Teesside Business School signs Parcelforce contract

The University of Teesside has clinched a £40,000 contract with Parcelforce Worldwide, and a special signing ceremony will formally cement this on Thursday 5 December. Teesside Business School at the University of Teesside has been chosen as the best academic institution to validate the Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business Awards, the leading national competition for the best small business that demonstrates excellence in several categories, as chosen by Teesside Business School.

There will be an opportunity to photograph the signing of this contract at 1pm on Thursday 5 December, in the Board Room, Fourth Floor, Learning Resource Centre, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough. The contract will be signed by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Derek Fraser, Professor Ted Fuller from Teesside Business School and Vanessa Leeson, Managing Director, Parcelforce Worldwide.

Last year there were over 5,000 entries to the awards, which will celebrate their eleventh year in 2003. Over £100,000 worth of prizes is available to small businesses that enter. The sponsors of the awards are VISA, Viking Direct and Parcelforce Worldwide itself, and are endorsed by the Federation of Small Businesses. In addition to the regional prizes and the national award, there are also specialist awards, recognising outstanding performance in specific categories such as customer service, export and business efficiency.

Ted Fuller is the University's Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Foresight, and has been central to the awards' judging process for several years. He said: "The Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business Awards are high prestige awards with important sponsors, but most vitally they celebrate people who create and run their own businesses. The University of Teesside is committed to developing enterprise amongst students, staff and the business community, and our role in the Awards is one way of demonstrating this."

Professor Fraser, University Vice-Chancellor, said: "It is a mark of Teesside Business School's success that the University can work with large businesses such as Parcelforce Worldwide, to help small businesses throughout the United Kingdom."

Vanessa Leeson, Managing Director, Parcelforce Worldwide, said: "Parcelforce Worldwide recognises the role that small businesses play in driving the UK economy. We believe that it is important to recognise the excellence in business practice that exists in the small business sector, and the Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business Awards are one way of doing this. The awards form part of our portfolio of products and services that are specifically designed with small business in mind, and we would encourage any small business to enter".

Teesside Business School's role in the Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business Awards is to:

• revisit and design the two-stage entry process, which starts with regional winners and ends with national finals
• provide the scoring and judging criteria
• train the regional judging panels and support them by producing short lists
• chair the national judging
• assist in the promotional activity.

The awards are due to launch at the beginning of March, and more information is on the website www.parcelforce.com/awards.

---