Co-operative Futures

02/09/2026

Join us!

Whether you’re a council, an opposition group, a cooperative organisation, or an individual supporter, there’s a membership option for you.

Find out more and join today: councils.coop/membership/

02/09/2026

As part of Birmingham Heritage Week we are holding another open day on Sunday September 13th, from 11-3pm. This one is to share how Birmingham Friends of the Earth retrofit our Victorian buildings to create an energy-efficient, community-owned hub for social change and to hear about some of the retrofitting work that took place in the early days of our co-op.

Birmingham Friends of the Earth got the keys to “The Warehouse”, a derelict complex of Victorian buildings including a c.1832 cottage and warehouse, in 1977. Over the ensuing decades these buildings have been eco-renovated to improve their environmental performance and to provide space for a range of groups and businesses working to build a better, fairer world.

The latest project to install a new roof with solar panels and batteries, internal wall insulation and passive provision for a future heat pump, was completed earlier this year, but the building is now under threat of demolition from the Midlands Rail Hub - ironic considering the campaigns that BFoE has run over many years for rail improvements! See our website for how you can support us in fighting this.

At this event you will be able to get a behind the scenes look at parts of the building not usually open to the public and hear the fascinating stories of both the people and campaigns that have been supported here, as well as the challenges and opportunities of retrofitting an historic building to the highest standards of energy efficiency.

Light refreshments will be available from BRIG Cafe at the Warehouse and the Digbeth Community Gardenwill also be open. Well-behaved dogs are welcome. This event is suitable for all ages.

There is step-free access to the cafe space where talks will take place. Most of the building is accessible to wheelchair users on the level or via a platform lift and there are accessible toilets available on both floors. Blue badge parking is accessible on Allison Street or in Selfridge's Car Park (exit approximately 50m from our entrance).

This event is free, but please sign up via this link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/creating-an-eco-friendly-space-for-social-change-at-the-warehouse

02/09/2026

Most of us want to live in a neighbourhood we can feel proud of, with clean streets and green spaces where we and our children can play, a thriving high street and local services we can depend on, and a community that looks out for each other.

We welcome the announcement of a new high street taskforce to 'explore more radical ideas to revive crumbling high streets' and we look forward to working with Andy Burnham's government, combined authority mayors and councils to help them regenerate local high streets.

Read more ⬇️

02/09/2026

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🎉 We have exciting news! 🌱 We’ve received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to launch a new three-year programme with two interconnected strands:

1. Future spaces (Common Rooms)
2. Spatial Agency

Over the next three years, Makespace Oxfordshire will be setting up two public common rooms, aka future spaces, one in Oxford (opening 2027) and one in Abingdon (opening 2028). These will be free-to-access community living rooms, designed with and by local citizens, where people can meet, organise to shape the future of their neighbourhoods, and just be together.

We will be programming events surrounding neighbourhood health and wellbeing, climate action and ecological resilience, community organising, and stories of place. We’ll also welcome other local organisations to use the space for free for their own public events surrounding these themes.

Over the duration of the project, we’ll build and develop these common rooms with local communities, with Makespace leading and initiating the process. Together, we’ll build shared and democratic governance and decision-making, while supporting local communities to develop the resources, skills and tools to keep the spaces running in the long term with light-touch support from Makespace.

Alongside this, we will be running Spatial Agency, a free training and support programme for 20 community leaders, run over two years as two cohorts of 10. This is for anyone who wants to unlock and transform space in their community. There will be more information on how to apply for this in the coming months.

We see this as two strands of an interconnected programme, combining accessible space with structured support and community leadership development, so people can come together, build power and shape their local environments. It’s a chance to show a different way of doing regeneration: led by communities, not imposed upon them.

We can’t wait to go on this journey with you. We hope you’ll follow along and visit our common rooms, attend events, and get involved with shaping them when the time comes!

We're also hiring two new roles, made possible by this funding. See our website or look out here tomorrow for more info 👀

01/09/2026

Closes this Sunday! Applications are once again open to join Co-operatives UK’s Youth Advisory Group – young people aged 16-30 are invited to apply 💫

The group brings together 16-30-year-olds from across the co-operative landscape to provide strategic input into Co-operatives UK’s work – and to collaborate on independent projects aimed at increasing engagement among young people across the movement and society in general.

Find out more and apply before 23:59 on Sunday 6 September ➡️ https://buff.ly/CyCsMMV

01/09/2026

Self-employed and freelance workers are increasingly a larger part of the UK economy - with sectors such as professional services, creative industries, and digital/communications management increasingly bringing people into the self-employed space.

While self-employment offers flexibility and autonomy, it can also bring challenges such as unstable income, difficulty accessing larger contracts, limited administrative support and lack of protection during gaps in work or illness.

To explore these issues, Preston City Council has commissioned a feasibility study into establishing a cooperative structure that could support freelance and self-employed workers. The study is being led by Community Broadband Network (CBN), an associate member of CCIN, working with specialist cooperative advisers.

The project is exploring models from other countries that already support independent workers through cooperative approaches. The most well-known example is the SMART cooperative in Belgium, which provides administrative services and mutual protection for tens of thousands of freelance members.

Other European and US initiatives have created similar platforms to help freelancers share infrastructure, access work, and manage risks associated with independent employment. There are also smaller-scale examples in the UK. Freelancer cooperatives have formed in sectors such as the creative industries and music, showing how independent workers can collaborate through shared structures while maintaining their autonomy.

The Preston study is examining how a cooperative platform could work alongside trade unions, combining collective representation with practical services and mutual support for freelancers.

Find out more at https://www.councils.coop/case-study/coop-model-to-support-self-employed-and-freelance-workers/

28/08/2026

This week at Co-operative Futures: AI, ethics and tent pegs!

We’ve been experimenting with AI to help turn long documents into shorter ones, draft case studies and generally cut down the waffle. The verdict so far? Very useful. But check what it tells you, don’t give it sensitive information, and definitely don’t assume that because it sounds convincing, it’s right.

Other important conclusions from this week’s meeting:

• AI is probably better at first drafts than investment advice
• cheese is non-negotiable
• a decent mallet is essential camping equipment
• fountain pens are still going strong, despite all this technology

A fairly typical Co-operative Futures meeting, really!

Enjoy a long weekend if you're lucky enough to have time off over the summer bank holiday. See you in September!

27/08/2026

An anti-Farage army of voters is there to be galvanised, as exclusive data shows. But getting them out will be tricky, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

24/08/2026

This is your LAST CALL for responses the MRHA rail consultation. For everyone who loves and uses the Warehouse, or cares about the rest of Digbeth and about better rail infrastructure, you have until FRIDAY to get your response in. Link to our webpage below. Get that form filled in!

21/08/2026

A crowdfunder for an ambitious plan to bring a 12-acre brownfield site in Frome, Somerset, into community ownership has passed its initial target and is headed for a stretch target of £1.2m.

https://www.thenews.coop/share-offer-for-uks-biggest-community-development-passes-first-target/