If you or someone you know is a female business leader, setting standards and smashing barriers, you have until the end of Friday 16th April to put in an entry for the First Women Awards.

The awards aim to identify “the most pioneering women in British business, science and professional life”

There are nine sector-specific categories:

• Manufacturing
• Tourism and Leisure
• Finance
• Science & Technology
• Media
• Retail & Consumer
• Property
• Public Sector
• Business Services

In addition, there are two special categories:

• The First Women Business of the Year Award
• PwC Lifetime Achievement Award

Previous winners of the PwC Lifetime Acheivement Award include Val Gooding CBE, CEO of BUPA and Ann Gloag OBE, Founder of Stagecoach.

Shortlisted nominees will be asked to attend an informal judging session on 14th May in London.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 23rd June at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square. Tickets to the ceremony cost £175 +VAT, which includes a champagne reception and three-course meal.

For more information or to enter the awards, visit First Women Awards.

If your business has achieved indisputably fantastic results over the last 12 months, there could be a Stevie waiting for you at this year’s International Business Awards.

The awards are open to businesses in all sectors and of all sizes. Entrants will compete against similar businesses to ensure that a privately owned SME has as much chance of winning a Stevie as a company in the Fortune 100.

There are around 200 categories available to enter this year, spread across 19 key areas:

• Management
• Company-Organisation
• Corporate Communications
• Investor Relations & Public Relations
• Creative
• Customer Service
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Marketing
• Products & Product Management
• Support
• Advertising
• Advertising/Craft & Technique
• Corporate Literature
• Website or Blog
• Interactive Multimedia
• Video & Film
• Video & Film – Technical & Craft
• Live Events

Entry requirements and costs vary according to the type of award entered.

For achievements relating to individuals, teams, departments and new products, a submission of up to 500 words describing the entrant’s achievements since the beginning of 2009 is required. For individuals, this type of entry costs $225 (USD), while team achievements attract a fee of $375.

For achievements relating to advertising, websites, video or other media, the end product in question must be submitted along with a brief explanation of up to 100 words describing its objectives. For a single piece, entry costs $225, or $325 for an entire campaign.

The deadline for submissions is 12th May, bur entries will be accepted until 9th June if a $35 late fee is paid.

To request an entry kit, or for more information, visit: The International Business Awards.

Has your company’s HR department worked hard over the past twelve months to achieve exceptional results? If so, let the world know about it! You have until the end of today, 25th March to get your entries in for the Haymarket Human Resources Excellence Awards 2010.

The awards recognise creativity, originality and differentiation in HR and the fifteen categories open this year are:

• Best Talent Management Strategy
• Most Successful Change Management Programme
• Most Effective Benefits Strategy
• Most Effective Use of Internal Communications
• Outstanding Employee Engagement Strategy
• Most Effective Recruitment and Retention
• Best Learning and Development Strategy
• Health and Well-being Award
• Best Use of CSR in HR
• Most Innovative Use of Technology
• Best HR Strategy in a Company Under 1000 Employees
• Best Public Sector HR strategy or initiative
• Best Third Sector HR strategy or initiative
• Best Workplace Diversity Strategy
• Best HR Team

 
In a 2000 word submission, entrants must demonstrate their eligibility for the award by describing their performance between January 2009 and March 2010.

A single entry costs £300 + VAT, with further submissions charged at £180 + VAT. A discounted fee of £150 + VAT is offered for charitable or voluntary bodies.

The awards ceremony will take place at Grosvenor House in London on 30th June. Tickets are £240 per head.

To enter, or for more information visit Haymarket Human Resources Excellence Awards.

This year’s Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition got underway on Monday 1st March, with 30,000 students across the country aiming to turn a profit from a £10 loan over the next month by coming up with creative and enterprising business ideas.

But, that’s not all – their business ideas must also have a positive social impact and be of benefit to their local community. Indeed, there will be prizes at the end of the month for the students who make the most positive impact on their local community – one to one sessions with the likes of Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones and other leading British entrepreneurs.

The other categories are Best Business Idea and Most Profit Generated, with the judging split into three age categories: under 11s, 11-14 year olds, and 14-19 year olds.

As well as the one-to-one sessions up for grabs, six winners will also each be awarded £100 to help them develop their entrepreneurial ideas, while a business mentor will provide them with the necessary help and support to really get their idea off the ground.

The competition is the brainchild of entrepreneur Oli Barrett, and this year is being funded by Peter Jones and Michael and Xochi Birch, the founders of Bebo.

When Make Your Mark with a Tenner first ran, the average profit made was £90, with the highest profit being £410. Once the £10 loan is repaid, students can re-invest their profits, give them away to a charitable cause, or even pocket them!

Peter Jones, chair of Enterprise UK, which runs the competition, said: “Make Your Mark with a Tenner harnesses the unrivalled energy and creativity of young people. Their fantastic achievements increase each year that we run it, proof that if you trust young people to act entrepreneurially they will rise to the challenge.”

So, what would you invest your tenner in?

Is your organisation a model of PR excellence? If you stand out from the crowd with some fantastic PR achievements, get your entry in to the 25th annual CIPR Excellence Awards.

