Alternative Face of CapitalismDeveloping our future leaders of co-operative

enterprise

Diarmuid McDonnell01/10/2010

Outline

• Introduction• KTP– why?– need

• The millennials• The perception problem• Realising our vision• Conclusion

KTP

Knowledge Transfer Partnership

Objective: To promote understanding of co-operative, mutual and employee owned models of enterprise in higher education

Outputs: A suite of resources that can be used at undergraduate and postgraduate level

KTP – Why?

Practically zero presence in Scottish education

Historic low levels of enterprise and entrepreneurship

The Need

Flexible, enterprising graduates driven by their values (sustainability, environmental and societal concerns etc)

How do we develop?

The Millennials

Firstly:

Who are we developing?

Decoding the millennials

Commonality

Creative leadership

Organisational flexibility

Differences

Statistics:

35% more students than CEOs felt that sustainability will have a major impact on businesses in the near future

In the US, 54% more students than CEOs believe that customers expectations of social responsibility will increase significantly

Differences (2)

Students CEOs

Creativity 63% Creativity 63%

Global thinking 51% Integrity 52%

Integrity 37% Global thinking 35%

Sustainability 35% Influence 30%

Top 4 leadership qualities

Insight

“I will combine personal development with social accountability. Before, there was either one or the other. They need to be combined.”- Mexico

“I think I’ll consider economic performance and social/environmental performance as two parts of the same process of value creation. We need to rethink what wealth means…”- France

Millennials defined

Beliefs:Environmental and societal concerns should be

placed at the centre of every process

Recognise the need to rethink the concept of success

Values = source of competitive advantage

Millennials defined (2)

Desire:A new ethos that demands a closer relationship

between business and society

Requirement:Education is the single most important factor in

preparing them for leadership

Co-operative Advantage

Co-operative, mutual and employee owned models of enterprise teach more than just

business

Democracy

Political Economic Social

OwnershipControl

GovernanceAccountability

Decision makingAutonomy

Income equalityWealth distribution

FinancingSustainability

Reserves

CultureEthics

CollaborationCommunity

IndividualismCollectivism

Benefits

Increased creativity: collaboration and co-operation are creative acts.

Create well-rounded graduates.

Inspire an entrepreneurial attitude: not just about creating businesses, it’s about a certain mindset and attitude.

Core benefit

Students and graduates are better prepared for economic, societal and environmental

stewardship.

The perception problem

People are inventing new solutions:

• Social enterprises• Community Interest Companies• Vermont L3C

Why are co-operatives overlooked?Don’t they embody all of the above through one

structure?

Defining our approach

Change perception – define the co-operative model

Debunk traditional canards

Adopt a collaborative rather than an insular approach

Conclusion

Increase co-operative contribution to GDP from 3% to 6%

Increased revenue from co-op enterprises 3 years after the project: £90m

Increased co-operative membership dividends 3 years after the project: £6m

End

“One cannot lead a life that is truly excellent without feeling that one belongs to something greater and more permanent than oneself.”

- Mihaly Csikszentmihali