Author: Helen Dickson (Page 2 of 2)

It’s that time again when we join with our colleagues from Co-operatives UK and the Co-op sector to celebrate Co-ops Fortnight.

This year we have been invited to #UnwrapCoops and are celebrating the many different, inspiring ways that being part of a co‑op can make to people’s lives. We thought it was the perfect time to catch up with Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) team leader, Darah Zahran for an update on the sector in Scotland.

Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) has partnered with Youth Enterprise Scotland (YE Scotland) on a new initiative which provides the first comprehensive source of information on inclusive, values-led business models for young people. Together we aim to inspire young entrepreneurs to set up companies with a social or environmental purpose.

To find out more about this innovative and exciting project, we caught up with Gillian Kirton, Project Manager at Co-operative Development Scotland.

“At CDS, we have seen growing interest from business leaders in co-operatives, employee-owned businesses, social enterprises, B-Corps, and community interest companies. This interest has grown further since the Covid-19 pandemic and as Scotland strives to become a wellbeing economy, there is a desire for change and for businesses to put people and planet on an equal footing to profit.  

Construction management training company Esteem Training Limited has become the latest successful Scottish business to secure its future as an employee-owned enterprise.

With immediate effect, shares in Glasgow-based company previously owned by founder and director Trudy Mackenzie and fellow directors Ian Grigg and Martina Höfner have been transferred into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Benefits of the transition to EOT include rewarding the contribution of its dedicated team for whom the development safeguards job security while ensuring that ownership of another successful independent, growing business remains in Scottish hands.

Glasgow-based Spider Online has announced it is joining the growing number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland, with all staff given a stake in the company.

Founded by John Campbell and Tony O’Grady in 2004, Spider Online is an award-winning digital agency specialising in website and app delivery, serving customers across government, transport and HR. Clients include FirstGroup, Tesco Bank, COSLA, Audit Scotland, National Transport Authority Ireland, Imperial College London and Bristol Airport.

In our latest blog, we are pleased to welcome Ludovica Rogers, Programme Manager, New Co-op Ventures at Co-operatives UK who shares her insight on how co-ops can provide a more ethical, values lead approach to digital business.

The rise of digital platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo may have provided consumers with greater choice and convenience, but it’s come at a cost – to the riders, drivers and others on the frontline of those services. The gig economy that’s emerged through these digital innovations has exploited regulations, increased precarious working and created the conditions for tech giants to dominate markets.  

In our latest blog article, we welcome Susie Middleton from the Plunkett Foundation, who shares her thoughts on how community business co-locating in places of worship create mutual benefits and have a positive impact on the local area.

From the CDS team

As 2020 drew to a close we looked back on a year like no other, but little did we realise the next 12 months would be very similar. Although we are still in the throes of the pandemic, it’s been a busy time for Co-operative Development Scotland and the sector. Momentum continues to grow and more businesses and communities are now looking to values led and democratic approaches to build a stronger and fairer economic future. As we enter 2022 we reflect on a busy and rewarding year.  

In our latest blog article, we catch up with Suzanne Orchard, Specialist in our team at Co-operative Development Scotland to find out about our recent webinar Community Business: Making it Easy.

Community Business: Making it Easy is a partnership between Co-operative Development Scotland, the Plunkett Foundation and Community Shares Scotland to raise awareness of community business and the available support in Scotland. The partnership creates a one-stop-shop for community business and promotes the collective support package available to ensure a straightforward, streamlined service for clients.

With COP-26 underway, messages about the climate emergency will dominate all media outlets over the next few weeks and well into the future as we try to grapple with what is by far the most important issue globally. As the delegates arrive in Glasgow, we thought it was timely to catch up with Darah Zahran, team leader at Co-operative Development Scotland (part of Scottish Enterprise) on how Co-ops can play a part in supporting the climate agenda.

This month we are pleased to feature a guest blog from Katie Little from Community Shares Scotland. Read on to find out more about Katie’s thoughts on the role of community enterprise in the race to zero .

