Queen's Awards for Enterprise Assessment Contract

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious awards for business performance. The Awards recognise and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies. They are managed by the Queen's Awards Office in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). Awards are presented in three separate categories: International Trade, Innovation, Sustainable Development and there is also an Award for individuals — The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion (QAEP). The annual cycle of the Awards requires the assessment work to be done between October and April each year, following a marketing period between April and September. The Awards are announced annually on The Queen's birthday (21 April). Online application and nomination forms for the Awards are available from 21 April and the deadline for the return of completed forms is the last working day of September. The Awards are made each year by The Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is assisted by an Advisory Committee that includes representatives of Government, industry and commerce, and the trade unions. The Queen's Awards Review Committee, chaired by The Prince of Wales in 1999, recommended replacing the assessment of applications by DTI (now BIS) and other Government Departments, with an external specialist body, better able to make informed judgements. The Review Committee also identified securing good value for money as an important requirement under the revised assessment procedures.