Social enterprise, co-operatives and mutuality

This section of the website offers a selection of my writings on issues relating to co-operative forms of business, community-based social enterprise and mutuality. Some recent journalism is also included below.

NEW (June 2009) : From Colleagues to Owners: transferring ownership to employees. A new report for the Employee Ownership Association with ten case studies (including Martin Currie, Wilkin and Son, Herga, UBH International, CPCR, AG Parfett & Sons, GLL, Child Base).

My report Meeting housing needs the Co-operative way is published by Co-operatives UK. Two short extracts, published in New Sector magazine, can also be accessed.

The booklet HIV/AIDS and co-operatives (published March 2006) was written for the UK Co-operative College. Also available is the report Making a Difference: Co-operative solutions to global poverty (2005), co-written with Linda Shaw, also for the UK Co-operative College. Both PDF format.

Dec 2006: A second edition of Climbing the Ladder: step by step finance for social enterprise, written for Social Enterprise London, is now available. This publication can be purchased (PDF) from SEL's website, via the link above.

Tanzania's co-operatives look to the future (written Jan 2006) reports on the country's co-op reform and modernisation programme.

The quest for capital in values-driven businesses. This is an expanded version of material contributed to the book Co-operative Capital (published Autumn 2004 by Co-operative Action - news story here) . The report explores the relationship between ethical/socially responsible investors and co-operatives/social enterprises. Includes an overview of ethical investment in the UK, 'alternative' share issues, and ethical venture capital. Short case studies include Traidcraft, Centre for Alternative Technology, Bay Wind.

The report Financial participation by employees in co-operatives in Britain includes an overview of the UK co-operative movement, an analysis of use by UK consumer co-ops of all-employee share ownership plans, and information on financial investment by members of workers' co-ops. The report was written in 2004 for the European project Confidence.

Three in-depth case studies (written late 2001) are available here:

• Greenwich Leisure Ltd, offers an interesting alternative model to the tradition of direct management control by local authorities.
• Coin Street Community Builders is the not-for-profit development trust with responsibility for regenerating 13 acres of prime real estate on London’s South Bank.
• Poptel, the internet service provider, was established as a co-operative business in the early 1980s.

Please note: the information contained in these case studies (prepared as teaching material for post-graduate students at the University of East London) is based on research undertaken 5+ years ago. Poptel, in particular, has experienced significant changes since then (see article below for more information).

My paper Co-operative Working and Community Projects (1986-7) is primarily of historical interest. Written over twenty years ago, it raised issues (including co-operative delivery of public services and 'stakeholder' approaches to co-operative structures) more widely debated today.

From recent journalism on issues relating to co-operative business, mutuality and social enterprise, I have selected the following:

• Children's nursery chain Child Base moves towards employee ownership (Financial Times, 2009)
• Canadian insurer The Co-operators aims for sustainability (ICMIF Voice magazine, 2008)
• Profile of a chief executive: Friedrich Caspers (R+V) (ICMIF Voice magazine, 2008)
• Profile of a chief executive: Rolf-Peter Hoenen (HUK-Coburg insurers)(ICMIF Voice magazine, 2008)
• Phone Co-op proves there's life yet in the old consumer co-operative model (Financial Times, 2008)
• Co-operative solutions to housing problems (New Sector, 2008)
• Co-housing: combining the benefits of private space and communal living (New Sector, 2008)
• On track: how communities are working to defend their rail services (Choice magazine, 2008)
• Transferring public assets into community ownership (Choice magazine, 2008)
• An introduction to social enterprise (Choice magazine, 2008)
• Profile of a chief executive: Asmo Kalpala (Tapiola, Finland)(ICMIF Voice magazine, 2008)
• Profile of a chief executive: Jacques Forest (P&V cooperative insurers, Belgium) (ICMIF Voice magazine, 2007)
• Profile of a chief executive: Tamotsu Ishikawa (Zenrosai cooperative insurers, Japan)(ICMIF Voice magazine, 2007)
• Profile of a chief executive: John Balmforth (AMI mutual, New Zealand)(ICMIF Voice magazine, 2007)
• Standing on their own two feet: cooperative reform in Tanzania (ILO, 2006) Also in French and Spanish.
• A personal stake: why employee-owned businesses return more than a profit (World of Work, 2006) Also in French and Spanish.
• The boss who gave away the business (Herga) (Financial Times, 2006)
• Employee ownership: when workers own their companies (Financial Times, 2005)
• Co-operation's the key to happy canal boating (Observer, 2005)
• Car clubs - how sharing vehicles can save money (Observer, 2005)
• How the ILO is promoting the Promotion of Co-operatives Recommendation (World of Work, 2005) Also in French and Spanish.
• Community investment in good food (Observer, 2005)
• The role of co-ops for development in Africa (Developments, 2005)
• Let's talk about capital for co-operatives, says researcher Jim Brown (Co-operatives, 2005)
  

Earlier journalism:

• Employee buy-outs can offer a welcome exit route for owners (Financial Times, 2004)
• A profile of Triodos Bank (Observer, 2004)
• Fair trade company Cafe Direct looks for ethically-minded shareholders (Observer, 2004)
• The revival of the co-operative idea: the ILO Co-operatives Recommendation one year on (World of Work. 2003) Also in French and Spanish.
• Poptel: how one workers' co-op was taken over by its investors (Financial Times, 2003)
• APOs: how 'Alternative Public Offerings' for ethically minded shareholders are developing in Britain (Observer, 2003)
• Employee-owned UBH International looks to China for strategic partnership (Financial Times, 2003)
• Capital needs for employee-owned businesses (Financial Times, 2002)
• Suma workers’ co-operative 25 years on (Financial Times, 2002)
• Ethical Property Company looks for supportive shareholders (Observer, 2002)
• Renewable Energy Investment Club launches (Observer, 2002)
• Financial protection for UK credit unions (Observer, 2002)
• Co-ops get new .coop top level domain (Commercial client, 2002)
• Yorkshire Dales community bid for capital to reopen railway link (Observer, 2002)
• Building societies, mutuality and member democracy (Observer, 2001)
• Time banks in Britain (Observer, 2001)
• Trying to save the ‘Robin Hood’: one Yorkshire community’s efforts to reopen a rural pub (Observer, 2001)
• A new currency in south London: the arrival of 'time money' in Lewisham(Observer, 2000)
• Community banking to help tackle social exclusion to financial services? (Housing magazine, 1999)