Chain – Building Co-operative Futures
Base: Manchester, England
Started: November 2003
This network started off with just two people, Simon Plunkett, Member Services Officer at the Co-operative Group and Amanda Sharp, Projects Co-ordinator at the Co-operative College. It now has a steering group of seven with representation from different areas of co-operative business, and it has over 250 members registered on its database.
How did we do it?
In November 2003, the Co-operative Group (the largest consumer co-operative society in the UK with an annual turnover of more than £8 billion), and more specifically the Group’s Values and Principles Committee, decided they would like to support and encourage youth activities amongst their employees in the Manchester hub base. This consisted of about 8,000 people (although not all were youth) who worked with The Co-operative Group, Co-operatives UK, Co-operative Financial Services and the Co-operative College. We were given a period of six months to see what we could achieve with a budget of £4000.
The aims of the network were to expand employee membership amongst the younger staff members (eighteen to thirty-five years old); to educate others on the different areas of co-operative business, the co-operative movement in the UK and wider world; to link with the Co-operative Group’s Northern regional membership office; and to provide a social environment in which people could build friendships and working relationships.
The Co-operative Group is a national society and has regional offices throughout the UK. Whenever possible, Chain tries to link up with any activities that the Northern membership team carries out, especially their events held specifically for young people, though the team is very new and has only just started running events. In October 2004, we held our first weekend event in Rochdale, the birthplace of the British Co-operative Movement.
With all of our objectives in mind, we began to think about what should be done first. The priority was to appoint a steering group, as we realised it was a huge task trying to engage so many people in the complex. Therefore, from contacts we already had and recommendations from peers and managers, we approached two people from the retail side of the business – Rachel Burlton and Kerry Silke. They were both enthusiastic and keen to be involved. Soon after this, we were approached by Sarah France from the Learning Centre – a centre that runs courses for employees of the Co-operative Group, from sign language to self-defence.
Sarah was enthusiastic about the project. As she later put it:
I believe that young people have a lot to give and sometimes they are under estimated and misunderstood by others within the community and the workplace. Chain gives young people at the Co-operative Head Office in Manchester a voice.
Our next priority was to establish a name that was representative of the entire complex. We discussed the different names we could have and what those names would represent, and finally we chose Chain. We liked the idea of linking rings representing the different areas of business, and felt it illustrated that we were one link in the Chain of the co-operative movement. For the logo we deliberately chose the ring styles and colours used for the Olympic Games, as we saw this as a symbol of unification. The design of the logo and headed paper was carried out by a contact from Co-op Retail at a reduced rate. This is just one example of the support we’ve received from the co-operative movement since starting the project.
We worked towards our first event, which was the launch of the network in February 2004. We invited Martin Beaumont, Chief Executive of the Co-operative Group, and Bob Burlton, Chair Designate of the Co-operative Group and chief executive of Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-operative Society, to speak at the event about why the network is a good idea, what they hoped the outcomes would be, and the importance for the Co-operative Group in the future. This event was an important one so we put a lot of time and effort into it. It paid off. The event was well attended and many of the original attendees remain our most active members.
As news about Chain spread, more events were planned and we realised we needed more help. From the launch event, two people came forward showing interest in Chain and were later asked to join the steering group. They were Alan Hale and Paul Donlan from Co-operative Financial Services. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, Paul had to leave the group some six months later.
With a steering group of six, we felt we had real representation from all areas of the complex and we started to set up a timetable of events.
Some of those events are listed below:
- March 04 - Marketing our Co-operative Advantage seminar with Tom Webb
- May 04 – Co-operative Congress – an opportunity to see behind the scenes and attend the workshops
- June 04 - Co-operative Action – A Kick Start for Co-operation!
- August 04 – Community Project – painting a mural on the sports hall wall of a local community centre.
- Sept 04 - Ghouls, Ghosts and Legends of the Co-operative Movement - A walking tour of Manchester City Centre, taking in Co-op History over the last 150 years.
- October 04 - Halloween “Fright Night” Party for children at a local community centre
We also funded two people to attend international events: the second annual Building Co-operative Futures conference in Calgary, Canada, in May 2004, and the International Co-operative Alliance's European Assembly in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2004.
Terry Clennell was the Chain representative who attended the ICA youth seminar in Poland. He says,
I see Chain as a multipurpose organisation, being a means of promoting the values that youth can bring to the co-op, acting as a platform to network and encouraging the development of youth throughout the business; and a forum to enlighten members about co-operative values and principles. It goes without saying that I believe it has to be a place to have fun, and of course to create the opportunity for co-operators to give a little something back to the community. I chose to get involved in Chain because I saw something that had mutually beneficial aspects. I get a warm feeling inside from the charity stuff we do and I get to meet new people. In return, others benefit from my actions. By joining Chain in its developing stages I also get to influence its growth, And, in a short time, I have formed a bond with its progression, and now want it to realize its full potential.
Terry was asked to join the steering group on his return from Poland because of his enthusiasm and his experience in recruitment. The steering group now has seven members and we meet every two weeks.
What does the future hold for Chain?
We have secured increased funding for the next year and so want to continue to run one event per month. We will alternate events between evenings and lunch times in order to accommodate more people.
With Terry’s help on the recruitment side, we hope to build on our existing membership base and improve on our attendance figures. We would like to have representatives in each building and preferably on each floor, people who can spread the word about events and encourage people to join in. We think seeing a friendly face will work better than an email over the computer system.
As last year was our first year, we found organisation was a challenge. This year we have set up an annual plan with specific times to review what we have done and keep ourselves on track. This forward planning ensures that there will be sufficient time to plan events, which will hopefully run smoothly.
Our first event for 2005 was to raise funds for the Tsunami disaster appeal. We ran a stand in the reception area of the Co-operative Group head office where we put together a Condolence Chain. People made a donation and wrote their message on the paper strip to those families who have lost friends and relatives. Each strip was strung together to make a chain. We managed to raise £328, which Chain will match from its own funds. Oxfam will be taking the money and the Condolence Chain out to the disaster area as it’s involved in the mid to long-term rebuilding process.
Amanda Sharp is the Projects Co-ordinator at the Co-operative College, Manchester, the United Kingdom.
