| ACCORD Newsletter 25 - May 2005 | |
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ACCORDians play last tune
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| ACCORD Senior Research Fellow, Andrew Passey |
Andrew Passey made an outstanding contribution to building and analysing the knowledge about co-operatives mutuals and other social enterprises in Australia. He held the position of Senior Research Fellow, ACCORD from April 2003 until April 2005.
Over the period, Andrew's research activities culminated in the publication of a number of papers and reports on ACCORD's website and in the Australian Third Sector Review. Andrew represented ACCORD as guest speaker at national and international seminars and conferences. He was a staunch advocate for social economy reform, based on comparative research, analysis, and sound public policy decisions.
Andrew has returned to the UK and we wish him well in his future endeavours.
The following list highlights the breadth of Andrew's research work:
State of the Sector: New South Wales Co-operatives 2003 ACCORD Report No.6 (PDF), published March 2005
Government Initiatives to Develop The UK Social Economy ACCORD Paper No. 12 (PDF), published August 2004
Linking Society and Economy Through Membership: Associations in New South Wales ACCORD Report No.5 (PDF), published July 2004
2004 ACCORD Co-operative Leaders Survey: Co-operative Principles and Co-operative Attitudes (PDF)
Contribution to the first Australian Social Attitudes Survey (Media Release)
A True Co-operator, Lee Wilson
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| ACCORD Researcher, Lee Wilson |
Lee Wilson is a true co-operator and great team member. Lee made an outstanding contribution to ACCORD's research over 18 months. Her particluar interests were in Youth and social movements, for example green energy and co-operative organisation. She has published papers on these topics and has had papers presented at international conferences.
Lee plans to continue her own studies and everyone now and before at ACCORD wishes her well. Her passion and commitment will be missed.
ACCORD Projects
Sustainable Regions Program
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| ACCORD Co-Director, Associate Professor Judy Johnston |
ACCORD has recently undertaken a study to examine the feasibility of a funding initiative for start up or development of micro or small business enterprises (SMEs) in the Campbelltown/Camden area of New South Wales. The study was commissioned by the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS), under the Minister John Anderson, within the Sustainable Regions program.
ACCORD has been working with key community stakeholders to identify the potential economic and social benefit that might be achieved from this kind of financial support. Particularly, such a funding initiative would provide small loans to kick-start or develop the business where other funding is not available due to lack of real equity. If such an initiative is approved the objective would be to establish businesses and create employment in the local area.
The model being considered offers an alternative approach to the development of a Revolving Loans Fund, and is different to the one already being trialled in Victoria, through the Sustainable Regions Program.
ACCORD is excited by the potential of the model to fill an important gap between social welfare and grant giving policies of government, and the restrictive impact of full market forces.
"The model provides opportunities for funding small entrepreneurs and encourages local business initiatives and partnerships," says Associate Professor Judy Johnston, Co-Director of ACCORD.
"If government funding for this initiative is forthcoming, the success of the scheme will be measured in the way communities work together cooperatively, sharing the benefits and experiences along the way," says Judy.
Further information about the program can be obtained by contacting Judy.Johnston@uts.edu.au
The Taxicabs of Sydney: Co-operation and Markets Collide
"This is a preliminary study examining the current day relevance of co-operatives in the taxicab industry in Sydney." Paul Simpson
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| Paul Simpson, Associate Research Fellow at ACCORD |
Within the context of an increasing globalised economy, economic concerns have come to dominate over social, community & public interests. Inequitable group relations within the taxicab industry have increasingly been reported. Inconsistent government policy further complicates the industry with its attempts to reconcile economic rationalist policies and their social costs. It is thought that the dominance of economic concerns is responsible for the decline of the co-operative and its (perceived) relevance and effectiveness in today's economic climate. Such a picture warrants concern as it is argued, looking at theories on social structures and moral agency, that the co-operative structure is perhaps better equipped to reconcile the economic and the social.
"The idea of co-operatives was a great idea, but it's antique in today's world. You can't have a business being decided from the floor of a general meeting... I believe they're redundant... It was the epitome of socialism when it started, it was a great idea…perhaps the whole things changed where it's got to be run as a business and if that manager or director is no good we expect you to get rid of him, we want to see our shares go up, we want to see the business prosper and there's no room for them (co-ops) today." (Key informant – executive on industry body)
"4700 Sydney taxis provide approximately 60 million trips per year to passengers"
Read Paul's full presentation (PDF 112KB)
Commentary
BRW On The "Nonprofit Sector": Terminologically Confused But Right Bottom Line
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| Mark Lyons on "Nonprofit Sector" |
What is a nonprofit organisation? How can we estimate the value of the sector to the Australian economy? Mark Lyons, ACCORD Associate and Adjunct Professor of Social Economy, School of Management, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), questions the Business Review Weekly's use of terminology in its recent Charity Inc feature (24-30 March 2005), but says that by pure accident the sums are right.
