To Our Mutual Advantageby Charles Leadbeater and lan Christie This report sets out to examine the extent of mutual practices alive and well in Britain. It shows a lively and diverse form of activity operating in many arenas of British life, notwithstanding the conversions of some building societies and insurance companies. So what are mutual organisations? Principally, according to the authors, they are those 'either owned by the members or run with a mutual ethos'. Using this definition, the authors include the familiar forms of co-operatives, building societies employee-owned businesses and trade unions. But they also discuss some new organisations, such as the extraordinary example of Linux. The Workers Education Association is here, the University of the Third Age and Neighbourhood Watch. The authors estimate that mutual organisations have a membership of thirty million, a quarter of a million employees and a combined turnover of twenty-five billion. They looked at ten 'sectors' employment, health, education, local economic development financial services, among others. There are quite a few organisations profiled in short case studies. These illuminate the premise of where this organisational form can and does work. The last chapter talks about the future of mutuals. It prompted me to think of existing examples within our sphere: the unions and professional associations, co-operatives, networks and groups which come together for projects & to operate venues - temporary, fluid or more permanent partnerships and collaborations of all kinds!
|