The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is calling on businesses to apply for the King’s Award - the most prestigious awards for enterprise, recognising and celebrating business excellence across the UK.

Laura Gabrielle, Marketing and Communications Manager at Shared Interest, explains how they won the award three times, and offers her advice for success.

Tell us about your organisation and your role?

Shared Interest was set up in 1990 and brings together a community of over 12,000 people in the UK with a shared goal of investing in a fairer world. We work hand in hand with people in communities where income opportunities may be limited and businesses are facing increasing challenges.

We act co-operatively, providing finance to fair trade businesses in up to 45 countries. The majority of these organisations support smallholder farmers who produce around a third of the world’s food but often struggle to feed their families.

We use the investments of our members to make loans to organisations of farmers and craftspeople as well as some fairtrade buyers. The loans typically fund seeds, plants, materials, crops, equipment or finished goods. Once the crops or crafts are sold, the organisation repays Shared Interest the capital plus a fair rate of interest. The funds can then be recycled and lent out again.

My role as Marketing and Communications Manager involves attracting and retaining investors through an integrated approach of planned communications activity to a wide range of target audiences. I act as the brand guardian and lead copywriter for the organisation, and work to identify opportunities to spread the word about what we do.

Shared Interest won a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development category for the third time.

What was your experience of the application process?

The application process is comprehensive and detailed, and rightly so for such a prestigious award. However, I find the process of writing the application rather humbling. It is not very often you get to detail all your organisational achievements in writing – for me it really helped showcase what we have achieved during the year.

I found this process hugely beneficial to other areas of our work, such as writing promotional content and it also aligned well to producing our social accounts document in demonstrating our impact. I found that once the application was complete, I would go back to it during the year and make use of some of the content for other purposes, so it was certainly not a one-off use application.

How has winning this recognition helped Shared Interest?

Holding the Queens (now Kings) Award is a prestigious accolade for our organisation. The Royal Seal of Approval is the greatest accolade a business can have in my opinion. It gives us credibility which we could not achieve from any other award.

At the time of winning our last Queens Award in 2020, our Managing Director Patricia Alexander, said: “The award is a symbol of the hard work and dedication of every single person involved in the organisation. What does it mean for us as a business and as a team? It is a badge of honour and symbol of pride that our organisation is achieving its mission and fulfilling its role in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.”

What are the benefits of reapplying for an award?

Feedback from previous applications is detailed, constructive and vitally important when reapplying. Shared Interest applied for a third Queen’s Award in 2019 and were unsuccessful, we received feedback and applied again in 2020. In our application we ensured we had responded to all feedback given, being careful to cover areas where we did not score highly in the past application. The result being we received our third award that year.

In 2022, we applied for a King’s Award for our charitable arm, Shared Interest Foundation. We were unsuccessful and received feedback. We are now working on our 2023 application, using our feedback as a guide point. I see it as an upper hand when you already have the information on what did not work so well in your application, so for me the second application felt that little bit easier.

As a King's Award for Enterprise Champion, what would be your top tips for others thinking of applying?

The experience of applying for an award is both challenging and rewarding. I would advise those applying to plan your application well. The application process is lengthy and the more time you give yourself to gather the correct information, the stronger your application will be. The deadline for applications seems like a long period but use that time wisely and your application will shine.

Allocate a leader who writes the application, but bring in collaborators for support if you have the resources to do so. Tell your story in your own words, deliver your passion and tell your authentic story.

· Applications for the 2024 round are now open and close at midday on the 12th September, 2023.

For more information about eligibility and how to apply, visit www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise