Oxfordshire's diverse mix of businesses and talented people is an important contributor to the wealth of new ideas generated in the county.

In addition, as a county we rely on innovation, inspiration, invention and imagination for our way of life and our business success perhaps more than we appreciate, but they are crucial to the county's success.

I believe these four Is' are key to how the county's technology economy will compete globally with others now and in the future.

To me, the four Is represent types of energy that can be harnessed by technology companies to make smarter, more efficient and more exciting products and services.

To date, Oxfordshire has done extremely well at converting innovation, inspiration, invention and imagination into successful business enterprise.

Some of the most technologically advanced companies and talented entrepreneurs are now based in Oxfordshire, representing a strategically significant component of our economy.

The county's millennium is upon us and it is an excellent opportunity to get to know the people, places and cultures that exist here and there is a lot to celebrate.

Why and how should we celebrate the county's innovative and enterprising culture?

The Oxford Trust has been organising a science festival for 16 years, and this year there is an enterprise theme to the activities.

Called Enterprising Oxfordshire 2007, the festival forms part of the year-round Oxfordshire 2007 celebrations, which celebrate 1,000 years of Oxfordshire, and runs between February 24 and March 10.

The festival packs in a wide range of events around the county such as exhibitions, science shows, family fun weekends, competitions, networking meetings and lectures.

Many of these activities highlight the success of local technology firms. This is valuable not only for sharing good practice, but also for raising aspirations, for supporting collective marketing of the county, and for helping to stimulate the creative buzz' of opportunities between people with different but complementary skills.

Innovation - the process of turning new ideas into reality - is a vitally important process for almost any organisation, but particularly for Oxfordshire's technology companies which compete on the basis of their novelty.

An exhibition is planned which highlights the diversity of technology innovation in the county, where it came from and what sort of technologies local companies are working on at the moment.

This interactive exhibition will run from February 26 to April 27, and will showcase many examples of innovative products and services, from water purification to radar technology.

There will also be case studies of local technology companies and of the entrepreneurs that helped to start and grow them into successful businesses.

To inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, we need role models and heroes that can broaden horizons, raise aspirations and make entrepreneurship a credible career option.

Oxfordshire boasts some of the great entrepreneurs of this and the last century, from Sir William Morris to Sir Martin Wood, but who do you think is Oxfordshire's greatest entrepreneur?

The Oxford Trust's Great Entrepreneurs Competition runs from May 7 to June 22, giving you the chance to nominate your choice of local entrepreneurial star.

Creativity and imagination are vital components of successful innovation, and this is often realised in novel and visually appealing product designs, particularly for technology businesses.

In many cases, successful new product development depends as much on artistic talent as it does on technical, or functional, performance.

To highlight the best of the county's creative skill, The Oxford Trust is organising an Enterprise Photography competition.

If you can capture the idea of science enterprise' in a photograph and send it to us by July 31, you could win a digital camera and a place in an exhibition of images at Science Oxford in the autumn.

These are just some of the activities that will be launched during Enterprising Oxfordshire 2007.

You can pick up a copy of the full programme at libraries, tourist offices, or at Science Oxford.

Alternatively, the programme and the latest festival news can be found online at www.oxtrust.org.uk/festival The Oxford Trust will also be supporting new technology businesses in Oxfordshire at the Venturefest science and technology fair taking place on July 2 and 3, at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell.

We will be running an auction of business services that any new company or entrepreneur needs to grow.

This page is compiled by The Oxford Trust, www.oxtrust.org.uk