News & Commentary —June 2024

Greenwich Commission: joining as an expert witness

written by Jonny Gordon-Farleigh

In May, I joined the Greenwich Co-operative Commission as an ‘expert witness’, with a focus on strengthening co-operative development to encourage more growth in community energy, social care, and business succession. More about my presentation below.

My recent experience:

  • A member of the Cooperate Islington consortium, and responsible for developing a governance strategy and business plan for a new co-operative development body 

  • A co-author of a new research report on ‘social businesses’ for Hackney Borough Council to inform their economic development plan

My insights:

  • Access to finance is crucial for all stages of business development, not just the startup phase. Too many councils and foundations offer micro-grants to new businesses without understanding the routes to finance to properly fund growth over time

  • Public-philanthropic partnerships can attract match funding into the sector and region

  • Business conversions into democratic ownership can also be identified by trade unions and local workers (not only be led by vendors)

My recommendations:

  • Continue to use existing providers where support is shown to be effective

  • Use other Co-op Development Bodies if none of the active London providers have capacity or capability

  • The most effective advisors are practitioners who have direct experience in priority sectors - the ‘barefoot approach’

  • Train up mainstream providers to better understand the co-op option

Main recommendation:

  • Develop support and financial commitments for a multi-borough agency in London, as a piece of shared infrastructure that lowers costs for individual boroughs, and also increases access to expertise, funding, and so on.


See the presentation here.

In May, I joined the Greenwich Co-operative Commission as an ‘expert witness’, with a focus on strengthening co-operative development to encourage more growth in community energy, social care, and business succession. More about my presentation below.

My recent experience:

  • A member of the Cooperate Islington consortium, and responsible for developing a governance strategy and business plan for a new co-operative development body 

  • A co-author of a new research report on ‘social businesses’ for Hackney Borough Council to inform their economic development plan

My insights:

  • Access to finance is crucial for all stages of business development, not just the startup phase. Too many councils and foundations offer micro-grants to new businesses without understanding the routes to finance to properly fund growth over time

  • Public-philanthropic partnerships can attract match funding into the sector and region

  • Business conversions into democratic ownership can also be identified by trade unions and local workers (not only be led by vendors)

My recommendations:

  • Continue to use existing providers where support is shown to be effective

  • Use other Co-op Development Bodies if none of the active London providers have capacity or capability

  • The most effective advisors are practitioners who have direct experience in priority sectors - the ‘barefoot approach’

  • Train up mainstream providers to better understand the co-op option

Main recommendation:

  • Develop support and financial commitments for a multi-borough agency in London, as a piece of shared infrastructure that lowers costs for individual boroughs, and also increases access to expertise, funding, and so on.


See the presentation here.

In May, I joined the Greenwich Co-operative Commission as an ‘expert witness’, with a focus on strengthening co-operative development to encourage more growth in community energy, social care, and business succession. More about my presentation below.

My recent experience:

  • A member of the Cooperate Islington consortium, and responsible for developing a governance strategy and business plan for a new co-operative development body 

  • A co-author of a new research report on ‘social businesses’ for Hackney Borough Council to inform their economic development plan

My insights:

  • Access to finance is crucial for all stages of business development, not just the startup phase. Too many councils and foundations offer micro-grants to new businesses without understanding the routes to finance to properly fund growth over time

  • Public-philanthropic partnerships can attract match funding into the sector and region

  • Business conversions into democratic ownership can also be identified by trade unions and local workers (not only be led by vendors)

My recommendations:

  • Continue to use existing providers where support is shown to be effective

  • Use other Co-op Development Bodies if none of the active London providers have capacity or capability

  • The most effective advisors are practitioners who have direct experience in priority sectors - the ‘barefoot approach’

  • Train up mainstream providers to better understand the co-op option

Main recommendation:

  • Develop support and financial commitments for a multi-borough agency in London, as a piece of shared infrastructure that lowers costs for individual boroughs, and also increases access to expertise, funding, and so on.


See the presentation here.

The CfDB is a project of Stir to Action Ltd, a worker co-operative registered in England as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Company number 07951013

Our team is based in Dorset, London, and Manchester

Designed and built by Stir to Action Studio

You can subscribe to our newsletter here

The CfDB is a project of Stir to Action Ltd, a worker co-operative registered in England as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Company number 07951013

Our team is based in Dorset, London, and Manchester

Designed and built by Stir to Action Studio

You can subscribe to our newsletter here

The CfDB is a project of Stir to Action Ltd, a worker co-operative registered in England as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Company number 07951013

Our team is based in Dorset, London, and Manchester

Designed and built by Stir to Action Studio