"... the [BRW] article was quite correct to point to a deep ignorance about the sector in political circles". Mark Lyons
"... the [BRW] article was quite correct to point to a deep ignorance about the sector in political circles, and a lack of interest in sorting out the legal and regulatory mess that certainly adds a huge cost burden to the sector and to those wishing to begin a nonprofit venture. It is precisely this issue that the National Roundtable of Nonprofit Organisations has taken up as a priority, hoping to develop some proposals through wide discussions within the sector: www.nfproundtable.org.au." Mark Lyons
A Lesson in Corporate Philanthropy
A growing number of tertiary institutions are offering postgraduate courses for grant-makers to support informed philanthropy and social investment. Cameron Cooper in his recent article entitled Learning lessons of generosity - Corporate Philanthropy, published in The Australian on March 4, says:
"The emergence of such courses complements a desire from philanthropists to improve their own performance in the nonprofit sector, while government initiatives through the Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership are also having an impact. With the Australian Council of Social Service estimating that a record $2.7 billion a year is being donated to charitable and non-profit organisations from the community and business, the need for accountability has never been higher.
"The strength of philanthropy, unlike government funding is that it is typically not tied to the delivery of a particular program. So it can be used for more innovative developments." Mark Lyons
The trend for corporations, according to Lyons, is to form partnerships with trusted charity and social groups. The kickback to business is varied - including brand enhancement, access to support groups and even marketing gains.
Another driving force is the growing interest in socially responsible investment by some of the cash-rich pension funds.
"Some of the companies are starting to realise that capital is going to be more expensive for them if they get a lot of black marks from these SRI funds or ethical investment funds. That again injects a strong element of self-interest into the way these organisations are thinking about things."
ACCORD Seminars examine social enterprise developments
Co-operative Attitudes and Institutional Innovation in Australia
At a seminar in Sydney on 14 April, Andrew Passey, Senior Research Fellow at ACCORD and Mark Lyons, Adjunct Professor at UTS used data from the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) to argue that the public is ready to back a greater role for social enterprises across broad areas of the Australian economy.
"Despite compelling international examples the idea of linking entrepreneurial economic activity with social outcomes via new forms of mutualism has failed to capture the imagination of Australian governments or of the third sector itself... It seems that in Australia the zeal to find solutions to pressing problems in people's capacity for self-organised co-operation has long been lost." Andrew Passey
If government and the third sector have failed in Australia to generate an interest in new forms of organising, does it also follow that the principle of mutuality or co-operation is no longer espoused or understood within the population as a whole? Might there be a residual loyalty or attachment that can be revived by imaginative proposals for new organisational solutions to some old, and some new social and economic problems?
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| Left to right - Andrew Passey and Mark Lyons |
The authors also flagged that greater support for social enterprise and institutional reform are overdue in Australia. We conclude that any such attempts to bolster the role of co-operative enterprises in the Australian economy and in areas of the ‘public services' would find support among a significant proportion of the population.
Read the Seminar Media Release
Social Enterprise in the UK: New Developments and What Drives Them
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| Owen Jarvis |
Owen Jarvis is Director of Community Action Network in London. He works with 10 successful social enterprises, assisting in their growth and development, and exploring the appropriateness of business franchise models. Owen previously co-founded and managed Aspire, a social enterprise in Cambridge that offered fulltime employment to people recovering from homelessness.
At the seminar, Owen highlighted the latest developments in social enterprise and the factors driving them. He discussed his work in franchising social enterprises and outlined the role of CAN. He also described the new academic programs in social enterprise at both Oxford and Cambridge.
For information about the work of CAN email o.jarvis@can-online.org.uk or go to the CAN website: http://www.can-online.org.uk.
Let's get ethical
News bytes
News from co-ops around the world that promote the goals of social justice, ethical business practice and welfare, as well as profitability.
Union Co-Operative Society celebrates 23rd anniversary,
AMEInfo, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 4/27/05
UAE co-op promotes ethics and social responsibility.
Co-operative Bank Privilege current account gets ethical,
Fair Investment Company, Bristol, United Kingdom 4/21/05
Ethical energy added to green mortgages and pollution-conscious car loans.
Drug co-op saves millions in 2004,
Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin 4/27/05
Purchasing power of co-op saves members millions.
Betting the farm on CSA,
The City Paper, Nashville, Tennessee 4/27/05
Community Supported Agriculture provides ethical model for farming.
The Co-operative Advantage
Co-operative advantage celebrated at 2005 ICA General Assembly
"Participants will be challenged to gain a deeper insight into how successful co-operatives are doing this. The transfer of such knowledge is one of the main benefits of attending global events such as the General Assembly."
