Globally the co-operative movement is gaining strength and vigor. At the world congress of the International Co-operative Alliance in Singapore recently, the President Ivano Barberini said, “The great ideas behind co-operation have found new reasons to be pursued.” The most pressing issues of the millennium - environmental threats, regional and religious conflicts, poverty alleviation and globalisation - call for sustainable business practices where profit-making can co-exist with the pursuit of core social values. Increasingly people are turning to those forms of enterprise that embrace economic, social and environmental sustainability.

At a time when the UK Minister for Social Enterprise speaks about social enterprise as, “A growing force within our society… [where]… the combined turnover of social enterprise in the United Kingdom is estimated at £27 billion with a contribution to GDP of £8 billion” (approximately equivalent in combined size with the agricultural sector)” , we in Australia, are talking about social enterprise as a regenerated voluntary sector.

In the foreword to “Sharing and Caring: The co-owned route to better care” (see Reports and Publications ), a report on the award-winning UK social enterprise, Sunderland Home Care, the UK Minister for Social Enterprise, Hilary Armstrong makes the following key statement:

"By creating an organisation owned by its staff, Sunderland Home Care employees at all levels have been empowered to influence decisions including budgets, pay and conditions of employment. Risky, some may think, but in this case it has had a remarkably positive effect on everyone involved in the enterprise. Employees have had their aspirations raised – working together as a team they directly benefit from greater corporate achievement. Pressure to excel not only comes from above, but from every level of the organisation including from peers. One lesson that comes from the Sunderland Home Care experience is that participation changes people’s lives. "

The philosophy of “participation and collaborative ownership” as expressed by Minister Armstrong is something we need to advocate for now. As we know in Australia , co-operatives and employee owned companies are just as good for delivering the "Social Inclusion" agenda as they are overseas. As yet there has been no mention of organisations that are built upon "participation changing people's lives" in the recent announcements on the Social Inclusion agenda by the new Minister for Social Inclusion (the Hon. Julia Gillard MP) and her Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion (Senator Ursula Stephens). You can read their statements:

http://www.alp.org.au/media/1107/spesi220.php

http://news.ursulastephens.com/article.asp?active=74&v=&qid=452&sid=4

http://www.ursulastephens.com/RunScript.asp?page=171&Article_ID=482&AR=AR&p=ASP\~Pg171.asp

There are three platforms upon which social enterprise needs to be built. These are ‘voice’ (i.e. participation), shared responsibility and informed debate. Collaborative enterprises deliver these admirably. Co-operatives and other collaborative enterprises need to be vigilant and active to ensure that they are not overlooked in this major new policy development in Australia . In the UK , the co-ops sector has seen major renewal and growth brought about through the funding and promotion of the social inclusion agenda there - but can we look forward to the same attention here?

Alan Greig The Mercury Centre www.mercury.org.au

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