Innovation Nation, an initiative between The Guardian and Virgin Media Business to uncover the UK’s most innovative organisations and people, has today unveiled its shortlist of finalists. From the organisation that helped to launch Facebook flood alerts to the most unique examples of telemedicine in practice today, the finalists epitomise a country that is using technology to go above and beyond the norm, regardless of economic turbulence and challenges.
The expert panel of judges had their work cut out for them as the quality of entries was extremely high. Many businesses, central and local government organisations and CIOs were all looking to showcase the great work that they have been doing over the past year and the judges were thrilled with the number of organisations wanting to celebrate innovation and prove that the UK is alive and kicking with creativity.
However, there can only be a handful of winners. The shortlist of entries will now be featured on the Innovation Nation site giving the public the opportunity to cast their vote for their favourite entry. The winners will be decided via a combination of public votes and the judges’ scores.
Mark Heraghty, managing director, Virgin Media Business, said: “It’s hugely encouraging to see that innovation and creative thinking is thriving in the UK. We’re a country that has built a reputation for being at the forefront of cutting edge technology and overcoming challenges, with a bit of creative thinking.
“So it’s unsurprising that the quality and quantity of entries was so high and I would like to personally thank everyone who took part and submitted their projects for consideration, you gave the judges a tough job! Being selected for the shortlist is therefore a huge achievement and everyone that has been selected should be proud of themselves. It’s now up to the British public to have their say and determine the winners of Innovation Nation.”
The shortlist for Innovation Nation is as follows:
Innovation in enterprise
Reynolds Porter and Chamberlain
Shoothill
UK Specialist Hospitals
Innovation in frontline services
Dyfed Powys Police
Department of Work and Pensions
North Yorkshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council
Innovation in collaboration
Anna Freud Centre
YHMAN
The most innovative CIO
Phil Pavitt - HMRC
John Thornbury - Worcestershire NHS Trust
All shortlisted entries are now live on the Innovation Nation site. Following the public voting, winners will be announced at an exclusive event at The Guardian on 30th May where guest speakers Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the wind-up radio and Richard Noble, Project Director, BLOODHOUND SSC and Innovation judge will be sharing their insight and experiences.
-ENDS-
Note to Editors:
Innovation Nation judging panel:
Araceli Camargo (@THECUBELondon) founder of THECUBE
Araceli Camargo is the founder of THECUBE, a start-up incubator based in east London. She is a social entrepreneur with a focus on building healthy and innovative communities. Her current thesis is around how communities innovate and build strong economic systems.
Brian Durrant, chief executive at London Grid for Learning Trust
Brian leads the London Grid for Learning (LGfL) – a consortium of the 33 Local Authorities which make up the Greater London region.
Recently, Brian led the process which awarded a contract to Virgin Media Business for the creation of the new London PSN network to meet the needs of schools and public bodies in London.
Richard Noble (@RichardNobleSSC) - Project director to the BLOODHOUND project
Richard Noble is project director to the BLOODHOUND project, an international education initiative focused around a 1,000mph world land speed record attempt. The aim of the project is to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, by show-casing them in the most exciting way possible.
Mark Heraghty, managing director at Virgin Media Business
Mark Heraghty was appointed as managing director of Virgin Media Business in June 2009. He leads the business division's senior management team, with direct responsibilities for sales, marketing, product management and customer operations in the UK business market. He is one of the most experienced and capable business-to-business telecoms executives in the UK.
Lee Hull, director, public sector, Virgin Media Business
Lee Hull is director, public sector at Virgin Media Business and a member of the business division's senior leadership team, with direct responsibility for all the public sector revenue streams.
Lee started working at the company in a graduate role more than 12 years ago and his previous role was heading up the business sales teams in Scotland, Northern Ireland and north east England.
David Brindle, public services editor, Guardian
David Brindle is public services editor of the Guardian. He has been the paper's social affairs correspondent and edited the Society section. He has won awards for his coverage of social care, disability issues and nursing. He is a board member of Richmond Fellowship, a leading mental health service charity, and chairs its 2Care subsidiary.
Juliette Garside, telecoms and technology writer, Guardian
Juliette Garside is a telecoms and technology writer for the Guardian. She previously covered telecoms and media for the Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. Her career has included a stint as news editor of the trade magazine Media Week, forward planning for the Evening Standard home news desk, and two years as arts correspondent for Glasgow's Sunday Herald.