From a special feature in Issue 39 of the ICA Weekly digest
The competitive advantage of co-operative values in a globalised economy is the theme if this year's General Assembly to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, South America on 18-23 September 2005.
The General Assembly will showcase co-operatives that have made their co-operative identity a key part of their success in meeting the challenges of a globalising world.
A co-operative history lesson - guiding principles
At the 1995 ICA Centenary General Assembly in Manchester, UK, a new co-operative identity statement was adopted. The principles have more than symbolic importance says the ICA: "They are a widely accepted and recognized standard throughout the world. Not only as a set of guiding principles within the movement, but they are also referenced and supported by increasing numbers of governments and international institutions. They help us defend and promote co-operatives anywhere in the world."
This year's General Assembly will focus on demonstrating how particular co-operatives have succeeded both commercially and socially by following the new principles.
The Co-operative Profiles
Keeping in touch with communities the co-operative way
North East Telecommunications Co-operative Ltd (NetC), established in 1999 is Australia's first not-for-profit telecommunications co-op. NetC grew out of one of Australia's first telecentres – North East Telecentre which began in 1993.
Located in North East Victoria, NetC offers community and business solutions to enable fast and efficient telcommunications access, communication exchange, business systems development and information brokerage.
"We chose the co-op model because of its compatabilty between community networking and the co-operative form of business," says CEO Peter Jamieson. In the main, we service North East Victoria, athough we now have the capacity to offer Internet access to 98% of Australia."
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| NetC headquaters |
NetC's community development approach has integrated support for community content with support for small business and appropriate training. The aim is to deliver value for money to the community with high-level information and services. Already this group is providing an array of services, including public Internet access, dial-up accounts, website hosting and design and domain name registration. This month NetC is also launching fixed line and mobile phone services. NetC is also building a wireless network to replace reliance on the Telstra network in the region. NetC offers these services at competitive rates and uses the proceeds to support additional community development activities.
NetC has a triple bottom line philosophy that seeks to strengthen the region's economic, environmental and social development. "Co-operatives are particularly suited to challenges where more than a single bottom line is required" says Peter Jamieson.
One of the major beneficiaries is Landcare. NetC runs http://www.landcare.net.au, the largest and most widely used landcare portal in Australia. Another community development project is a self-help disability group http://humedisabilityaction.netc.coop/.
For the latest news visit http://www.netc.coop
Co-operative education
Movement targets young co-operators
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| Youth network delegates, from left Wilfrid Kamtoh, Claire Brenner, Juan-Carlos Mejia, Jo Bibby-Scullion, Thabo Shenxane |
The ICA Youth Network has become increasingly active over the last year. It now has over 100 members from 20 countries and is growing rapidly. A number of initiatives have commenced and a detailed strategy is being developed. The strategy will focus on communications – need for a newsletter, website and online discussion forums to share the successes of youth.
"The international co-operative movement needs to take seriously its responsibility to the next generation of young co-operators. We want to see many more youth delegates actively participating in the global and regional forums of the ICA" Jo Bibby-Scullion, ICA Board representative on behalf of the ICA Youth Network
For more information Contact: Jo Bibby-Scullion (Chair) s0347030@sms.ed.ac.uk
A special youth conference is being planned for the ICA General Assembly in Cartagena. The ICA has waived the registration fee for youth conference delegates to encourage more young people to attend.
Young co-operators and Australia
- Are you a young co-operator?
- Do you know any young people with an active interest in the co-operative movement?
- Does your organisation actively encourage the participation and involvement of young people?
Contact us with your case studies so that we can promote the ways Australian co-operatives are embracing their younger members. Email Suzanne Henderson.
The Take, Naomi Klein's film about Argentinean factory workers flies the flag for global co-operatives
Journalist and activist Naomi Klein and director husband Avi Lewis have recently made a film called The Take, about a group of disenfranchised Argentinean workers making a stand for the factory they work in. The feature-length documentary examines the worker lead co-op coups, which followed the catastrophic economic collapse in Argentina in 2001. Forced to take a stand against mass unemployment, food riots and a run on the banks, groups of workers took over bankrupt workplaces and began running them democratically - without the bosses.
Co-operative publications & links
The Co-op Advantage Developing Directors of Co-operatives Kit
Summary
Full copy (PDF 892KB)
The Co-op Start-Up Manual
Summary
Full copy (PDF 483KB)
From University of Wisconsin Centre for Co-operatives website
An excellent source of cooperative news and resources from around the world:
Cooperative Formation and Financial Contracting in Agricultural Markets
Brent Hueth, Philippe Marcoul, and Roger Ginder, CARD Working Paper 03-WP 349, Iowa State University, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development October 2004
Cooperatives: Principles and Practices in the Twenty-First Century
A pdf of this publication is available free of charge on-line at:
http://cecommerce.uwex.edu/showcat.asp?id=107.
