| ACCORD Newsletter 15 - November 2003 | |
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Contents in this issue
Co-operative profileTraders of the Lost Artefacts
Although often disguised as cobwebbed, dusty spaces from yesteryear, attics, backyards and garages can be repositories of great treasure. Their owners are usually only one step away from sending these rare and precious items to landfill. This is when the Bower Reuse and Repair Centre Cooperative enters the picture, http://home.pacific.net.au/~thebower/. The Bower rescues these gems and makes them available to others who desire them. In a volunteer constructed, passive solar, straw-bale building (Sydney's first) at the Addison Road Centre in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Marrickville, a very eclectic collection of pre-loved household and office items can be found, ranging from French doors to tiny brass screws, from toasters to theatre chairs or crystal vases to cast iron baths. A related news item and further pictures are available on the website. Third Sector and social economyThe full recoveryby Andrew Passey, Senior Research Fellow, ACCORD In October ACCORD hosted a seminar on the third sector for NSW government staff in partnership with the NSW Premier’s Department. Senior officials from the Department of Community Services, Treasury, Housing, the Department for Women, and the Attorney General’s Department, along with one of the Premier’s advisors attended the meeting. The speaker was David Carrington, a well-known figure in the UK third sector. As well as running two major charitable foundations, David has several years’ consultancy experience, and in 2002 he was engaged by the British Home Office to evaluate the impact of the UK Compact. In his review David made a number of recommendations on ways to broaden and deepen the Compact’s implementation in both government and the third sector alike. Many have been adopted, including Compact ‘champions’ at senior civil service level in each government department affected by the Compact, as well as reciprocal champions in third sector organisations. David provided an overview of the development of the Compact in Britain, the problems in its implementation, and new courses of action designed to overcome these problems. The discussion focused very much on the implementation phase, and the attention of the audience was most clearly on the UK experience of dispute resolution, and provisions in the Compact (or more specifically in it’s Codes of Practice) for full cost recovery for third sector agencies delivering public services. Both these issues, plus the fact that a wide range of third sector parties are covered by the Compact in Britain, were the most obvious contrasts between the situation in the UK and that emerging in NSW. Further information on the Compact can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/act ive/volunteering/codes.html. Conspiracy or confusion?In a speech to the Sydney Institute, the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, recently spoke on the topic "Building Social Capital". In reference to a paper on social capital by the Productivity Commission, he spoke about the importance of trust to a market economy and the role of "networks and associations" in building trust. The treasurer argued that governments should ensure that they did not act in ways that harmed these associations through which people engaged in wider public affairs. The remarks were the first public endorsement of social capital and the importance of nonprofit organisations by a senior government minister, and to that extent were noteworthy. But, as several commentators observed, he made no attempt to review the practices of the government of which he is Treasurer against the sentiments he espoused. Mark Lyons, Professor of Social Economy at the University of Technology, Sydney comments on the lack of government knowledge about non-profit organisations, in particular charities, and the legal and policy regimes under which they operate. The full article can be found on the website. EntrepreneurshipEmerging Topics in ethnic entrepreneurship literatureAs part of a series of seminars run by the Faculty of Commerce, Charles Sturt University (CSU, Bathurst), Dr Branka Krivokapic-Skoko, CSU School of Marketing and Management, and ACCORD Research Fellow, recently identified traditional and emerging topics in ethnic entrepreneurship literature. In her speech, Dr Krivokapic-Skoko pointed out the relatively long history of interplay between ethnicity and entrepreneurship in social sciences. In the early 1920/30s the social ecology perspective focused on the biological explanation and primordial view of ethnicity, which consequently were mirrored in types, structure and management style of immigrant businesses. Classical authors of the mid century stressed the role of social marginality and cultural context in conceptualising ethnic entrepreneurship. Re-emerging interest in ethnic enterprises connected those theoretical ideas with the experience of different immigrant groups particularly in the United States. In general, the literature of the 1970s addressed the questions of why some ethnic groups tended to specialise in few economic niches, maintain ethnic solidarity in economic affairs, and how cultural endowments contributed to the development of ethnic business communities. Research on ethnicity and entrepreneurship was further enriched in the mid 1980s by introducing the perspectives of a framework of new economic sociology. Accordingly, the recent literature explores ethnic business networks and mobilisation of the resources within ethnic business communities. This network paradigm has also progressed in the 21st century by focusing on the ways in which new technologies have provided fundamentally new forms and functions of ethnic business networks.
