On 9 February 2012, the UN International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) was launched at the magnificent (and slightly odd) Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. Organised by the Holyrood cross-party parliamentary group on co-operatives, it was an event designed to showcase the political support for the co-operative movement in Scotland and provide an opportunity for co-operators across all sectors to meet and greet.

I am aware that I am biased but I must say that the quality of the event was superb; well-respected speakers (including finance minister John Swinney, who spoke with authority and passion on the role of co-ops in his constituency) and hardy exhibitionists co-operated to create an enjoyable and dynamic atmosphere. For CETS, it was an opportunity to showcase some of our most recent work (a couple of launch dates in the pipeline – we’ll keep you posted) and gain valuable feedback and contacts. Rather than try (and fail) to fully describe the tone and content of the event, I will let the excellent video produced by Glasgow’s own mediaco-op tell the tale.

Co-operatives UK, the national trade body for co-operatives, is collaborating with The Guardian to stage an online debate about how co-operatives can contribute to the economic ‘rebuilding’ of Britain. The panel will be hosted from The Guardian’s offices in London and individuals are encouraged to participate in the discussion by registering to view it online; the discussion begins at 1:15pm. More details can be found at http://s.coop/7qrf.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 33 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Well, we’re almost at the end of the year and it has been an exciting one from our perspective. We’ve developed a couple of new resources  and got accreditation for two qualifications (ASDAN and SQA) in Co-operative Studies. The fruits of our labour will be seen next year though, with a number of big events and resource launches to coincide with the UN 2012 Year of Co-operatives. Without wanting to spoil the surprise, keep an eye out for the following next year:

• a dedicated virtual learning environment to support students and teachers  involved in our Co-operative Studies qualifications;
• two new resources for use by primary and secondary pupils, covering areas such as the food chain, co-operative history and co-operatives in the 21st century;
• a big event celebrating co-operative studies to be hosted in one of Scotland’s iconic co-operative locations (and world heritage site).

Next year is an important one for the global co-operative movement, offering an unparalleled opportunity to promote the co-operative model of enterprise. At CETS, we hope that our work in 2012 will contribute in some way to ensuring co-operatives are better understood and supported here in Scotland. Merry Christmas.

Do you know how to set up and run a successful Fairtrade Café? If not, but you would like to, get in touch with the P6 class at Carlogie Primary in Carnoustie and they will be delighted to help you!  Over the last few months they have been planning the opening of their monthly fairtrade café.  The first very successful morning was held on the 23^rd November, in the local church hall.

I arrived to be greeted and escorted around by a group of very enthusiastic and knowledgeable young people who delivered me into the capable hands of tea and coffee makers, who then engaged me in conversation around the merits of their fairtrade products. They were unfazed by doing mental calculation to give me my change after I had been persuaded to buy other attractive fairtrade products from another stall!

Their easy, relaxed and informed manner created a warm happy atmosphere for all their customers – I counted at least 60 –who arrived from all over their community to support them. Asking the minister to announce their enterprise from his pulpit on the preceding Sunday was obviously also a very good marketing ploy!

At the co-op, we are always trying to explain clearly what our values and principles are – looking at the student’s interpretation of them, perhaps we can learn how to apply them more easily through children’s eyes.

Fairlogie Cafe values

Fairlogie Cafe principles

I also have to mention, for teachers benefit, that to my mind this is a really good example of how to “do” Curriculum for Excellence. There was evidence of true interdisciplinary learning – listening and talking, writing, numeracy, health and well-being for starters, as well as showing how to put the four capacities into action. If you want to see this all happening for yourself – go along to their next Fairtade Café event at Panbride Church Hall, Newton Church, Arbroath Road, Carnoustie, 10am-11.30 on Wednesday 14^th December. Remember to take plenty of cash as their excellent sales team will persuade you to buy lots of their excellent products specially selected for Christmas.

There – they have now managed to get me to do some marketing for them as well!

The 2012 International Year of Co-operatives seeks to inform the wider public, including academia and policy makers, of the nature, role and benefits of co-operative enterprises. To this end, there are a number of conferences taking place across the globe, each one addressing a different aspect of co-operation and co-operatives.

Promoting the understanding of cooperatives for a better world
March 15-16, 2012 – San Servolo, Venice (Italy)
Euricse in collaboration with ICA intends to commemorate the UN International Year of Cooperatives by creating a discussion forum that can promote a better understanding of the rationale, roles, potential, and impact of cooperatives.
http://s.coop/7o09

Third Euricse Conference on Cooperative Finance and Sustainable Development
June 14th and 15th, 2012 – Trento
http://s.coop/7p9v

Imagine 2012
Quebec City, Canada October 6-8, 2012
Imagine 2012 is designed to bring together the leadership of the world’s major co-operatives and leading economic thinkers from around the world. Imagine 2012 will provide a forum in which co-operative leaders and world-class economists can explore a new approach to economic analysis and thought that offers people around the world renewed hope for an economy that meets people’s needs.
http://s.coop/7p9x

ICA Expo 2012
31^st October – 2^nd November 2012, Manchester, UK
ICA EXPO is a professional trade fair intended to promote co-operative products and services. Its main focus is to provide co-operatives with the opportunity to showcase their latest innovations and to create a business platform between producers and the international consumer market.
http://s.coop/4e4n

The World of Rural Co-operation
11-12 September 2012, Trim Castle, Near Dublin, Ireland
This event will be a unique opportunity for international policy formers to understand the opportunities that co-operative enterprise provides for economic and social development and will be a great opportunity for co-operative enterprises to make new business links and learn from each other.
http://s.coop/7pa0

UK Society for Co-operative Studies
September 2012
The UK’s specialised co-operative education society will host their annual conference in September 2012. More details will be provided as and when they become available.
http://s.coop/7p9z

Here is the Questionnaire we are using, as well as a Sample.

Further details on the project can be found in this Document.

This resource is part of a suite of resources we will be releasing in 2012 to mark theInternational Year of Co-operatives. Help us make an impact in Scottish Higher Education and help students understand how the co-operative model works in practice.

If you wish to participate in this project or want to return a questionnaire then please contact Diarmuid McDonnell, diarmuid@cets.coop or 07896 287700.

Many co-operators will be aware of the Mondragón Co-operative Corporation (MCC) structure, as well as its principles derived from those developed by the Rochdale Pioneers. What might not be known are the pillars providing the foundation for MCC; these pillars reflect where MCC has come from, the challenges it currently faces, and the direction it wishes to drive the organisation in the future. The four pillars are education, social welfare, finance, and research & innovation.

Education
The worker co-operative movement that originated in the Basque town of Mondragón was driven by a need to create sustainable employment in an area that suffered greatly during the Spanish civil war. Mondragón is much more than employment however; it is an educational movement, an experiment in social and industrial democracy. As Father Arizmendi once said,

It has been said that cooperativism is an economic movement that uses the methods of education… (it can) be modified to affirm that cooperativism is an educational movement that uses the methods of economics.

MCC holds the educational ideal of Father Arizmendi close to its heart and education is built into many of the functions of the group, be it the development of Mondragón University, member training and development or the many study visits it facilitates in order to educate the wider co-operative movement on its structure.

Social welfare
One of MCC’s core objectives is provide sustainable employment for its members. To this end, MCC places great importance on the social welfare needs of members and their families. Spanish law recognises members of worker co-operatives as self-employed, placing them in a vulnerable position. MCC created Lagun Aro, an insurance and pensions co-operative, to look after the social welfare needs of members. 26% of every member’s gross salary goes to Lagun Aro, of which 18% goes to their pension, 6% to the health fund, and 2% to the employment fund. This is supplementary to the 2% of gross profit that every Mondragón co-operative contributes to a solidarity fund to help pay the wages of members when they are ill or not working.

Finance
Finance is always a concern for co-operatives of all types: sourcing, managing and increasing capital requires innovative solutions. MCC recognises the importance of this and has a number of procedures in place to ensure their co-operatives are adequately financed. Firstly, the Caja Laboral (co-operative bank) plays a central role in supporting the establishment and maintenance of a co-operative. Secondly, MCC facilitates the transfer of loans between one co-operative and another. At firm level, MCC rules stipulate that 45% of a co-op’s net profit is to be allocated to reserves; even the 45% that is give to members is retained in the business in individual capital accounts.

Research and innovation
Mondragón’s great industrial experiment would not exist today if it weren’t for the emphasis placed on research and innovation, both in terms of product development and support institutions. MCC currently has 14 research centres supporting the 120 or so worker co-operatives in the group to develop new products/services. It is through this innovation that the future of the group is secured; new technologies give birth to new products and co-operatives, helping to replace declining industries with ones in their infancy.

