Mercury Co-operative

Provided below are resources and reference material which we hope will be useful.

Community Economic Development

– Local communities and economic sustainability

CED Action Strategies

Community Economic Development Action Strategies. This article looks at sustainable economic development action strategies based on a framework of six broad and inter-related approaches to local business, local economy and community capacity building – 137Kb.

Effective Economic Development

Effective Economic Development – What makes it happen? Key ingredients against which all communities can evaluate themselves and prepare for economic development. (Our thanks to Community Builders NSW for this information) – 96Kb.

Co-operative Services

– For new and existing co-operatives.

Co-operatives in Australia – A Manual

This manual is designed to assist anyone who wants to start or join a co-operative, and also increase the understanding of members already involved in co-operatives across Australia. It is also designed to assist members of other entity types to understand the pros and cons of the co-operative structure (compared with their existing structure).– 908Kb.

ICA Co-operative Identity

International Co-operative Alliance Statement on the Co-operative Identity – 57Kb.

Innovative Co-ops in the Social Services Sector

The report of a research study on the development of social co-operatives around the world to benefit people with developmental disabilities and mental illness – 1.04Mb.

Participation

– For collaborative enterprises

The Wheel of Participation

Describes the ‘Wheel of Participation’ developed by South Lanarkshire Council. The wheel moves from the extreme of no community input, with the Council taking all the decisions, through consultation and participation to citizen empowerment, where the community make their own decisions on issues that affect them – 96Kb.

Ownership Strategies

– Includes ownership planning, community buyouts, business succession and employee ownership.

Employee Buyouts Guide

Employee ownership of a business can be achieved through a process called an “employee buy-out”. This guide sets out what an employee buy-out is, when a buy-out is appropriate and why a buy-out should be considered. It also deals with the forms of buy-outs and the steps in performing a buy-out – 235Kb.

Co-op Comeback in the Outback

Article reproduced from the April 2006 edition of Ethical Investor exploring the topic that “Rural communities are pooling funds to plug the drain of essential services” – 552Kb.

Asset Based Policies: Matched Savings Accounts: Exploring Options

Report to the Chifley Research Centre Prepared by The Allen Consulting Group.
Table 1.1 on page 8 provides details of empirical studies linking asset ownership to measures of well being – 997Kb.