Co-operative developmentNundah Community Enterprises Co-operative Limited (NCEC)Formed in October 1998 to provide meaningful work opportunities for people with learning difficulties, who have been excluded from employment, NCEC provides a range of services to businesses, local council, agencies and community members in the inner north Brisbane region. The Co-operative has progressed from small, one-off secure jobs to where it is now, successfully completing long-term contracts for Brisbane City Council. Through NCEC’s development, successes and struggles, they have learned about many aspects of community enterprise, which are shared in a 32-page manual called Participation and Production. It highlights the critical importance of employment in people’s lives, as well as providing a brief history of the Co-operative. Participation and Production describes the strategies adopted by the Co-operative to support people with learning difficulties, enabling them to enter the workforce and maintain employment. It also provides strategies for government and community organisations, within their existing resources, to provide work opportunities for community enterprises like NCEC.
The NCEC framework for building community capacity to include people with learning difficulties in community enterprise, and honest reflections on the difficulties in balancing people’s participation with the need for production, are covered in the manual. It can be purchased for $25 (including GST, postage and handling). For more information, call the Co-operative on 07 3260 7414. Participation and Production describes the strategies adopted by the Co-operative to support people with learning difficulties, enabling them to enter the workforce and maintain employment. It also provides strategies for government and community organisations, within their existing resources, to provide work opportunities for community enterprises like NCEC. The NCEC framework for building community capacity to include people with learning difficulties in community enterprise, and honest reflections on the difficulties in balancing people’s participation with the need for production, are covered in the manual. It can be purchased for $25 (including GST, postage and handling). For more information, call the Co-operative on 07 3260 7414. New co-ops registered in NSWNine new co-operatives have been registered in NSW since July 2003. Perspectives on Funeral FundsNew Funeral Fund lawsThe NSW Parliament has passed new laws in late October to strengthen the prudential management of funeral funds in NSW and to enhance protection for consumers who deal with those funds. The changes are also designed to benefit industry by removing outdated provisions and by streamlining the requirements for the administration of funeral funds. See details on the website.
Growth potential six feet underQuebec’s co-operative movement comprises over 3,380 enterprises (including non-financial co-operatives) that provide Quebecois with 75,000 jobs. Agricultural as well as savings and credit co-operatives are commonly known. But many people are unaware of another dynamic and healthy co-operative sector: funeral co-operatives. In fact, Quebec’s 30 odd funeral co-operatives represent an undeniable economic and social force. Out of a population of seven million Quebecois, funeral co-operatives boast 131,000 members and assets of over $91 million. Funeral co-operatives are players in a rapidly growing market in which they occupy an increasingly large share (12,3% of the current market.) A number of factors are fostering this development. The ageing of the population and a rising mortality rate automatically generate a greater need for funeral services. Statistics Canada projects that the proportion of people over 65 relative to the total population will increase until 2040. In Quebec as well as in all of North America, it is estimated that the mortality rate will double during the next 45 years. This represents an enormous growth potential for funeral co-operatives. Waste into Wealth seminar
Forty-two people attended a lively and informative seminar on the subject of society’s wasted treasures and resources. The seminar was co-hosted by ACCORD, the Social Entrepreneurs Network and the Institute for Sustainable Futures, at the Australian Technology Park, Redfern, on Wednesday 5th November. Media coverage included an item in the Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November, page 28. Guest speaker, Lewis Herbert, east of England’s WasteWISE Champion
spoke about social enterprises in the UK, job creation, wealth redistribution, small business enterprise
development, training, and partnerships and case studies. Other speakers included Australian specialists in waste management and social enterprise: David Hill, Director Programs, Sustainability Programs Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, NSW Miriam Buchhorn, 2001 Churchill Fellow Stephen Sykes, Director of Enterprise Services, Orange City Council, NSW Peter Cox, Manager, Future Employment
Opportunities, Bendigo, Victoria. Warren McLaren, Co-ordinator, The Bower Reuse &
Repair Centre Co-operative, NSW Maleny Working Together: a community project about change and sustainabilityCommunities in Queensland and around Australia are experiencing rapid change. An ageing population and rapid
growth are already affecting all our lives. And as this change takes place, new techniques are required to
accurately assess where we have been, where we are now and where we want to be in the future. We need to better
understand the special inherent aspects of our community so that we can protect it in the face of growth and
change. Specifically, we need to chart our future direction based on a shared perception of who we are.
