, the research undertaken, collaborations formed, the problem solved. The application must be easy to read and understand to assessors, even if they are not necessarily experts in your sector.
State your fundraise (Series A, B, N etc) and the investors who have backed your innovation. A letter of support from an investor confirming their investment would help add credibility. Although there are exceptions to the rule, submission of at least two years accounts (minimum) is required so this will exclude most startups. Ideally 5 years of accounts are good, even if parts of the balance sheet are showing red!
Submit your projections for growth, explaining the investment you have made in product or service design, developing the market etc. Assessors understand that for novel technologies that did not previously exist, a significant sum is spent in educating the market about the offering.
Submit relevant supporting documents, for example, research papers, testimonials, press cuttings, awards won etc. Provide qualitative and quantitative evidence to support all your statements. For example, if you are talking about how the innovation has increased efficiency of your business, an assessor will be looking for quantitative evidence of this increase.
Augment your submission by linking it back to the Industrial Strategy; the jobs created, infrastructure improvements, productivity and efficiency growth, employee and public well being. Have you discussed the – Ideas, People, Infrastructure, Business Environment and Places – that underpin the Industrial Strategy, for example.

Submitting an entry for the The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2020

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2020 are open to applications until 10th September 2019. Almost all UK businesses (including non profit) can apply, and the application process is free. All applications must be made online, and you may apply for more than one category.

The awards are valid for 5 years and winners are:

invited to a Royal reception
presented the award by one of The Queen’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant
able to fly The Queen’s Award flag at the main office, and use the emblem on marketing materials for 5 years
given a Grant of Appointment and a commemorative crystal trophy
published on the The Gazette website

Past Queen’s Awards winners have reported benefiting from worldwide recognition, increased commercial value, greater exposure and a boost to staff morale. Research also shows nearly 73% of past international trade winners attribute the Queen’s Awards to increased international sales.

All entry forms, eligibility criteria and information on how to apply is available at https://www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise