| Newsletter 18 - April 2004 | |
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We always appreciate your comments and contributions. Please email any suggestions or news items to the editor of ACCORD NEWS, Suzanne Henderson at suzanne.henderson@uts.edu.au. Contents in this issue
ACCORD ProjectsUK's Third Sector - Lessons for Australia
"Our vision is bold: social enterprises offer radical new ways of operating for public benefit. By combining strong public service with business acumen, we can open up the possibility of entrepreneurial organisations - highly responsive to customers and with the freedom of the private sector - but which are driven by a commitment to public benefit rather than purely maximising profits to shareholders." (Tony Blair, Forward to Social Enterprise White Paper, 2002) ACCORD's latest seminar, UK Government Embraces Third Sector - Opportunities for Australia? was held, in partnership with the NSW Premier's Department, on Monday 22 March at the Premier's Department, Sydney. Senior government policy makers and third sector professionals came together to discuss what lessons Australia might find in the UK experience.
UK Developments Andrew Passey, Senior Research Fellow at ACCORD, and Mark Lyons, Professor of Social Economy at UTS have been looking at these developments. At the seminar they outlined their analysis, and discussed the opportunities they see for Australia emerging from the UK experience.
Australia's Experience By contrast, in the UK, the Labour government of Tony Blair has been engaged in an unprecedented set of initiatives designed not only to foster 'traditional' activities such as philanthropy, but also to broaden forms of third sector activity, deepen infrastructure support for the sector, and foster new types of third sector organisations. Partly as a result, the UK third sector is playing an ever-larger role in the national economy.
With the recent creation by the ALP of a Shadow Ministry for Community Relations, and its conference resolution to work with the sector and state government to develop a better regulatory framework for the sector, the time seems right for this kind of discussion. The full report including recommendations will be launched shortly by ACCORD.
Proposed Community Development Finance InstitutionsACCORD's report number 4 launched in December 2003, has generated considerable interest in piloting a number CDFI forms across Australia. "Over 20 organisations have responded positively to the findings of the report and have suggested that ACCORD partner them in developing a set of practical models for the establishment of such bodies in their local area," says Paul Fitzgerald, ACCORD's Deputy Director. "Not surprisingly the highest levels of interest have come from regional areas that believe there is limited access to funds for small business, community organisations and social infrastructure, he said." ACCORD will pilot a range of models in a number of areas over the next year. For further information please contact Paul Fitzgerald on 02-95145751, or email: paul.fitzgerald@uts.edu.au New Co-operatives Research Project InitiatedAs part of ACCORD's commitment to the development of the Co-operative Sector a major new research project will commence in June 2004. Entitled "Critical Success Factors in the Formation of Co-operatives in NSW (2000-2003)", the project will analyse the qualitative reasons and events leading to the development of new co-operatives in NSW over the last 3 years. The research aims to identify why individuals and groups chose the co-ops form and what obstacles were dealt with in the developmental phases of the co-op. New Generation Co-operatives hold significant research interest, and their journey to incorporation should shed some light as to why the numbers and types of co-ops are changing from a predominantly rural phenomena to an urban and service based creation. For further information regarding this research please contact Dr Branka Krivokapic at ACCORD, Charles Sturt University Bathurst on 02-63384428, or email bkrivokapic@csu.edu.au The Co-operative Advantage
The co-operative advantage Employee Share Ownership Down-underFour Australian companies will trial different employee share ownership (ESO) plans as part of a federal government campaign to promote employee share ownership. Read the full report from The Age. The government has set a target of doubling ESO schemes in workplaces from the current 5.5 per cent of employees to 11 per cent by 2009. The government said testing different ESO plans would lead to the development of a set of template plans - which companies could easily adapt for their workplace. The government also noted that it would release the template plans, which would make the start up process for companies easier and cheaper, particularly for small and medium businesses. According to the government, companies see ESO plans as a way of motivating staff and working more closely with them. They also said they helped with attracting and retaining staff and improving workplace culture. Employees share in baby-boomer dilemmaAs governments, including our own, turn their attention to problems associated with a rapidly aging population, one issue emerging is the large number of ageing 'baby boomer business owners' - particularly those in Australia's regional areas. The issue is succession planning. In other words - what needs to be done to ensure that these owners are able to sell their businesses as ongoing concerns, thus retaining jobs, protecting wealth and ensuring the conversion of these assets into retirement savings for the owners to live on? The ESOP or Employee Share Ownership Plan is seen as a useful mechanism for transitioning the business to the employees, while the owners gradually withdraw their stake from the business. The issue has only just started to come to the attention of Australian politicians (as evidenced in the Federal Treasurer's recent statement on the problems of an aging population) though it is a big issue in North America. In Canada, half of all business owners are planning to retire in the next ten years and of these, very few actually have "succession plans" for the ongoing ownership and operation of the business. To address the issue, Canada's peak employee ownership association is running a conference on the subject in June 2004. For more info please see: http://www.esop-canada.com & http://www.aeoa.org.au/ (Members only) Co-operative Movement Still Alive In Corporatised World What will replace GP co-ops?GP co-operatives have inspired the creation of a new service delivery model. Sarah Louise Taylor reports. UK think tank Mutuo has put together a paper, entitled 'Care on Call: a mutual approach to out-of-hours primary care services'. The paper was prepared by Mutuo's Director Peter Hunt, Cliff Mills of Cobbetts Solicitors and Rt Hon John Hutton MP who jointly believe that OOH services should be delivered by an organisation that builds on the success of GP co-operatives. It states that the model needs to retain and expand upon the core mutuality of GP co-ops, of which there are over 20,000 members in the UK. A copy of "Care on Call: a mutual approach to out-of-hours primary care services" is available from Mutuo, email e.harrison@mutuo.co.uk. Variables affecting social enterprise success - Third Sector research Strengthening the social economyNew Canadian PM boosts social enterpriseThe ruling Canadian Liberal party recently choose a new Prime Minister following the retirement of Jean Cretian. At the opening of a new session of parliament, Prime Minister, Paul Martin announced new policy initiatives that may, hopefully, characterise his Prime Ministership. Prominent among these, was a renewed commitment to the government's Voluntary Sector Initiative, with a stronger emphasis on social enterprise, or as the Canadians call it, the social economy. As Martin puts it ... Enhancing the life of our cities is about wanting to help each other. It's about willingness to work together to build great places to live. Today this willingness is everywhere in Canada. We see it in the efforts of people who are applying entrepreneurial creativity - not for profit - but rather to pursue environmental and social goals. That's what we call the social economy - and while it may be a less familiar part of our economy, we must not underestimate its importance. Its contribution to the social fabric and to the economic vitality of our municipalities, urban and rural, is real and growing. The infobrief is available on the website. Community Strengthening and the role of local governmentA discussion paper prepared for Local Government Victoria ignores the cooperation option says David Griffiths. The discussion paper Community strengthening and the role of local government (February 2004) notes that: "community strengthening involves stronger forms of local connectedness and better linkages between government and other agencies to mobilize local assets. This has come to be viewed as an important means to address the twin priorities of prosperity and social inclusion." Unfortunately, the paper is incomplete in identifying the range of local collaborations and alternative governance pathways, says Griffiths. In the UK the Co-op Party has established a Co-operative Councillors' Network that includes best practice files of developing co-operative initiatives through local government. The UK Co-operative Party's Co-operative Agenda for Local Government says; "Co-operatives and mutuals have a role to play in almost every aspect of local government, including community regeneration and economic development, housing, leisure, social services and education. All have the same in common - they provide jobs and create wealth in local communities, and are controlled by the people they serve." Education and Co-operative DevelopmentFriends from the Philippines visit Australian Co-ops
Philippine co-operative directors had an opportunity to experience a fresh perspective on co-operative business when they visited Australian co-operative businesses in March this year. The delegates spent several days touring various parts of NSW and Queensland visiting co-operative enterprises, including Dairy Farmers in Sydney. The main objective of the visit was to gather information about how Australian co-operatives conduct business, and to see if they could adapt any of these strategies for the Philippines. They were interested in Australian innovations and developing networks for future collaboration. Young co-operators plan for the future Representatives included: Wilfredo C. Saturno, Chairman of the Co-Op Bank of Aurorg, Cristina M. Salvador also of the Co-Op Bank, and Shelia Sorozo from the Ladies Livelihood Co-op. At a seminar organized and hosted by Business Advisory Services Inc (BASI) on March 10, Suzanne Henderson of ACCORD spoke to the delegation about co-operatives in Australia and ACCORD's research role. Bernadette Denman from the Registry of Co-operatives and Associations, Office of Fair Trading, gave a presentation on registration requirements for NSW co-operatives. Delegates were interested in hearing about the logistical characteristics of co-ops as opposed to a party or company limited, the associated fees and auditing procedures. News in briefAustralia
Australian Dairy Farmers to get a better deal UKHive of activity Standard Life lost to mutual movementThe shock news of Standard Life's demutualisation plan means the loss of the sector's largest player in the UK. But many in the co-operative and mutuals' movement argue that far from lacking the financial muscle of their listed counterparts, mutuals retain strong balance sheets. " the ability to retain surpluses rather than distribute them to shareholders means we now offer higher payouts on with-profits products than many firms which have demutualised." (MGM Chief operating officer Neil Walker) Read the story on the Guardian web site. IndiaCo-op centenary in India This year marks the centenary of the co-operative movement in India. Co-operatives of all sizes have geared themselves up for the big occasion. A people's movement totalling 100 years of success signifies the strength of Indian democracy. More Info... USAUncle Sam Co-op makes cheese for the poor CanadaFishing co-op lose right to keep it local Members of the Fishing Families Co-op, that placed a bid on the fish processing plant in Souris, are angry the plant went to an outside buyer. Ocean Choice of Newfoundland purchased the assets of Polar Foods. The island co-op submitted a bid to buy the Souris plant because they wanted it locally owned and operated. "We feel completely and utterly betrayed because our position is that as taxpayers we have all paid for this plant about three times over," says Patrick Dunphy, who worked with the co-op to get the bid together. Read the online story. AustraliaCo-op offers woodworkers return to work ICA NewsWeekly Digest No. 9, 5 April 2004 [pdf]
Weekly Digest No. 11, 19 April 2004 [PDF] Copies of the Weekly Digest are archived on the ICA's website http://www.ica.coop/ What's OnIn AustraliaApril 21
April 27 May 2-4 May 3 May 5
May 13-14 May 14
May 21 May 28 May 24-28 May 27-28 June 7-8 July 14-16 July 14-17 November 29 December 6 Overseas26-28 April 26 April 8 June 8-10 July 19-20 September AnnouncementsMore news from Australia .coop Co-operative Governance
New 2004 edition of the Co-op Dictionary from the Co-operative Federation of Victoria
auscoopdoc - the Australian Co-operative Documents data base (fp5) Co-operative Federation of South Australia Newsletter
International Accounting Standards set to change We welcome your comments on our newsletter and any suggested topics or items for inclusion in the next issue, due for publication in early June. If you have any items of interest please ensure that these are forwarded to suzanne.henderson@uts.edu.au by 14th May 2004. To refer a friend or to unsubscribe, please e-mail: accord@uts.edu.au. All contact information provided will be kept strictly confidential. |
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21 September 2006 11:36 AM
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