Who are we? Say hello and introduce yourself

Hi Alex. Your project sounds fascinating. Even in this day & age, it's amazing the level of disconnect between like-minded people, organisations & initiatives, I'm curious what is the business model?. That's the other big challenge. How do we get someone to pay for something that is overtly political within a commercial context?. I believe I've cracked it, but time will tell.
My biggest challenge has been finding the right web developer. Will your site in part act as a platform to connect developers with projects?. I can say from personal experience that is something that is sadly lacking.

Thanks for these, the former really seems to be something we should be aware of, so will check it out.

Will do!

Also it's a bit less user research but i should have also mentioned the ongoing series of https://techandrev.org/ convergences being led primarily by May First People Link, https://mayfirst.org

Hi @mlncn! I was not aware of either of these projects. Puruance seems especially interesting. We had a considered a "task management" direction of one of our tools but laid it aside for the moment. I am sure there are many lessons that can be learnt here. I am especially impressed with the end to end encryption of it. We obviously have security as an important task, but we are at the moment considering the UX and onboarding journeys first - the move from passivity to activity.

Would be great to coordinate, so feel to drop me an email at [email protected]! Our work is very much user research led.

Hello Alex! Looks like there may be some overlap with the https://drutopia.org/ cooperative platform. We're already sharing user research with https://pursuanceproject.org/ and a couple other groups; it would be excellent to coordinate with Common Knowledge also.

Hi all. I'm Alex.

I am/was a collaborator at Outlandish where I worked for 18 months. I am starting up a new product based cooperative called Common Knowledge. @sionwhellens is helping out with advice via The Hive.

Looking forward to talking to you all some more.

Ok no rush from me, I can just do an annual contribution once you have a system sorted.

We use Trello for task tracking. Would be cool if there was a nice Loomio -> Trello integration eh...

Hi Richard, Welcome!
Yeah international payments is on our to do list, so I'll have a proper think about it as we have had quite a few North Americans want to join too. Incidentally what tool or intergration do you use at Loomio to shift decisions into actionable and tracked tasks?

Hi folks, I'm Richard, one of the cofounders of Loomio which is a worker co-op in New Zealand. We make this software that y'all are using!

Yesterday I was recording a presentation to be screened at a co-op conference in India next week. I included Solidfund as an example of how Loomio enables more participation in governance, and then I thought, hey, I should be a member! So very glad to be here, thanks for having me.

Now I just need someone to explain how I can contribute my monthly dues as an international member -- can I be invoiced?

Welcome, Philippa. I hope lots of people on this group will be able to help you with suggestions and offers of materials.

Hi, I’m Philippa and I’ve recently started as the project archivist for the HLF funded project ‘Working Together: recording and preserving the heritage of the workers’ co-operative movement’, based at the National Co-operative Archive in Manchester. I will outline this project in more detail on a discussion thread as I’m hoping to gain some input for the project from this group!

@ievapadagaite

Hello
I am Kasper Herboel from KnowledgeWorker, a Cooperative consultancy business based in Copenhagen, Denmark. I am in the Board of The Young European Cooperators Network. At the moment I am gathering resources and partners from all over Europe to help build a Taskforce that can contribute to the development of cooperative youth networks, and the strengthening of cooperative entrepreneurship.
In others words, I am looking for people (of any age) that can contribute to this work, and who knows of resources (both on- and offline) that can be of service to young, cooperative people in general.
Do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]

Greetings!

Done - feel sorry for Ed "Cooperative Web" Russell - not really as catchy

Done

Can I repeat a request that people include the name of their co-op in their user name, or where this will cause confusion across multiple Loomio groups, put something in your profile.

Hi @alexhilton congratulations on your co-op. You might have some interests in common with https://twitter.com/speechtojustice?lang=en who are a social enterprise rather than a co-op (though I think they probably comply with most or all of the seven principles) - Happy to intro you to the founder if you're interested.

I'm Alex from Typeology (http://typeology.co.uk/) fairly newly set up workers co-op doing audio transcription, we have 3 members at the moment

Hi all
I thought I'd already posted an intro here - sorry, getting my Loomio groups confused :)
My name is Kayleigh and I work with Outlandish. We're a tech worker co-op and build beautiful website, complex data tools and campaigning sites such as the brilliant School Cuts. We're also part of CoTech, a network of 26 digital co-ops based in the UK.
I do lots of different things at Outlandish and am very proud to be involved with the worker co-op movement.

