Co-operative Skills for anyone

This webinar series is funded by the Belfast City Council and delivered by Co-operative Alternatives.

A Co-operative Journey: from Ideas to Co-operatives on Tuesday the 17th November from 12.00 – 3.00

This session is ideal for anyone who is considering starting a co-operative enterprise. What are co-operatives? What elements make co-operatives different from ordinary businesses. And most importantly, this session will test your idea and help you decide if a co-operative is the right model for you.  This is an interactive session online using Zoom and Miro.

Web 1

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-co-opertative-journey-from-ideas-to-co-operatives-tickets-128601768351

Funding Co-operatives: Community shares and Loanstock Offers on Thursday the 19th November 12.00 – 2.00

The COVID-19 emergency has had a massive impact on all businesses, regardless of age, scale, sector or type. Government measures to support businesses during this emergency are well publicised and generally available to co-operative and community benefit societies along with other types of business. This workshop focuses on community shares and loanstock offers as tools that co-operatives can use in time of crisis.

The first part of the workshop explains what community shares and loanstock offers are and introduces practical examples in NI.

Community shares give community businesses additional solvency, compared with other enterprises that are more reliant on debt finance. Your community and your members have a vested interest in the purpose of their societies, and will support measures to protect its employees, volunteers, assets and share capital. The second part of the workshops introduces the 10 best practical principles for a community share offer in time of crisis.

Web 2

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/funding-co-operatives-community-shares-and-loanstock-offers-tickets-128602402247

Co-operation in Action: from Conflict to Co-operation on Monday the 30th November from 12.00 – 2.00

Let’s talk about what make co-operatives tick. Co-operatives are first and foremost made of people. As well as developing a business ideas, co-operators need to develop ‘co-operative skills’ to navigate the intricacy of democratic governance. Co-operative governance is the subject of this workshop with practical tools to confront hurdles and make committees more efficient and effective.

Web 3

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/co-operation-in-action-from-conflict-to-co-operation-tickets-128603411265

Participative Decision Making in Co-operatives on Tuesday the 8th December from 12.00 – 2.00

This is a training webinar on participative decision making in co-operatives. The aim of this webinar is to equip participants with tools to support decision making processes in their co-operative and organisation. We will explore with Joanna McMinn from Co-housing Connections a participatory process for making decisions based on the principle of consent, as part of a systematic way of working called sociocracy.

Web 4

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/participative-decision-making-in-co-operatives-tickets-128603774351