unlocking our wealth: a cooperative deal for community resilience, jobs and growth

7/21/2019 Unlocking our wealth: A cooperative deal for community resilience, jobs and growth

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Unlockingourwealth

our

Report of the CooperativeCouncils Innovation Network

Policy Commission on Community

Resilience, Jobs and Growth

wealth

A cooperative dealfor communityresilience, jobsand growth


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Unlocking our wealth A cooperative deal for community resilience, jobs and growth

Wealth consists not in having greatpossessions, but in having few wants.Epictetus

A proper community, we shouldremember also, is a commonwealth: aplace, a resource, an economy. It answersthe needs, practical as well as social andspiritual, of its members among them theneed to need one another.Wendell Berry


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Acknowledgements

This report comes from the efforts of many people. Particular thanks aredue to members of the Working Group, especially our Chair, Councillor LibPeck, and those who organised evidence sessions, especially CouncillorChris Penberthy and Theresa Brooks at Plymouth City Council, Kelly

Thomas and Nick Bubalo at Sandwell Council, Councillor Nick Small atLiverpool City Council and Claire Hogan at Knowsley Council. Thanks toall those who gave up their time and shared their insights at our evidencesessions and business roundtable. Thanks to Angela McKeever andMichael Warren at Lambeth Council, Councillor Andy Hull from IslingtonCouncil and Stephen Hughes from The Chartered Institute of PublicFinance & Accountancy (CIPFA), and to the RSA team: Atif Shafique,Brhmie Balaram, Jonathan Schifferes, Ben Lucas and Paul Buddery. Finally,thank you to all in the Cooperative Councils Innovation Network andbeyond who have shared your evidence and examples with us. I hope thisreport does justice to all your effort and energy.

Abigail Melville, RSA, February 2015

Contact us at www.coopinnovation.co.uk

About the Commission on CommunityResilience, Jobs and Growth

The Cooperative Councils Innovation Network (CCIN) launched a policycommission on community resilience, jobs and growth in September

2014. The Commission, chaired by Councillor Lib Peck (Leader ofLambeth Council), comprised a group of leading policy advisers andmembers from CCIN councils.The Commissions aim was to review recent and ongoing evidenceof innovation and impact in local economies, and develop a creativepolicy approach based on this evidence to increase the effectivenessof state spending on employment support.The RSA assumed a role as the Secretariat of the Commission andcarried out the research underpinning this report. The RSA is anenlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practicalsolutions to todays social challenges. Through its ideas, research and27,000-strong Fellowship it seeks to understand and enhance human

capability so we can close the gap between todays reality and peopleshopes for a better world.

About the Cooperative Councils InnovationNetwork

The Cooperative Councils Innovation Network is a collaborationbetween local authorities and registered as a Special Interest Group ofthe Local Government Association. Membership is open to any council

which shares a commitment to our values. It is non-party political andprovides a national voice for cooperative councils, informed by realexperience and practice.


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In the run-up to the General Election all the main political parties arecompeting with each other to set out their own vision for devolution.There are several factors driving this. The Scottish Referendum andthe subsequent Devo Max agreement have highlighted concernsabout the lack of decentralisation within England. Support for andtrust in traditional Westminster politics is in steep decline. And there iswidespread agreement that the economy needs to be better balancedso that sustainable growth is not just confined to the south east ofEngland.

The recent RSA City Growth Commission looked at the role thatempowered Metro areas could play in promoting more balancedgrowth. Calls for more powers for cities have been matched by theGovernments promotion of a northern powerhouse and the recent

Manchester Devolution Deal. Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg has been encouraging northern cities to develop their ownblueprints through Northern Futures. And Labour have pledgedthrough Lord Adoniss Growth Review to give combined authoritiescontrol of 6bn a year of central government expenditure for servicessuch as skills, and employment support.

But one challenge for all parties is how this devolution cangenuinely empower citizens as opposed to just transferring power fromthe national to the local state. The RSA is interested in developing thepotential of new sources of citizen power, that dont just derive fromthe state. That is why we are promoting the power to create. In thatcontext we were pleased to have been asked by a group of councils,

called the Co-operative Council Innovation Network, to help themconduct a commission on community resilience, jobs and growth. Thenew interest in co-operation and mutualism as sources of creativity,and more productive relationships between citizens, services, publicservice workers and public service leaders, is something that we verymuch welcome.

This report sets out some powerful examples of new ways in whichcouncils across the country are seeking to develop the latent wealthof their local communities. It also identifies a framework for a co-operative approach to local wealth creation that we very much hopewill be supported across the political spectrum.

Ben LucasChair of Public Services, RSA


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This report, from the Cooperative CouncilInnovation Networks Policy Commission on

Community Resilience, Jobs and Growth,shows how a cooperative approach,based on firm partnership with businessand individuals, could help more worklesspeople into jobs, at lower cost, increasesmall business growth to create thousandsof new jobs, and significantly increase

private sector investment in employmentand skills.It pledges the commitment of CooperativeCouncils to implement significant newdeals with citizens and business to unlockthe wealth of our communities, and it callson government to give us the power to

make it happen.What is the problem?

