In more detail
Co-operatives are democratically controlled associations which belong to the people set them up and are based on self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. Their shared ethical values – derived from those of the 19th century Rochdale Pioneers - are honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others. More than 17 million people in the UK are part of a co-operative and, in total, co-ops contribute more than £34bn to the economy every year. The video above from Co-ops UK explains what a co-operative is.
Abroad, in France, the top 3 cooperative banks have roughly the same level of revenue as HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays combined. The world’s largest industrial co-operative in Mondragon, in Spain, employs 75,000 workers – which is more than, for example, Google or Apple. Spanish football clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are co-operatives.
In England, household names like the Co-op (of course), Nationwide Building Society and John Lewis are cooperatives. There are more than 200, mostly small-scale, housing cooperatives which provide affordable homes for their members. There are also food cooperatives, energy cooperatives, car-sharing clubs and social care cooperatives providing vital services on which their members depend. And an increasing number of neighbourhood timebanks and tool shares which work on cooperative principles.
Why Consider a Co-op?
A cooperative could be an appropriate form for an organisation which is set up to benefit and improve a neighbourhood because it:
- is democratic and can only ever belong to its members
- has open membership within its area - new members can join after it has been set up
- can employ staff, undertake contracts and deliver services if necessary and/or can be used as a campaigning and educational body
- works to benefit its members and the wider community as a whole
- surpluses can only either be re-invested in the work of the co-op, or shared between its members
- is built on the same values that underpin neighbourliness.
Becoming a co-operative, creates links to the wider co-operative movement, to potential collaboration and sources of support.
Membership is Ownership
In co-ops, membership is ownership. The one-member-one-vote rule applies in small organisations, social enterprises and community groups as well as in the big businesses like those above which work co-operatively.
What determines whether an organisation is a co-op are the values, principles and ways of working that it follows, rather than a given organisational structure. Co-ops can be constituted in a wide range of legal forms including as: Industrial and Provident Societies, non-profit companies and charitable incorporated organisations.
The video below is of Ed Mayo of Cooperatives UK talking about why he thinks the cooperative model is a better model for business:
| Key Facts:
Co-ops are democratically owned and managed associations of people who share a common interest. They range from multi-million pound businesses to small, neighbourhood bodies. Regardless of their legal form, they share the principle of one member, one vote and a set of values and ways of working which distinguish co-ops from other businesses. For groups working together to improve the locality, it is worth thinking about setting up a neighbourhood co-op. |
Page Links from here
Cooperatives UK is the networking body for co-ops which helps new and existing bodies working on cooperative lines. Examples of different sorts of neighbourhood group that are set up as cooperatives include:
London Community Neighbourhood Co-operative
Abram Ward Community Co-operative in Wigan
Headingley Development Trust in Leeds
Heart of Hasting Community Land Trust
Uplands Allotments Community Association in Birmingham
The Eldonians in Liverpool
On this website, see
OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.
BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.
| created: 2016-07-15 14:23:01 | by: admin | status: f published |