Alternative Face of Capitalism Developing our future leaders of co-operative enterprise Diarmuid McDonnell 01/10/2010

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) StudentsCEOs 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 PoliticalEconomicSocial Ownership Control Governance Accountability Decision making Autonomy Income equality Wealth distribution Financing Sustainability Reserves Culture Ethics Collaboration Community Individualism Collectivism

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