The Department for International Trade has launched a tender valued between £26,400 and £79,200 for the design of the King’s Awards for Enterprise trophy for the next three years.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
The awards were instituted by Royal Warrant in 1965 with the first being received in 1966 under the original title, The Queen’s Award to Industry. In 1975 the name was changed to the Queen’s Awards for Export and Technology, with Environmental Achievement added in 1992.
In 1999, the awards were renamed The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise with three defining categories. The fourth category – promoting opportunity through social mobility – was added later. Following the accession of King Charles III in 2023, the awards were renamed again as The King’s Awards for Enterprise.
Applications for 2024 awards have already begun with the Royal reception held for award recipients due to take place in Summer 2024, where winners will be presented with the newly designed trophies.
Recent trophy designs have included crystal glass bowls engraved with the King’s Awards emblem, award title and winning year. The new trophies should be “distinctive” with designs that reflect “the new modernised King’s Awards, while retaining the prestige of achieving an award of this stature”, according to the brief. The dimensions of the proposed trophy design should not exceed 22cm in width, 25cm height and 1740 grams.
The brief also details that the trophy should be made from sustainable materials while still incorporating the traditional crystal element in some way.
The new designer will be responsible for the design, manufacture, quality control and delivery of the trophies and be able to deliver them by 31 May each year once the contract has been awarded. The King’s Awards Office will be responsible for ordering the quantity of trophies required each year and instructing the designer/supplier on the delivery addresses.
The Department for International Trade would prefer the chosen designer to be based in the UK.
Around 300 trophies per year will be required but it is possible that this number will fluctuate each year and could be less than 300. The exact number of trophies will be confirmed by the King’s Awards Office in March each year.
Interested designers can attend a market engagement event in the week commencing 4th December 2023. Please email [email protected] by 4pm on 1 December 2023 to receive attendance instructions.
Banner and featured image credit: sdfharkin via Shutterstock
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