Hi Harry

I need to correct a false impression.

I am not a worker at Indycube. I am leading some work for Co-ops UK on precarious workers and seeking to develop with trade unions and co-ops joint solutions like this. Our first report last year, Not Alone, that you can find if you google my name and this report, helped foster a creative conversation between Community Union and Indycube that led to this joint venture which was launched last month here in Wales where I work.

With Community Union, Indycube is expanding via partnerships into England and they now have a site in Wakefield. They are though a multi-stakeholder co-op. So your guess is correct. Mark Hooper, the lead founder, spoke at the Co-op Congress last weekend. John Park at Community Union gave a keynote address. Indycube have equal pay and have copied Suma here.

I am working with Co-ops UK and the Co-op College in a small team that is producing in the next two months, two follow up reports to Not Alone. These look at bespoke solutions in different economic sectors including transport, education, social care, etc.
They also seek to frame how the Union Co-op model developing slowly in the USA could be positioned to emerge here.

In solidarity

Pat

Hey Pat, great work you guys are doing at IndyCube - we're trying to get some stuff happening with you guys via our new co-operative tech space in North London. Am I right in thinking you are a member co-op that seeks to encourage worker co-ops, rather than a worker co-op yourselves? Great to have you on board anyway!

Hi I am Pat Conaty, a research associate of Co-ops UK, and doing development work with a small team to promote freelancer co-ops and Union Co-ops that can be integrated. Indycube.community is an example and has just launched in Wales and they are expanding into England as a collaborative partnership between a makerspace co-op for freelancers (with 30 workspaces across Wales and 1 in England) and Community Union with a joint services package.

I'm Jonathan from LEDA Coop from Leeds. We are architects and building services engineers specialising in sustainable design. There are 8 members and we became a coop in 2000.

Hello, I'm Steven from Open Data Services Co-operative. We work on lots of open data projects, particularly those that involve standards (such as Open Contracting or 360Giving). Our worker co-op is two years old, and now has 11 members. I'm based in Manchester, with other members based all over the UK (we all work from home).

This is mainly UK / Ireland people at the moment so if you want connecting with https://usworker.coop let me know.

I am John from Democracy at Work https://www.loomio.org/g/W2QndY4S/democracy-at-work. I also am working on a all-coop-encompasing website called Coop Eden - http://coopeden.zohosites.com/. Anyone with a compatible vision is encouraged to join here - https://www.loomio.org/g/XGc5fqHY/coop-eden-project

A lot of interesting people on here! I am a coop supporter looking to get more involved in the worker-ownership world. I am in Chicago. Anyone else here US-based?

Lucas

I'm the admin, finance & IT dogsbody at graphics.coop which is a longstanding worker co-op in Edinburgh. We started off doing print design in the 1980s and gradually moved into web over the years. I've done a bit of everything in our co-op over the years. My IT specialisms are networks, servers & DNS. Outside my (part-time) day job, I put my efforts into being active in Green politics.

Hi, I'm Ieva and I make promotional, educational, campaigning and fundraising videos at Blake House Filmmakers Co-operative (Simon already has introduced it in the comment above). I also work with Altgen on marketing and project management side of things - currently establishing a physical and digital membership space inspiring and empowering people to remodel the way they work and learn - taking inspiration from the co-operative models.

In short: I want to communicate a different kind of world thorough cooperative angle by making films with people who are working in the similar direction.

http://blake.house
@blake_house

Hello I'm Simon from Blake House Filmmakers Co-operative. We're a two person workers co-op that incorporated in January that creates video content for charities, ngos, co-ops, social enterprises and academics. We're a social enterprise as well, so half of our surplus is invested back to our members' own artistic and community based projects.

We've both just joined the Solid Fund, are very keen about the whole workers co-op movement and are keen to get involved and help it grow.

http://blake.house

Hi, I am john Merritt. I am a Bournemouth based development worker with Cooperative Assistance Network. I am involved in common ownership development and support with Trade Unions, Credit Unions, Cooperatives, Social Enterprises and Public services

Hi, I'm Ian. I operate as a freelance researcher, writer and consultant around Co-operative Law. I'm an individual supporter-member of the Fund.

Hi, I'm Austen. I work for Co-operative Assistance Network Limited (can.coop). We are a workers co-op of co-operative development workers. I am based in Chelmsford, Essex and I have colleagues in Bristol, Southampton and Bournemouth.