Project Coordinators, Susanne Haydon and Jill Jordan, report on the Maleny Working Together project. US Co-operatives saved from insolvency by FACB decisionThousands of Cooperatives in the USA have been 'saved' from going into the 'red', by the decision to indefinitely defer the introduction of a new accounting rule dealing with redemption of member equity. Unlike other businesses, the equity that Cooperatives allocate to members often makes up the entirety of the business's equity. The new accounting rule (FAS 150) would have required reclassification of this equity as mandatorily redeemable debt. "It would have wreaked havoc on co-op balance sheets. Financially healthy enterprises would have suddenly appeared shaky or insolvent, " said Paul Hazen, president and CEO of National Cooperative Business Association. News in briefResponsible shareholdingTRADE and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has called on other institutional investors to follow the Co-operative Insurance Society’s approach to responsible shareholding. Last year CIS, which is committed to actively engaging with companies in which it invests, was the first UK investor to put its entire voting record on its website - http://www.thenews.coop/details.php?id=232. Co-op switches to Fairtrade coffeeThe Co-operative Group has announced that it is to switch all Co-op brand instant and ground coffee to Fairtrade. And the society is calling on the big multinational ‘roasters’, whose brands include Nescafe and Maxwell House, to overcome their fears and launch their own Fairtrade coffee labels. http://www.thenews.coop/archive.php News items below courtesy of http://www.australia.coop/ ICA Criticises Proposed IAS Accounting StandardsICA News release - Accounting Standards Threaten Co-operative Identity Co-operative RemunerationWhat should be the basis for the remuneration of the CEO's, senior managers and directors of co-operatives? Should it be the same or different from investor-owned companies? The Horwath 2003 Corporate Governance Report has just been released. The report is based on 2002 Annual Report disclosures of Australia's top 250 Australian companies as determined by market capitalisation. Horwath 2003 Corporate Governance Report. Whats onIn Australia30 Nov-3 Dec: Building a Truly Civil Society, 3rd Australian Family and Community Strengths Conference, University of Newcastle, NSW. See http://www.pco.com.au/familystrengths for more details.
3 December, Melbourne: Ending poverty and promoting social inclusion.
Sat 6 Dec & Sun 7 Dec: 6th Annual Agribusiness Co-operative Leadership and Governance Forum
Events Overseas
8-10 July 2004: (IAFEP 2004) AnnouncementsNETCO wins Rural Enterprise Award Congratulations to NETCO on wining the Rabobank Agribusiness Award for Excellence, which was presented in Melbourne on 30 October 2003. See image above right. The NETCO success story. We welcome your comments on our newsletter and any suggested topics or items for inclusion in the next issue, due for publication in January. If you have any items of interest please ensure that these are forwarded to suzanne.henderson@uts.edu.au by 18th January 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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