This seminar series was initiated by the UK Society of Co-operative Studies (UKSCS) to support a research project on 'new cooperativism' by Prof Rory Ridley-Duff. In late 2020, UKSCS liaised the EMES International Research Network and the European Research Institute for Co-operative and Social Enterprise to expand the project. They formed a New Cooperativism Editorial Board (NCEB) which jointly issued a Call for Papers for a special issue of the Journal of Co-operative Studies (JCS).
Prof Rory Ridley-Duff worked with NCEB board members to organise a series of seminars between June - November 2021. Each seminar related to a theme in the Call for Papers, linked to a proposed book chapter for a forthcoming book for Palgrave. Each seminar systematically expanded and elaborated an area of new cooperativism that will require study in the future. Nine seminars were hosted by the FairShares Institute for Co-operative Social Entrepreneurship at Sheffield Hallam University, which gave ethical approval for the collection and transcription of recordings.
Over the course of 6 months, over 30 experts in the field (13 seminar facilitators and 20 academic/practitioner panellists) debated aspects of new cooperativism with over 100 seminar participants. As a result of organising the seminar series, and the special issue for JCS, two further journals issued calls for papers (in Austria and Germany). The publication of this playlist of videos coincides with the publication of the special issue of the Journal of Co-operative Studies.
Seminar 1 - June 2021
Theme 1: New cooperativism and sustainable development
We welcomed contributions that explore how new co-operatives are responding to the United Nations initiative on sustainable development. Do sustainable development goals (SDGs) help or hinder new cooperativism? What is the level of alignment between co-operative values and principles and specific SDGs? How do SDGs provide a framework for evaluating initiatives in new co-operatives?
Facilitators: Mary O’Shaughnessy, Guilia Galera
Panel Speakers: Marcelo Vieta, Michele Bianchi, Sara Capuzzo
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Theme 2: Updating co-op values and principles
The theme of the seminar was Updating Co-op Values and Principles. In addition to papers on revising co-operative values and principles, we welcomed contributions that explore frameworks that align new cooperativism with the social solidarity economy (e.g. transformative social innovation; FairShares Model). Do these extend, develop or replace existing co-operative values and principles? Do they observe the 2015 guidance of the International Co-operative Alliance? What updates (if any) are needed to accommodate new cooperativism?
Facilitators - Jan Myers, Rory Ridley-Duff
Panel Speakers: Sonja Novkovic, Guilia Galera
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Seminar 2 - July 2021
Theme 3: Legal innovations for multi-stakeholder governance
How can companies, co-operative societies, partnerships and associations be re-configured to support new cooperativism? Following new classification work by the ICA (Eum, Carini, Bouchard, 2019), how can solidarity co-operatives be structured legally? What legal and governance innovations have emerged to support multi-stakeholding and community involvement? What legal and governance innovations are emerging to support the alignment of co-operatives with sustainable development?
Facilitator – Silvia Sacchetti
Panel Speakers – Ian Adderley, Rory Ridley-Duff
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Theme 4: Funding and incentives in new cooperativism
How should co-operatives use, and respond to, the rise of crowd-funding, crowd-lending and crowd-investing? As investment platforms create wider reach and open up the potential for global membership, will this undermine the community focus of funding mechanisms? What can be learnt from platforms like Kiva, Kickstarter and Indiegogo? What co-operative platforms exist (or are developing) for new co-operatives to re-invent ‘co-operative shares’ that raise cooperative capital and regulate the distribution of surpluses?
Facilitator – Elizavet Mantzari
Panel Speakers – Dave Boyle, Steve Gill
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Seminar 3 - September 2021
Theme 5: Learning for new cooperativism
New cooperativism often advocates a radical re-organisation of power, favouring labour and solidarity projects to create and manage common resources. How does this affect the learning and development of co-operators, and influence curricula to support co-operative entrepreneurship ? What learning and development methods (both formal and informal) contribute to effective workplace democracy? What innovations in cooperation education and curricula might stimulate youth co-operatives?
Facilitators – Nicole Goler Von Ravensberg, Marcelo Vieta
Panel Speakers – Joanna Brzozowska-Wabik, Sara Vicari, Christian Wolf
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Theme 6: Policy initiatives and spaces for new cooperativism
What new spaces are opening for co-op development? How do crises (financial, medical) generate opportunities for new cooperativism? Should the ICA and other co-operative infrastructure bodies support new cooperativism? How can they do so? What new policy initiatives would build bridges between grassroots movement and existing ecosystems? Do existing ecosystems for co-operative support hinder and disrupt new cooperativism?
Facilitators – Mary O’Shaughnessy, Marcelo Vieta
Panel Speakers – Simon Teasdale, Gianluca Salvatori
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Seminar 4 - October 2021
Theme 7: Gender and minority group sensitivities in multi-stakeholder co-ops.
This session was cancelled due to the ill-health.
Theme 8 - Conceptions of (co-operative) wealth
We called for papers that explore the arguments for integrated accounting and social auditing, and papers that consider the relevance of a changed perspective on wealth and sustainable development in new co-operatives. What recognition and rewards are given for contributions of natural, human, social, intellectual, manufactured and financial capital? How is the concept of ‘capital’ being conceptualised in the spaces for new cooperativism? What is the importance of the Prosumer concept to wealth creation in new co-operatives?
Facilitators – Maureen McCulloch, Nicole Goler Van Ravensberg
Panel Speakers – Graham Boyd, Daphne Rixon
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Seminar 5 - November 2021
Theme 9: Digital and platform co-operatives
Multinationals have dominated the platform economy. Seven companies belong to the world’s ten wealthiest enterprises, but none are based in Europe. As the social media battle between Rupert Murdock and Facebook in Australia has shown, problems arise out of the clash between market forces and monopoly interests, disrupting small and medium-sized enterprises. How can new co-operative business models offer alternatives and/or promote co-operatives that renegotiate user rights on privately owned platforms?
Facilitator – Rocio Nogales
Panel Speakers – Ana Aguirre, Ali Ercan Ozgur
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
Theme 10: Co-operative communications and publishing
The growing interest in distributed co-operative organisations (DisCos) depends on new forms of communication through digital networks that connect members within and across co-operative movements. How might DisCos transform co-operative publishing, or usher in community-led reporting? Are there platforms to challenge Facebook and Google that co-operatives can work with, or enhance/transform into new co-operatives (e.g. WT.social, Ecosia)?
Facilitators – Rebecca Harvey, Nathan Schneider
Panel Speakers – Olivia Henry, Javier Borelli
Technical Support: Rory Ridley-Duff