Hey

It was recommended that I say hi on this.

Apparently I'm the first for ages.

I just joined SolidFund YAYYY!

I'm interested in being in a worker co-op around Birmingham. If anyone's interested in energy, housing or transport, I am too.

I've been involved in: students.coop yansa.org peopleandplanet.org Green Bike Project, Birmingham Student Housing Co-op, Federici Housing Co-op etc.

[This'll bump it up to the top too!]

Jo Bird. I helped organise co-op movement responses to the crises at the Bank and Group - including Ways Forward conferences, making the case for democratic co-ops in the media, and a petition. I'm one of the first six consultants to gain a licence to issue the Community Shares Compliance Mark.

I've been actively involved in co-ops since 1993, working in/with housing coops, the Co-op Group, workers coops, consortia, Plunkett Foundation, and regional co-op networks in NW, Yorkshire and NI. I'm a Director of Co-operative Business Consultants and Co-operative Alternatives in Northern Ireland. I'm currently working with worker co-ops across Ireland.

Hello, I’m Kate and I’ve been working in, with and around co-operatives of all kinds, both here in the UK and overseas for over 25 years. About 10 years ago I got interested in the skills you need to work in a flat democratically-managed workplace – what we now call co-operative skills. I began to see that marketing or finance training could be a waste of resources if people trying to set up or build their co-operative business didn’t know how to work together as a team, didn’t understand the importance of excellent communications or didn’t regard their meetings as a key management tool. Co-operantics was initially set up as a DIY resource – a website with free downloadable info: exercises, games, tips & techniques – to address the logistical challenges I experienced working with time-poor worker co-operatives. In 2012 together with Nathan Brown I set it up as a co-operative – aiming to promote and improve co-operative skills. Co-operantics is involved in the design and delivery of Co-opsUK’s well-received Co-operative Skills Seminars.

I'm Nathan from Cooperantics www.cooperantics.coop and Co-op Culture. Both are co-ops of trainers & consultants providing support to co-operatives (a Co-operative Development Body) I've been a co-op advisor since 1998, mostly as a member of a co-op.

Hi, I'm Matthew from Rhizome: www.rhizome.coop, @rhizomecoop. We're a 5 year old coop consortium that offers training, facilitation and mediation to other coops, to community campaign groups and to social change NGOs. Our focus is on consensus decision-making, participation, and effective group work. But we also offer a range of campaign/ communication skills workshops.

I've been involved in coops almost all my working life. Rhizome is my 3rd coop, though my first consortium

Hi I'm Al Brown from FixIT Leeds (formerly Kaba PC). We're a 3-member worker co-op who offer IT advice/support and refurbish, upcycle and repair computer equipment. We're all really new to co-ops so I'm following some of the discussions here with interest but not contributing so far! We've just undergone a hurried move and rebrand so our website isn't up to scratch yet.

http://www.fixit-leeds.com/
https://twitter.com/fixitleeds

Hi there, I'm Richard. I've been a member of Seeds for Change Oxford for about 4 years. The co-op has been going over 10 and is in a network with one other co-op - Seeds for Change Lancaster. We run workshops for campaign and community groups and co-ops up and down the country in a range of campaign and group work skills. We also produce written resources on these areas available at: http://seedsforchange.org.uk/resources

Outside of Seeds i'm involved in a pop-up food co-op running out of a community centre called Monday Shop.

I'm Dave from CMS. We are a worker co-operative consultancy, almost 13 years old, based in the north west of England. I've been involved in the co-operative movement for over 30 years.

We advise other co-operatives and social enterprises, mainly in the north of England, Scotland and Wales - but we will work anywhere. More detail on our website:-

http://www.cms.coop

I work in Lupine Adventure Co-op (EST: 2007). A workers co-op providing outdoor education and recreation for young people and adults.
www.lupineadventure.co.uk

Here as a founding member of www.ethicalbay.coop - an online marketplace for ethical traders (mostly coops!) and ethical products - we want to make it very easy for consumers to "buy the good". Currently we are a flat workers coop and ethicalbay is an open invitation to join/help build the product, discover the customers and construct a suitable structure to run the operation - probably a multi-stakeholder-platform-coop. Struggling to find financial backing we're now focusing on marketing the proposition and aiming to crowdfund in the autumn.

