Judging for all seven award categories will be extremely thorough and will be carried out by our independent judging panel following the closing date.
Nomination Closing Date: Monday 1st September 2008

It is quick and easy to nominate, just click HERE and fill in your details, the category you wish to nominate and a short reason for your nomination.

On submission of your nomination you will immediately be issued a questionnaire from our researchers at Edinburgh Business School which you should complete and return with any additional material you feel supports your nomination.
Questionnaire Closing Date: Friday 5th September 2008
Site Visits Commence: Monday 1st September - Friday 19th September

Your questionnaire will ask you to provide a note of some dates and times that you would be available to participate in a site visit from our researchers at Edinburgh Business School. This visit will take place on your premises and is not expected to last more than 2 hours.

Judging Date: Friday 3rd October 2008

All award finalists will be posted onto the website the w/c 13th October 2008. All awards will be presented at the Awards Ceremony and Dinner at the Radisson Hotel, Glasgow on Wednesday 29th October 2008.

Entry Criteria
Please enter your nominations for any or all of the following award categories. You must complete a separate nomination for each category you wish to nominate in.

Most Focused e250 Business
Strategic approaches to being successful in the marketplace often means that an organisation is focussed on key objectives and plans to meet the goals set by the organisation’s management. This award is for the organisation that demonstrates that planning strategically has resulted in the achievement of their mission.

The judges will be looking for:

Company description and goals
Vision, mission and values
Description of organisation
Service provided
Innovation involved (product/service or process)
Market share

Strategy
Short, medium and long term business objectives clear
Strategies for meeting objectives clearly communicated
Evidence of successfully deployed strategy

Resourcing for objectives
Targets communicated to appropriate actors
Staff appropriately resourced and deployed
Appropriate finance arrangements put in place
External stakeholders involved appropriately

Monitoring
Targets/objectives set and documented
Documentation reviewed appropriately
Evidence of target achievement
or
contingency planning in order to meet overall objectives
Evidence of achieving overall objectives

e250 Business Leadership Award
Leadership is vitally important to the success of any company and, in this award, leadership can mean the actions of an individual at the top of an organisation, or an individual may be nominated by an organisation based on how they lead part of an organisation. In many companies it is the team effort that ensures project completion and success and the efforts of a team, leading a major initiative for an organisation, can also be recognised.

The judges will be looking for:

Company description and goals
Vision, mission and values
Description of organisation
Service provided
Innovation involved (product/service or process)
Market share

Relationship with staff
Evidence of clear communications
Evidence of encouragement of CPD, educational development
Promotion and resourcing of CPD, educational development
Rewards system in place for staff experience and achievement
Inclusive strategy and decision-making environment
Involvement of staff
Intrapreneurship fostered and rewarded

Relationship with external agents
Evidence of clear communications
Evidence of relationships with financiers, suppliers and other stakeholders fostered
Relationships with customers and clients fostered
Evidence of use of customer/client feedback in-firm

General Leadership
Leadership conveys enthusiasm and entrepreneurship
Objectives/strategy communicated throughout and outwith the firm effectively
Leadership presents a firm-wide vision
Evidence of in-firm shared vision

e250 Award for Innovation & Design
This award can be for design or innovation or both. Design can apply to many things including products, business systems or processes, software development, service delivery and designs of company logos. Innovation though means that it is something new to reach the marketplace and this can be a product, process or service.

The judges will be looking for:

Company description and goals
Vision, mission and values
Description of organisation
Key area of design and/ or Innovation identified eg product/service, design process, solutions provision etc.
Description of above in business context

Description of the innovation(s) - (products, services or processes)
Evidence of successfully launched design
Product, service or process – new way of business operation, – impact on customer, and strategic direction of the organisation
Evidence of the idea generation, research and development – including personnel involvement, creativity and the use of knowledge.

Resourcing for objectives
Targets communicated to appropriate actors
Staff appropriately resourced and deployed
Appropriate idea generation arrangements/methods put in place
External stakeholders involved appropriately

Monitoring
Marketing intelligence
Innovation and marketing plan
Development of strategy
Reviewing and updating strategy
Evidence of success e.g. innovation awards, peer recognition, customer perception etc.

Best E250 Employer
This award relates to aspects of the organisation and how the company looks after its employees. Reward and motivation of employees are key drivers in this award. Rewards can take many forms including structural (such as part ownership through shares) financial (such as special payments or bonuses), educational or training (for example, degree or masters programme support), or through other means such as underwriting a company football team. The company values and CSR activities are also important key areas to explore.

The judges will be looking for:

Company description and goals
Vision, mission and values
Description of organisation
Key area of employee involvement and sense of belonging
Description of above in the business context
Corporate Social Responsibility involvement
Activities defined
Extent of personnel development
Monitoring of CSR e.g. impact

Description of the motivation systems in place
Evidence of successful induction programme
Reward systems in place – types and extent of involvement
Comparison with other like organisations
Evidence of the idea generation from staff – including personnel involvement, creativity and the use of knowledge.

Resourcing for objectives
Targets communicated to appropriate staff members
Support for staff appropriately resourced and deployed
Appropriate idea generation arrangements/methods put in place, including feedback to staff members
External stakeholders involved appropriately

Monitoring and Support Information
Personal Development plans
Personnel survey results
Involvement in idea generation
Educational achievements supprted through company
Training plans – individual, team etc.
CSR activities
Feedback from other sources e.g. FSB, or Chamber
Evidence of achieving overall objectives

Fastest Growing e250 Company of the Year
An award will be given to the company which has achieved strong growth. However it will not merely be awarded to a company with the highest turnover increase. The judges will also look as past performance and also bear in mind any rises due to one off factors such as property sales.

Best e250 Newcomer of the Year
This award will go to exciting companies which have entered the Enterprise 250 for the first time and, in the judges view, have the potential for future growth.

e250 Company of the Year
The judging panel will select one of the nominated deals from the categories above.