There are more than two dozen categories available for entry this year, spread over three main areas:

Campaign Awards

• Corporate and Business Communications
• Investor Relations
• Internal Communications
• Consumer Relations
• Public Sector
• Corporate Responsibility
• Public Affairs
• Not-for-Profit
• Healthcare
• Integrated Campaigns
• Media Relations
• Best Use of Digital PR
• Broadcast
• Global Public Relations
• Crisis Communications
• Automotive Public Relations
• Best Campaign £10k or Under
• Best Campaign over £10k

Special Awards

• External Newspaper or Magazine
• Internal Newspaper or Magazine
• Publication
• Website, Microsite or Intranet
• Event
• Outstanding Young Communicator

Team Awards

• Outstanding Small Consultancy
• Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team
• Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy

Standard entry costs £240 + VAT per entry, or £168 + VAT per entry for charities, local government and public sector entrants.

The closing date for applications is 26th February, although late entries will be accepted until 5th March, with an additional fee of £75 + VAT per entry.

To be eligible for entry, submissions must relate to work conducted between January 2009 and February 2010. The shortlisted entrants will be announced in April, and the awards dinner will be held on 25th June.

For further information, or to enter, visit CIPR Excellence Awards 2010.

The Charity Awards 2010 are now open to entry, and looking for submission from those who can demonstrate excellence in leadership and management in the voluntary sector.

There are ten categories available this year:

• Animals and the environment
• Arts, culture and heritage
• Children and youth
• Disability
• Education and training
• Grantmaking
• Healthcare and medical research
• International aid and development
• Research, advice and support
• Social care and welfare

The awards are open to charities of any size from within the UK. Entrants must be able to demonstrate excellence in some or all of the ‘Hallmarks of Excellence’ established by the awards:

• Leadership
• Planning
• Innovation
• Enterprise
• Learning
• People development
• Impact measurement
• Effectiveness
• Sustainability
• Accountability

Entries will be judged by an independent panel with expertise in charities and management.

The closing date for applications is Friday 12th March 2010. Entry is free, but applicants need to include a copy of their charities’ latest statutory accounts.

For more information, or to download an entry form, visit the Charity Awards 2010.

Does your business excel in its operational and strategic activities? Do you stand out from the crowd in terms of customer service, leadership and growth? If so, get your entry in to the London Excellence Awards 2010.

London Excellence is a not-for-profit organisation whose vision is that “all organisations in London and beyond will be recognised as performing to world-class excellence standards”.

There are ten categories available for entry this year:

• Results Focus
• Customer Focus
• Leadership
• Management Systems
• People Involvement and Development
• Innovation and Learning
• Making Partnerships Work
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Small Business Award
• Ambassador’s Blue Riband

Businesses do not have to be London-based to enter but other criteria, such as company size, vary between award categories.

The closing date for entry is Friday 5th March, but applicants must register their interest by 5th February.

Entry for the awards costs between £195 and £395 + VAT. Entrants are encouraged to attend a free briefing to aid submissions.

For further information, or to enter the awards, visit the London Excellence Awards 2010.

Young Enterprise was founded in 1963 and runs a range of business and enterprise education programmes that are attended by over a quarter of a million people each year. The UK registered charity offers the programmes through the support of over 3,000 businesses and 11,500 volunteers, and is now looking for business to sponsor its Young Enterprise awards scheme at the Northampton and Daventry Area Final on the evening of 30th March 2010.

Awards will be presented to:

• Best Individual Presenter
• Best Trade Stand
• Best Product/Service
• Best Company

Sponsoring an award costs £250 or £500 for the top prize of Best Company.

Enquiries should be directed to Richard Osborne at Young Enterprise on 01604 490 313.

If your Nottinghamshire-based organisation has had a positive impact on society, is a successful new business or is delivering new standards in customer service, you should consider entering the Mansfield Business Awards 2010.

The awards recognise private and public sector organisations that are able to demonstrate outstanding performance in their operational activities.

To qualify for entry, applicants must be based within Nottinghamshire, or be a member of Mansfield 2020.

There are 5 categories available to enter:

• The Community Award
• Best New Business Award
• Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
• Best Retailer Customer Focus Initiative
• Business of the Year Award

All entries shortlisted for other categories will automatically be considered for the overall Business of the Year Award.

There is a maximum of two entries per organisation or individual, and the closing date for applications is Friday 19th February 2010. Entry is free and the awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 10th March 2010.

To enter, or for further information, visit the Mansfield Business Awards.

Running your own business is a challenge for anyone, but balancing motherhood with your professional life is even more demanding. If you are a mum running your own business in the UK, you should consider attending this year’s Mumpreneur Conference and Awards

The conference allows mums in business to get together and celebrate their business achievements whilst attending a variety of seminars.

For the awards programme, there are eight categories open for entry this year:

• Best Start-Up
• Best Online Business
• Best Business Support
• Best Green Business
• Best Saleswoman
• Best Interactive Business
• Most Unique Product
• The Inspirational Business Mum

All entrants shortlisted for any award category will additionally be considered for The Inspirational Business Mum Award.

There are no restrictions on the size of your business. Entry requirements simply demand that all applicants be mums, running their own businesses in the UK. The closing date for applications is 5pm Monday 2nd August 2010.

The conference and awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 18th September 2010 at the Heart of England Conference Centre.

Tickets are priced at £20 each, which includes entry to the conference and awards ceremony and admittance to three of the seminars.

To book tickets, to apply for the awards or for more information, visit The Mumpreneur Conference and Awards 2010.