I run a tech/web coop in North London. We're currently trying to work out a legal/management/business structure that recognises the value that people bring to the venture without just making it into a free market.

We're a bit unsure to what extent we're a single entity and to what extent a network of like-minded individuals.

John Atherton, I work at Co-ops UK leading on Membership with particular responsibility for worker co-ops. I provide support to the worker co-op council and initiatives like this, the worker co-op weekend and coop skills seminars.

I'm technically an individual member of the fund, but support for the Solidarity Fund is part of Co-operatives UK operational plan so I can spend some paid time on this and as much voluntary time as I like! (there so generous)

Dan Holden, co-op member of 7 years at Unicorn Grocery, a flat-pay, flat-management-structure worker co-op of 60ish souls in South Manchester. I do IT there along with being a grocer.

I'm Chris Brazier and I've been a member of the New Internationalist co-operative for 31 of its 42 years, working as a co-editor. I currently commission and edit our publications, by which we mean our books and calendars/diaries as opposed to the monthly magazine. Look out for our two current books about British politics: Austerity and Blacklisted. I've just been copy-editing (on contract) Co-ops UK's forthcoming (very interesting) book The Co-operative Advantage. We at the NI hosted the inaugural solidfund meeting at our offices in Oxford. We're at newint.org

Hi, I'm Martin, started out in co-ops more than 30 years ago as a member of GreenCity Wholefoods worker co-op in Glasgow, after that I worked for The Co-operative Group for a while and for the last 10 years have been self-employed, mostly doing co-op development work (mix of paid and unpaid). Currently Chair of Co-operative Business Consultants among other things.

I'm Graham. Currently skulking in Catalunya, but heading back the UK soon (at least part-time). Started out on the cooperative process nearly thirty years ago - founded a worker co-op or two and a consumer co-op, most of which are still going strong. In my time I've also worked for ICOM and C-UK, and done a stint as a trustee of ICOF (as it was then).

These days I earn my money advising, implementing and supporting around the open source CRM system called CiviCRM and doing related web things. I'm also involved in terra.coop which is an international community-supported agriculture project producing the best olive oil I've ever tasted (some of which I've notionally grown myself!).

I'm interested in open cooperativism, the P2P follks, and the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as a decentralised anarcho-syndicalist disruptive bank-killing technology.

Britta from Unicorn Grocery, a worker coop wholefood shop in Manchester.
I am also an elected member of the worker coop council and through this on the board of Co-operatives UK.
I organised a worker coop HR event a couple of month ago which I am hoping to repeat.

Ian Rothwell from Co-op & Community Finance. Provider of loan finance to worker co-ops, based in Southampton. www.coopfinance.coop

Hi I'm James. I live in Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative and helped to set up the project last summer. I'm also supportive of Students For Co-operatiion and currently helping look for grant funding. I graduate in Brewing & Distilling this year and am keen to start a brewery in Edinburgh. Hopefully as a Co-op.

Austen Cordasco out of off of Co-operative Assistance Network Ltd. www.can.coop. Based in Chelmsford, Essex.

Ian Snaith freelance supporter of worker co-ops. I do legal stuff, mainly writing and research. I have sometimes worked on legal issues as a consultant with Co-operatives UK, the FCA (registrar of co-ops), the Co-op Group, and other co-ops.

Sion Whellens from Calverts in London (www.calverts.coop), 13-person collective-type equal pay workers' co-op founded in 1977. We do graphic and identity/campaign/marketing/publications design for web and print, exhibitions, outdoor media, copywriting, brand design. We're also high end litho and digital printers doing books, brochures, catalogues, lookbooks, stationery and so on (FSC certified and ISO 14001 environmental standard, veggie inks and recycled papers). I do sales, marketing and account management.

I'm an elected member of the Worker Co-op Council and director ('trustee') at Co-op and Community Finance (ICOF) on a voluntary basis. When not working at Calverts, I run business referral events for co-ops, and I am a worker co-op developer and advisor with the Principle Six partnership.

I'm Cath from Footprint Workers Co-op (printing/webhosting) and Cornerstone Housing Co-op (intentional community) in Leeds. I'm also an associate member of Co-op Business Consultants, a co-op of freelance co-op advisors across the North. Footprint & Cornerstone are members of Radical Routes and I'm a core member of the RR publicity working group and the RR Trading Co-ops working group.

I'm really happy to be meeting more worker co-operators and supporters here :-)