This page is intended to help individuals who are looking for practical help in opening and/or running their own cooperative organisation.
What is a Cooperative?
A cooperative is an organisation run and owned by its members to meet their collective needs.
To find out more, watch this video:
To learn about the cooperative movement:
Alternatively, for more information, visit the following website:
How do I start a new Cooperative?
Starting a cooperative, just like any other business, requires careful thought, funds, and a business plan.
As well as having a business idea you’ll need to decide whether or not a cooperative would be the right way forward for you and your colleagues.
You will then need to choose a co-op structure and register. This includes deciding on your legal form, choosing your type of cooperative, discussing decision-making processes, and forms of governance.
To find out more, visit the following website:
There are many different types of cooperatives that you can set up. One common form is a worker’s cooperative which is a cooperative owned and self-managed by all of its workers.
The below document from Seeds for Change will provide some support and information to help you set up your own worker’s cooperative:
Setting up a Worker’s Co-op: A Short Guide
Seeds for Change UK
An alternative cooperative that you can set up is a housing cooperative. This is a cooperative in which the group of people who live in a house also manage and control it.
You can find out more about this below:
If you need overall support with your cooperative, you can join a community from Radical Routes which is made up of member cooperatives, allowing them to become associate members and assist you with any help you may need.
If you would still like some more general information surrounding starting up your own cooperative, the following article from The Guardian sets up an outline on the basic information of how to set it up.
This article is Part 1 of a multi-part series on cooperatives, so continue on reading Parts 2 and 3.
The workers coop aims to organise worker cooperators and supporters, and defend and advance the shared interest of worker co-ops. They are a democratic, member-driven organisation with two types of member: worker co-op enterprises, and individuals who contribute their labour through one of their working groups.
On their website, you can discover more about specific case studies, as well as any resources openly available to you.
If this interests you, you can open their page here:
Still struggling?
For those still struggling with their cooperatives, we have created a page for those who are looking for a more human, interactive approach. This page includes resources such as platforms which allows for open discussions and help surrounding cooperatives.