Cooperatives
A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise".[1]
Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.
The cooperative movement is a global phenomenon and works as a cornerstone of many resilient economies such as Switzeland, Japan, India, ireland, Italy, Canada, Spain and the USA. Check out the list of the top 300 coops globally: https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/jan/04/social-enterprise-blog-co-operatives-and-mutuals.
The Development Cooperative in the United Kingdom is a great place to start if you wnat assistance in developing cooperatives in your community in the UK.
The credit union movement is a cooperative banking system which drives much of the personal banking systems of Canada, Kenya, Ireland, Germany and Switzeland. Check the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) website: https://www.abcul.coop/home
If you are interested in starting a cooperative in the the UK, consider contacting the HIVE for free support. The Cooperative College also offers some good training courses for UK-based cooperatives or those who are "Coop-curious".
A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise".[1]
Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.
The cooperative movement is a global phenomenon and works as a cornerstone of many resilient economies such as Switzeland, Japan, India, ireland, Italy, Canada, Spain and the USA. Check out the list of the top 300 coops globally: https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/jan/04/social-enterprise-blog-co-operatives-and-mutuals.
The Development Cooperative in the United Kingdom is a great place to start if you wnat assistance in developing cooperatives in your community in the UK.
The credit union movement is a cooperative banking system which drives much of the personal banking systems of Canada, Kenya, Ireland, Germany and Switzeland. Check the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) website: https://www.abcul.coop/home
If you are interested in starting a cooperative in the the UK, consider contacting the HIVE for free support. The Cooperative College also offers some good training courses for UK-based cooperatives or those who are "Coop-curious".
Stir to Action
Stir to Action is an interesting social enterprise building a new economy based on democratic ownership through strategic economic development, training, and a quarterly magazine. Set up in 2012 by a small group of activists, Stir to Action strongly suppports teh trnsformation of the economy to becoming more inclusive.
Worker Cooperatives
Worker owned and controlled cooperatives offer a real alternative to the existing hegemony of privately owned and run corporations.
Worker owned and controlled cooperatives offer a real alternative to the existing hegemony of privately owned and run corporations.
Asset Locks
There has been a tendency for social enterprises and cooperatives to convert to private companies or to de-mutualise. The legal requirement to create asset locks written into the founding documents of an organisation is an antidote to this unethical practice. In the United Kingdom asset locks are features of various leagl forms. Click on the link to find out more: Asset Locks |
Intangible assets
Much of the work of social enterprises involves the creation and protection of the commons. The commons is a public good and recogniseing public goods as intangible assets may be used as a strategy to ensure assets remain locked and accounted for in balance sheets. Below is brief explanation of how to account for intangible assets in your balance sheet. |
Twinned entities
The International Labour Organisation in 2011 recognised the role that twinned organisations can play in creating effective social enterprises. Their report outlines from page 18 onwards the Governance and management of social enterprises using one organisation as a profit-making business which, is locked into transfering all its profits to a charity or non-profit entity. Read the full Report by clicking on the link here: “Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work”
The International Labour Organisation in 2011 recognised the role that twinned organisations can play in creating effective social enterprises. Their report outlines from page 18 onwards the Governance and management of social enterprises using one organisation as a profit-making business which, is locked into transfering all its profits to a charity or non-profit entity. Read the full Report by clicking on the link here: “Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work”
Local exchange trading systems and local currencies
Unlike time banks, LETS encourages trade in goods as well as time: LETS
Click on the button bellow to go to the Community Exchange System website.
Unlike time banks, LETS encourages trade in goods as well as time: LETS
Click on the button bellow to go to the Community Exchange System website.
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Community shares
Usually pitched as a way to raise funding for a community asset, community shares is also a really helpful way to share wealth within a community. Click on the link here from CoopsUK. |
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Full cost accounting
Most businesses fail to account for the full costs of their operations. Mines, for example, will not include the costs of environmental degradation and their antisocial activities that destroy communities. banks fail to account for investment and loans to arms dealers and fossil fuel companies. The list is endless. Full cost accounting was initial developed to account for the indirect costs of a product or service. The adoption of full cost accounting has the potential to completely upturn the way we value companies and entire industries. Really worth looking into. |
Calculating the value of the commons: Generating resilient urban futures: Generating resilient urban futures through accounting.
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Supporting the PrecariatThere are now more self-employed workers than at any time since modern records began. Some 4.6 million people in the UK, around 15 per cent of the workforce, are now selfemployed and data from the Office for National Statistics show that two thirds of new jobs in the UK created in recent years are down to self-employment. The number of freelancers is likely to grow further during the tax year from April 2016, relecting a signiicant and permanent change in the pattern of work in the economy. Survey research for this report suggests that one in four current employees in medium-sized irms (27%) in the UK would like to go self-employed (22% in small irms). Current projections are that by 2018 the number of people who are self-employed will outnumber those working in the public sector.
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