With the COP26 conference starting next week and an increasing focus on a community wealth building agenda, the role that community enterprise can play in shaping the future of our just transition to net zero is becoming increasingly evident. Recent conferences from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme and the Development Trusts Association Scotland have reinforced this, focusing on community-led climate action and featuring case studies highlighting the breadth of action that is going on on the ground in communities across Scotland.

Despite the challenges of Covid-19, Scotland’s largest employee-owned headquartered company, Alness-based sustainable seafood company, Aquascot, succeeded in digitalising production and quality assurance over the last 12 months. In our newest blog we catch up with John Housego, managing director to find out more about the significance of the project and what it will do for the business.

Employee ownership specialist adviser Glen Dott shares why succession planning should be dealt with sooner rather than later and shares details on a series on upcoming succession masterclasses. 

Planning for succession is one of the biggest challenges a business owner will face. When you’ve worked hard to build up your business, what do you do when it comes time to stop? Whether you’re looking to hand over the reins of your business soon or simply planning for the long-term, make sure you explore all the available options in advance to allow time for plans to be properly drawn up. Giving the topic early consideration can mean better results for the employer, the employees and the business. 

The community business sector in Scotland is growing and, to support this, Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) is working in partnership with Community Shares Scotland (CSS) and the Plunkett Foundation to raise awareness and improve access to support.  The partnership has just launched a new video guide which introduces the subject of community business – so we caught up with our co-ops specialist, Jaye Martin, to find out more about the sector, the support available and why now is a key moment for community business in Scotland.

There is growing recognition of the value of community businesses, preserving community assets and generating economic value for their communities. COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated the importance of supporting communities to be innovative and take the step towards generating wealth locally, avoiding the return to normal economics.

In partnership with the Plunkett Foundation, and Community Shares Scotland, Co-operative Development Scotland ran their second Community Business: Making it Easy event this month providing key insight to the realities of establishing a community business and information about the support available.

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Earlier this year Co-operative Development Scotland were part of a group that organised and hosted an event called Community Shops & Pubs: Making it Easy. The event was designed to enable communities take action to secure the future of their local shop or pub by helping them to better understand what projects of this nature entail and the support that is available to them. This was a fantastic event was well attended by community groups from across Scotland who were able to access advice on fundraising, governance and community engagement. Attendees also had the opportunity to speak to those already running community businesses and to learn from their experience.

On the day we caught up with some of the speakers from the event to find out what key bits of advice they would give to community groups considering setting up their own community business.

Gillian Kirton, project manager for Co-operative Development Scotland was there on the day and shares some of the key insights.

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As we continue to Celebrate Co-ops Fortnight, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Co-operative Development Scotland client, Glasgow Canals Co-op. Anna Young, Project Manager for the organisation, took part in a Q&A with us so we could find out a bit more about the Co-op, its purpose and how they #KeepCooperating.

Over the next two weeks we join our partners in celebrating Co-ops Fortnight. COVID-19 has left us facing extreme challenges for both public health and our economy, but positive lessons are being learned during this crisis, and we all want to harness this new culture of co-operation to change society for the better. Looking at this year’s theme of #KeepCooperating we caught up with Darah Zahran, team leader at Co-operative Development Scotland to get her take on why co-operatives will play a key part in our economic future.

As our thoughts turn to what our economy will look like post COVID-19, there are calls not to return to business as usual. There is an opportunity to create a fairer and more democratic alternative to what we’ve had in the past and community wealth building and co-operative business models will play a key role in that.

In our latest blog, we catch up with Suzanne Orchard, our specialist advisor for co-operatives to find out more about community co-operatives and why communities in Scotland are turning to this model to both safeguard vital local assets but also to generate economic benefit for the areas they live in.

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Although the effects of COVID-19 are still being felt across the globe, there are good news stories coming through and in our new blog article Clare Alexander, head of Co-operative Development Scotland, discusses these in more detail along with what is happening in the employee ownership sector.

As we feel the unprecedented effects of COVID-19, the team at Co-operative Development Scotland want to offer our support in this incredibly difficult time to our clients.

The changes we have seen to every aspect of our lives at the moment may be overwhelming, but we would like to do what we can to help you with the immediate challenges your business or co-operative may be facing by signposting to the network of support available from the government and key partners. Links and details about support available are listed below.

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