Queen's Award Research Articles

Are you a future QNI award winner?

The search is on for the next winners of the Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) Innovative and Creative Practice Awards Scheme. If you are a practice nurse working in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the QNI can offer you funding and support to develop a project that will enhance the care and lives of your patients.

Water Test Kit Receives Queen's Award in the UK

This article announces that Severn Trent Services was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the innovation category for its Eclox? Water Test Kit. Originally developed for the British Ministry of Defense, the kit is now increasingly being used by water utilities as a safeguard against terrorism.

A J Walter Aviation is awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise 2002

A J Walter Aviation is awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise 2002

HRH the Princess Royal presents Labtech with Queen's Award for Enterprise

HRH the Princess Royal presents Labtech with Queen's Award for Enterprise

Buro Happold wins Queen's Award for Enterprise 2001

Buro Happold wins Queen's Award for Enterprise 2001

Pascall Electronics receives Queen's Award for Enterprise

Pascall Electronics receives Queen's Award for Enterprise

Innovation in property services wins The Queen's Award

Innovation in property services wins The Queen's Award

Queen's MBE award to AVA Life Member

Queen's MBE award to AVA Life Member

High-technology firms' perceptions of their international competitiveness

This paper reports empirical results from a research project investigating selected characteristics and perceptions of technologically oriented firms. Specifically, it examines data from a survey of winners of the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement, and from a sample of technologically oriented firms that did not apply for the award. This paper is especially concerned with firms' perceptions of factors contributing to their international competitiveness. Findings from a postal survey and subsequent interviews indicate that there are a number of differences between the two groups of firms. Implications are that some of the characteristics and practices that set winners of the Queen's Award apart from other technology-based firms in their domestic market contribute to their performance overseas. While the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement is not specifically awarded to firms for their internationalisation capabilities, these firms provide valuable advice to technology-based firms entering international markets.

Evaluating the effectiveness of Z: The claims made about CICS and where we go from here

There have been few genuine success stories about industrial use of formal methods. Perhaps the best known and most celebrated is the use of Z by IBM (in collaboration with Oxford University's Programming Research Group) during the development of CICS/ESA (version 3.1). This work was rewarded with the prestigious Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1992 and is especially notable for two reasons: 1) because it is a commercial, rather than safety- or security-critical, system and 2) because the claims made about the effectiveness of Z are quantitative as well as qualitative. The most widely publicized claims are: less than half the normal number of customer-reported errors and a 9% savings in the total development costs of the release. This paper provides an independent assessment of the effectiveness of using Z on CICS based on the set of public domain documents. Using this evidence, we believe that the case study was important and valuable, but that the quantitative claims have not been substantiated. The intellectual arguments and rationale for formal methods are attractive, but their widespread commercial use is ultimately dependent upon more convincing quantitative demonstrations of effectiveness. Despite the pioneering efforts of IBM and PRG, there is still a need for rigorous, measurement-based case studies to assess when and how the methods are most effective. We describe how future similar case studies could be improved so that the results are more rigorous and conclusive.

Smiths Industries Double Award

TWO navigation display systems, developed to meet the contrasting conditions found in aircraft cockpits and river boats, have each earned the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement for Smiths Industries. The awards highlight an area of increasing expertise within the company, which is in demand for both military and commercial applications.

Not Available

Royal flush: Major-General Sir Philip Ward, Vice Lord Lieutenant of W est Sussex, left, and Brian Fieldhouse, Clerk to the Lieutenancy, were among the speakers at the presentation of the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement to Simcare recently. The award was in recognition of the benefits for patients from the company's 'Symphony' colostomy bag, believed to be the only toilet-disposable bag.

Industry

Elcometer celebrates second Queen's Award Ian Sellars, managing director of Elcometer Instruments Ltd, thanked staff for their fine team effort when civic dignitaries, staff and associates joined to celebrate the presentation of Elcometer's second Queen's Award.

Better ways of managing design: The queen's award winners' experience : Davidson Oyemeka Ughanwa, Technovation (1988), pp. 377–399

Better ways of managing design: The queen's award winners' experience : Davidson Oyemeka Ughanwa, Technovation (1988), pp. 377–399

Queen's Award for Technological Achievement: NERC ICP-MS facility

Queen's Award for Technological Achievement: NERC ICP-MS facility

Making our mark worldwide

‘Making our mark worldwide’ is the corporate aim of a small, high technology firm based on the outskirts of Cambridge, UK. In its brief, 10 year history the company, Domino Printing Sciences PLC, has acquired an enviable track record of new product development, growth and success the world over in supplying industrial ink‐jet printing systems. It has sustained a growth rate in excess of 30% per annum, and along the way picked up the Queen's Award for Technology in 1985 and for Exports in 1987.

Better ways of managing design: the queen's award winners' experience

This paper aims at helping innovators improve the effectiveness of design management, with a view to enhancing the competitiveness of manufactured products. The author examines the hypothesis that 'design is not effectively managed in many British Industries'. The paper presents the results of an investigation into ways in which the management of design may be improved. It is concluded that the key to successful design management is the effective integration of all the departments, teams and/or individuals involved in the design, development, manufacture and sale of a new product, with minimal boundaries. The product per sc must be continuously evaluated and reviewed in harmony with the customer/user purpose.

Comment

Although ICI Paints Aquabase waterborne basecoat for the automotive industry has received the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement (see page 6 in July issue), it is not surprising that it is not yet being used by any company in Britain, to our knowledge. It is used on a full scale production line at General Motors truck plant in Ontario and is also used by Volvo in Sweden. We now hear that in Japan — always ready to use new technology — NOF and Shinto have signed licence agreements with ICI Paints to use Aquabase.

Queen's Award for ICI high‐tech vehicle paints

Aquabase, a waterborne paint for vehicles, developed by ICI has been recognised by a Queen's Award for Technological Achievement. It is ICI's 50th award — 24 have been for technological innovation and 26 for export achievements.

Queen's double award

Queen's double award