A report by a committee of MPs said that local councils could miss out on the chance to improve local services if ministers did not remove barriers to staff mutuals and co-operatives.
Source: Mutual and Cooperative Approaches to Delivering Local Services, Fifth Report (Session 2012–13), HC 112, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | ResPublica press release | BBC report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Dec
The coalition government published it response to an independent review of employee ownership. It set out how it would address each of the 28 recommendations made, focusing on three themes of raising awareness, increasing the resources available to support employee ownership, and reducing its complexity.
Source: Government Response to the Nuttall Review: Next steps for employee ownership, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Response | Hansard | DBIS press release | Deloitte press release
Notes: Report (July 2012)
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined how enterprises based on co-operative values could help to meet social care needs. It drew on case studies of two new co-operative enterprises intended to demonstrate how personalized adult social care could be extended by developing collaborative, co-operative organizational forms.
Source: Jenny Fisher, Susan Baines, and Mary Rayner, 'Personalisation and the co-operative tradition', Social Policy and Society, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined the attempt by the former Labour governments (1997–2010) to promote the supply of social enterprises in the market for health and social care services in England, through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund. Although the Fund had had significant benefits in supporting the start-up and growth of organizations, its contribution to their longer-term sustainability was more mixed: most were dependent on grants as a main source of income and were not in a position to compete for public sector contracts. This suggested that there might be limits to the role that public investment could play in such market making.
Source: Kelly Hall, Pete Alcock, and Ross Millar, 'Start up and sustainability: marketisation and the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in England', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
The report of a government-commissioned review summarized research literature on the benefits of employee ownership, identified the key barriers to uptake of employee ownership, and made a number of recommendations about how to reduce these barriers.
Source: Sharing Success: The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Hansard | DBIS press release | IOD press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Jul
A report made a series of policy recommendations designed to reinforce the resilience of co-operatives in Europe, and help them to be an 'inspirational factor' for the wider enterprise world and for policy-makers in coping with the global economic crisis. It said that these policies could result, at least in the medium term, in both lower costs for public budgets and greater hope for unemployed and excluded people.
Source: Bruno Roelants, Diana Dovgan, Hyungsik Eum, and Elisa Terrasi, The Resilience of the Cooperative Model: How worker cooperatives, social cooperatives and other worker-owned enterprises respond to the crisis and its consequences, CECOP-CICOPA Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank paper examined how co-operative societies could help overcome the environmental, social, and economic problems that neither the private market nor the state had been able to solve. It challenged the view that co-operatives and the state were mutually antagonistic, highlighting examples of successful co-operation that could be adopted within the public sphere.
Source: Robin Murray, Social Innovation and Public Service Reform: The new wave of mutuality, Policy Network
Date: 2012-Jun
An official taskforce said that the number of public sector mutuals had increased six-fold since 2010, and that they were improving services as predicted. It recommended actions to make mutuals a mainstream option for public service delivery.
Source: Mutuals Taskforce, Public Service Mutuals: The Next Steps, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Third Sector report
Date: 2012-Jun
An article reported on a qualitative study of one social enterprise, a community caf , and its contribution to building social capital in a disadvantaged urban area in London. The analysis revealed how the caf built 'bonding' and 'bridging' social capital, although also addressing 'downside' social capital. Overall, the manager of the social enterprise played a considerable role in facilitating the development of social capital, emphasizing the importance of individuals and their attitudes, skills, and background in urban regeneration. However, the role of the social enterprise in building 'linking' social capital was minor. In this instance, more effective mechanisms of community engagement needed to be put in place in order to empower local residents and organizations.
Source: Marcello Bertotti, Angela Harden, Adrian Renton, and Kevin Sheridan, 'The contribution of a social enterprise to the building of social capital in a disadvantaged urban area of London', Community Development Journal, Volume 47 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined ways in which social enterprises could increase their scale and social impact, using case studies from the early years sector. It looked at options ranging from maximizing impact internally (through new activities, and more sites) to growth beyond the confines of the organization (through social franchises, use of kite marks, training, and networks). The research highlighted the fact that expanding a social enterprise was not the only way to increase its impact.
Source: Fergus Lyon and Heather Fernandez, Scaling up Social Enterprise: Strategies taken from early years providers, Working Paper 79, Third Sector Research Centre
Links: Paper | TSRC press release
Date: 2012-Apr
The report of an independent commission called for a greater diversity of models of business ownership, including co-operatives and mutuals.
Source: Plurality, Stewardship and Engagement: The report of the Ownership Commission, Mutuo (c/o Westminster Bridge Partnership)
Links: Report | Co-operatives UK press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A study examined the relative importance of social enterprises to the economy, society, and environment of rural areas in England.
Source: Peter Couchman and Mike Perry, Review of Rural Social Enterprise in England: Final Report, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Plunkett Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jan
A report called on the government to consider new policies to facilitate the growth of the employee-owned sector. The employee ownership model delivered improved employee well-being, and there was also evidence that employee-owned companies had outperformed their rivals during the recent economic recession.
Source: William Davies, All of Our Business: Why Britain needs more private sector employee ownership, Employee Ownership Association
Links: Report | EOA press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report examined evidence on the role of co-operatives in Wales. Co-operatives played an important role in the economy and employment, turning over more than £1 billion per year and providing around 7,000 jobs. They tended to be more innovative and more responsive to customer needs than mainstream businesses, and also had high standards of corporate social responsibility.
Source: Victoria Winckler, Co-operatives in the Welsh Economy, Wales Co-operative Centre
Links: Report | WCC press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report set out recommendations for encouraging the growth of the social investment market.
Source: NCVO Commission on Tax Incentives for Social Investment: Analysis and Recommendations, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Links: Report | NCVO press release
Date: 2012-Jan