1. Who pays for what in the Co-operative University?
13 December 2013
Who pays for what in the Co-operative University?
Edging towards a business plan
Dan Cook

2. Co-operative Uni: all things to all people? Precise definitions?
23 July 2019
Recognizing tensions
Co-operative Uni: all things to all people?
Precise definitions?
What problems are we trying to fix?
Who will think our solutions are valuable enough to pay for?

3. What is a Co-operative University (in England)?
13 December 2013
What is a Co-operative University (in England)?
CO-OPERATIVE
Conforms to the ICA Cooperative Identity Statement
Owned by its members
UNIVERSITY
Awards degrees
Has 1,000+ students
Can use University title
Detailed requirements imply significant resources
Dan Cook

4. The Co-operative difference?
23 July 2019
The Co-operative difference?
A co-operative university could be formally similar to other UK universities
In what ways would it differ?

5. Designing the Co-operative University
23 July 2019
Designing the Co-operative University
What is distinctive about it?
Who are the members and what do they want?
What is the business plan?

6. 23 July 2019
The story is set in 1844 when a group of working-class people from the town of Rochdale came together to change the unfair society they were living in.
Fed up with dishonest and corrupt shopkeepers selling poor quality products at high prices they decide to take matters into their own hands. By pooling the few resources they have, the group manage to get enough money together to open their own shop and pledge to only sell quality, unadulterated products, sharing the profits fairly with their customers.
The shop is only small and stocks just a handful of products like butter, flour and sugar, but the idea itself is revolutionary and the way they do business fundamentally different in its nature.

7. What value can the co-operative university create for stakeholders?
23 July 2019
What value can the co-operative university create for stakeholders?
Students
Staff
Civil society and government
Business

8. Students What are the issues? Employability
23 July 2019
Students
What are the issues?
Employability
High fees (as a barrier to entry or value for money)
Able to study in chosen area
‘Student experience’ – overall package

9. Staff What are the issues? Managerialism (by which we mean:)
23 July 2019
Staff
What are the issues?
Managerialism (by which we mean:)
High workloads/initiative overload
Distant and disconnected management
Reduced say on institutional priorities
Employment security/casualization
Erosion of collectively secured pay, terms and conditions
Erosion of academic freedom

10. Civil society and government
23 July 2019
Civil society and government
Independent and authoritative advice on matters of public concern
Fair access to university
Value for money
High quality universities driving national/local economic advantage

11. Where lies business advantage?
23 July 2019
Business
Where lies business advantage?
Access to graduate talent
Access to university expertise, R&D, facilities
Institutional capacity to leverage public investment (business parks, national centres, research council project funding…)
Partnering on grand challenges

12. Realizing the Co-operative University
23 July 2019
Realizing the Co-operative University
Evolution, not revolution
‘[A]uthentic and responsible’, ‘ecological university’(Barnett, 2011)
We have significant resources to hand
ORGANIZE!
Manifesto needed applicable in any university
Plan of action needed – with timescales

13. 23 July 2019
References
Barnett, R. (2011). The coming of the ecological university. Oxford Review of Education, 37(4), 439–455. doi: /
Clark, B. R. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities. Oxford; [New-York]: Elsevier Science ; IAU Press.
Committee of University Chairs. (2009, March). Guide for Members of Higher Education Governing Bodies in the UK. Higher Education Funding Council for England. Retrieved from
Fairbairn, B. (1994). The Meaning of Rochdale: The Rochdale Pioneers and the Co-operative Principles. Saskatchewan, Canada. Retrieved from
Williams, J. (2013). Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can’t be Bought. Continuum.

14. daniel.jude.cook@gmail.com http://coopuni.wordpress.com/
13 December 2013
Contact / find out more
Dan Cook