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The Merseyside Innovation Awards recognise and reward companies and individuals in Merseyside who use innovation as a means of growth and profitability. The aim is to help them with the process of turning great ideas into great businesses, and to contribute towards the economic development of Merseyside.

Established since 1996 the awards have gone from strength to strength. They have been driven by a group of 12 locally based sponsoring organisations, which offer support to the entrants turning their ideas into growing businesses. It is estimated that over 500 companies have participated to date.

Brian McCann, Chair of the sponsor panel and founder of Vanguard Corporate Finance, says "The awards have shown what a fertile breeding ground we have for new business ideas. The sponsors have enjoyed working with a wide range of entrants in the past. The next few months will be an exciting time as we examine all the entries and select the shortlist. I would urge anyone with a great idea or product to fill in an application form and see what happens."

Please visit the News Updates section to find out about the annual finalists and monthly winners.

Who can apply
The awards are launched each January and are open to individuals and companies with fewer than 50 employees based in Merseyside and the immediate surrounding area. They will be eligible to win £10,000 in cash, support from some of the region's leading business advisers, worth £4,000, and publicity for the idea.

How to enter
Applicants complete a straightforward online application form, which the sponsor group uses to evaluate the application. In many cases, sponsors will contact the applicant to get a better understanding of the business and its innovation.

The sponsors then meet on a monthly basis to evaluate, score and select a monthly winner, who receives a licence to use the awards for marketing purposes, a Merseyside Innovation Awards certificate and a bottle of Champagne.

In May each year, the sponsors select a shortlist of potential finalists who are visited by two members of the sponsor group. The sponsors then select three finalists, who are invited to present their product or idea at the annual final to a panel of judges and an audience of funding organisations and local members of the business community. Previous members of our panel have included Trevor Baylis, Evan Davis and Steve Morgan. The judges will select a winner and present the prize of £10,000 in cash, plus consultancy support.

Please complete a registration form: Following initial evaluation by the sponsors of Merseyside Innovation Awards, you will then be contacted to discuss your innovation and to supply further details as appropriate.

http://www.merseysideinnovationawards.co.uk/mia-apply/intro.aspx