These four pillars support MCC’s continued success, both from a business and co-operation perspective. They give rise to the practical implementation of MCC’s principles, support its structure and facilitate the achievement of future objectives.

It has been rather a strange month or so for the co-ops, mutuals and employee owned sector.  And education.

 First we had the news that Central Surrey Health (CHS) , held up as the employee owned model to create the Big Society, had not succeeded in the tendering processes for other parts of the Surrey NHS.  This brought forth claims of unequal playing fields and too much emphasis on financial costs at the expense of social benefit.  Then we learn that Circle, again a company who describe themselves as an employee owned social enterprise (can someone tell me what that is along with an employee owned mutual) were successful in securing a hospital contract and £40M of debt.  (Maybe someone should inform the board of Glasgow Rangers FC about this organisation which is willing to shoulder massive debts, just in case they lose their tax tribunal with HMRC).  The coalition were adamant this was not a privatisation but the media invariably referred to Circle as a private concern with no reference to the employee involvement or Big Society (Haven’t read the Guardian yet)  So we have a flagship “Big Society” business losing out and an employee owned privatisation (or not) succeeding.  Confused?  You should be! 

 To add to my confused state of mind, I then encounter the news that the NAHT has balloted its members and found them in favour of strike action.  The first time in their 100 or so year’s history.  Their spokesperson suggests that this is an indication of how dire the economic situation is but I can’t help thinking how you could be a trade union for over 100 years and never have considered strike action!  Did they miss the Great Depression and the 1970s?  Again, much of the media coverage focussed on the disruption to parents child minding needs, presumably because they perceive education as much of a child minding service as an investment in society?

 Next up to highlight the confusion and unrest in the public sector we had students marching against fees.  As someone who had their university tuition fees paid plus an enhanced grant as a mature student I am wholly supportive.  When are we going to accept the fact that education is necessary investment in our younger citizens and not a cost to be minimised.  Yes, we have decisions to make with limited resources about where we incur public expenditure.  We had them before the greedy bankers blew a hole in our PSBR – it’s called economics, deciding the best use for scarce resources and recognising that if you spend on one item , you can’t spend on lots of other things (opportunity cost).  Surely, investing in our future workforce and citizenry is a fairly basic concept in any civilised, modern democracy.  Instead we are trying to create a market in education services.  I have said before and will keep saying, if I am being asked to buy a degree at £36.000 then I will be demanding (yes, in a market economy the customer is always right and his demands have to be satisfied) a first class honours.

 So, are we on the road to a new Big Society or are we simply looking to reduce the role of the state. 

Are we as confused as the US Republican presidential candidate who was most certainly for reducing government but couldn’t, despite some very helpful prompts from competitors and the audience, decide exactly which parts he wanted to cut.  Does the creation of a public sector as commissioning agent rather than the delivery mechanism fundamentally change a national health or education service so long as it continues to provide on a basis of need and not an ability to pay.  If it is on the basis of need, does it matter who delivers as long as the quality is assured and value for money is achieved.  But what about wider social benefits, which brings us back to Central Surrey Health and level playing fields.

 I have come across a couple of academic papers in the past week making the point that when we try to measure the performance of co-ops with traditional scientific management tools they don’t necessarily come out looking too good in comparison to investor driven models.  Co-operatives are not profit maximising, rational economic entities.  Until we get government and society to stop measuring everything in monetary terms and start recognising and accounting for wider social benefits then we will remain stuck in the mind blowingly confused state highlighted above.

 If Big Society is simply about motivating employees to be more productive then it totally misses the point.  If those who advocate public sector delivery can’t take on board the need to be more efficient with our scarce resources then we are in danger of doing a Berlusconi on our economy.  We need, more than ever, to get across the message that co-operatives understand the need to be viable and efficient but at the same time recognise the need to consider social and community objectives.  There is an opportunity cost in pursuing social goals, in terms of reduced profitability but there is also the need to generate surplus to support the pursuit of those social goals.  That’s a balancing act the co-operative sector has always had to perform.  Let’s hope government and the rest of our society can finally get their heads round that and we get to the point where I could have headed this piece “The Co-operative Option” and it would have been clearly understood.