While colleagues were with John Armitt and Richard Ellis, East of England Development Agency's (EEDA's) Chairman, visiting businesses who had been successful in either winning ODA contracts or other contracts via CompeteFor, I was working with Lee, Vanessa and Jo from the supply chain team to work with businesses throughout the region to help them maximise their opportunities via CompeteFor. I’d put a challenging list of businesses together, varied in both the type of business and their location throughout the region.
The event was held at the Colchester Community Stadium, home of Colchester United FC, in the director boxes - because it was such a beautiful day we were able to open the boxes out for a fantastic view of the pitch. The supply team had obviously used my briefings to put together a one-to-one session for each of the businesses which gave tips that were specific to each business. The businesses that I spoke to after came out feeling motivated to make the most of their CompeteFor opportunities. 
As the workshops wound down, we all made our way to the main event, where nearly 400 businesses were already networking. As the talks started, Richard Ellis explained what EEDA was doing to help businesses during the current difficult economic climate and the support that could be found on the Business Map (www.bizmapeast.co.uk). John Armitt went on to highlight both the wealth and breadth of opportunities available and the progress made to date before Chris Boardman introduced us to the Secret Squirrel Club and the phenomenal difference a seven percent improvement can make at the very top level! 
After the talks everyone went back to networking mode helped by some delicious local food and drink, everyone I spoke to was interested in one of two things; how can I win a contract and how can I get one of those 2012 Games pins! 
I’m sure the event will give everyone who attended a little bit extra activation energy and we can look forward to more CompeteFor registrations and contracts won in the near future.