Worker Cooperatives: Case Studies, Key Criteria & Best Practices
by Greg Lawless and Anne Reynolds
UWCC Staff Paper No. 3, July 2004
NZ
NZ's peak national co-operative organisation produces a bi-monthly newsletter
See www.nzco-ops.org.nz
Sourced at:
http://www.australia.coop/
http://www.wisc.edu/uwcc/archives/c.html#i
News in Brief
Australia & NZ
Dairy Farmers Co-op hopeful latest cuts will be the last,
ABC Rural, Sydney, Australia 5/10/05
Restructure is preparation for listing.
Dairy co-op boosts farm gate milk payments,
ABC News, Sydney, Australia 5/10/05
WA farmers get boost
Riverina hit as co-op slashes 460 jobs,
The Border Mail, Wodonga, NSW, Australia 5/10/05
Hopes rise with prices,
Country News, Shepparton, Australia 5/9/05
Three companies announce price rises for dairy farmers
Dairy co-op to cull its workforce,
New Zealand Herald, Auckland, New Zealand 5/11/05
Dairy Farmers may be next Fonterra target.
Fonterra in African venture,
One News, Auckland, New Zealand 5/16/05
Joint venture with local company.
Co-operatives Ignored
A Victorian Government review of the Associations Incorporation Act has ignored the co-operative option (David Griffiths, 17/5/05)
Other territories
It's Still Chavez's Venezuela,
AlterNet, 5/11/05
Coops flourish under Chavez's rule.
12 Milk Cooperative Societies functioning in Poonch,
Newsline From J&K Government, Srinagar, India 5/7/05
District heads for self-sufficiency in milk production.
Labour, business differ over co-op Bill,
Mail and Guardian, Johannesburg, South Africa 5/3/05
New bill recognises importance of coops.
Ghanaians advised to adopt the cooperative concept for national debt,
Home Page Ghana, Accra, Ghana 4/20/05
Co-ops are the success story behind national and economic advancement.
Irish credit union movement is world's strongest,
Ireland Online, 4/18/05
40% of savers and 54% of borrowers use credit unions in Ireland.
What's on
In Australia
7 – 8 June
Corporate Social Responsibility in Focus - 7 and 8 June 2005
Case study led conference that brings together a group of leading CSR practitioners and experts who will share their experiences with respect to CSR & Public Policy, CSR & Business Alignment and Successful CSR Partnerships.
14 – 17 August
Engaging Communities - International Conference 14 - 17 August 2005
An initiative of the United Nations and the Government of the State of Queensland, Australia, this unique event will explore all issues related to community engagement and address the experiences, challenges and research which effect all citizens, governments and organisations alike.
29 Aug – 1 September
The International Not-for-profit Convention and Exhibition 2005 - August 29-September 1 www.ince.com.au
Sydney. Over 50 speakers include governance expert Carol Weisman (USA), membership expert Mark Levin (USA), fundraising and marketing expert Adrian Sargeant (UK) and sponsorship expert Anne-Maree Huxley (Australia).
5 September
Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia Conference - 5 September 2005
Sustainable Regional Development: getting down to business.
12 – 14 September
Sustainable Planning and Development Conference 12 - 14 September 2005
Integrated sustainable planning and regional development in accordance with the principles of sustainability.
Overseas
International Year of Microcredit 2005
The UN General Assembly has designated 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit (resolution 53/197) stating that the Year will be an important opportunity to give impetus to microfinance programmes throughout the world.
28 June
Co-operatives in Europe Convention in Brussels. Contact: Rainer
Schlüter, rsc@cecop.coop
2 July
International Day of Co-operatives. Contact: Maria Elena Chávez
Hertig chavez@ica.coop see http://www.copacgva.coop
24-27 July
WOCCU, 2005 World Credit Union Conference, Rome, Italy. See
http://www.woccu.org/
11-12 August
ICA Global Research Conference, Cork, Ireland Contact: Olive
McCarthy, o.mccarthy@ucc.ie see http://www.ucc.ie/acad/foodecon/CCS/ICA/index.htm
22-23 Sept
ICA General Assembly, plus related sectoral and thematic committee meetings. Cartagena, Colombia. Contact: Gabriella Sozánski, sozanski@ica.coop see http://www.ica.coop or http://www.icacartagena.coop
15-18 Nov
ICMIF Conference, Singapore. See http://www.icmif.org/
Two conferences on Social Capital and on Economy and Community - Call for papers
TSCF international conferences
We welcome your comments on our newsletter and any suggested topics or items for inclusion in the next issue, due for publication in late June 2005. Please forward any items of interest including news and events, case studies, profiles, reports or commentaries to suzanne.henderson@uts.edu.au by 15 June 2005.
To refer a friend or to unsubscribe, please e-mail: accord@uts.edu.au. All contact information provided will be kept strictly confidential.
21 September 2006 11:36 AM
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