The councils involved in this Commission are diverse, representingdifferent populations and different local economies. Despite thesedifferences we all have something in common. For each of us, thereremains amongst our populations a hard-to-reach group of individualswho are missing out on the opportunities of employment.

The current, nationally instituted, programmes designed to helpthem are not working. Many of the long term unemployed or most

hard-to-help jobseekers are routinely failed by initiatives like theWork Programme that are designed to help them into work. The mostrecent evaluation statistics show that almost 90% of Employment andSupport Allowance (ESA) claimants on the Work Programme fail to


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find employment.1

An impersonal, poorly designed system is systematically failing torecognise, and respond to, the needs of individuals. People who arelong-term unemployed are often severally disadvantaged with uniqueneeds. If these were met, many individuals would find, and stay, in work.

Despite their inherent failures these programmes remain timeand resource intensive for central and local government. Driving so

much money into a programme that fails to meet the aspirations of thepeople it tries to help is a poor use of money, failing both the individualjobseeker and the public purse.

As the CCIN Commission proceeded, we learned that many of thelong-term challenges are caused by poor preparation. Young peopletoo often leave education without skills or qualifications that marrywith the demands of employers and the world of work.

The nationally controlled skills system means that opportunities aremissed to equip young people for the realities of their local job market.Publicly funded skills training for those embarking on employment isoften poor, and funding is inflexible. Too often they are not gaining theskills that employers want.

This disconnected system simply isnt working.

What are the solutions?

The cooperative ethos espoused by this network means we recognisethat local problems require local solutions, and solutions must bedeveloped with and in response to the needs of the community athand.2

Successful interventions are those that: Recognise the individual as an individual and treat them as one;

putting the person above the process. Rely on co-production and collaboration, both in values and in

practice. This is not only about drawing on the expertise of arange of partner organisations with a meaningful contribution tomake, but also about collaborating with the individual jobseekerthemselves making them part of the solution.

Have an active role for the council as enabler; an agent to stimulateenterprise and to forge connections between citizens, employers,skills and training organisations and other support systems, suchas health and social care.

Are developed in the context of strong relationships betweendifferent organisations, especially those involved in the supply anddemand for skills and employment.

Aims of this report

The aim of this report and the accompanying evidence documentis to demonstrate the business case for cooperative approachesto employment, skills and enterprise. We have reviewed examplesof successful interventions from around the country built on localcooperative principles, and we show what more could be done to helppeople into work if we apply these principles.

1 House of CommonsCommittee of PublicAccounts (2014) TheWork Programme:Twenty-first Reportof Session 2014-15.London: The StationeryOffice Limited.

2 Locally-designedapproaches areparticularly effective

for those who are mostdisadvantaged. Forexample, see Rolfe, H.,Portes, J. and Hudson-Sharp, N. (2015) Localauthority schemessupporting peopletowards work: Anindependent report forthe Local GovernmentAssociation. NationalInstitute of Economicand Social Research.Also see Foster, R.,Byles, H. and Rajkumar,R. (2015) LondonEmployment Provision:

Qualitative experiencesof employment support.Centre for Economicand Social Inclusion.


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The economic case for cooperative

solutions

Through our evidence we found that in both employment support andbusiness support, cooperative approaches can be significantly morecost effective.3

If successful cooperative models were applied more generally wecould reduce the cost of employment support by 25 percent, saving500m a year, increase small businesses growth to create 90,000new jobs, and increase the contribution of private sector developers toemployment and skills by a factor of 15.

Business in the Communitys Ready to Work programmeleverages public sector funding to attract private sector resourcesto support homeless people into employment. The effectiveness ofthis cooperative approach to employment support for disadvantagedgroups is such that were it to be scaled up nationally we could securejob outcomes for participants at between 25 percent and 40 percentless cost per person.

Stevenages Business Technology Centre is an enterprise hub forinnovation, business incubation and engagement providing integratedbusiness support. If each of the 256 district authorities in Englandestablished a similar hub, the resulting small business growth wouldcreate 90,000 additional jobs. Because the Centre generates anincome stream, the cost of business support per job is less than halfthat calculated for previous national programmes.

Southamptons unique employment and skills framework,developed with the Construction Industry Training Board, maximiseslocal skills and employment opportunities in all major construction,retail and hospitality projects. If every local authority played the

coordination and brokerage role played by Southampton Council,we could see the value of developer contributions and commitmentsto employment and skills, nationwide, grow from 15m to 225mannually.

The recommendations of the Commission

We want to make it clear that local cooperation works. And we want tomake it clear that our approach should be put into action much morewidely. This is not about new money. It is about spending money inbetter ways.

This inevitably means some big asks of Westminster, businessesand other partners. We set these out in the form of three deals whichspell out what we as councils will do and what we expect from others.

Our recommendations are based on the pragmatic and innovativecooperative solutions which were submitted to us by over 30organisations throughout the course of the Commission. Cooperativecouncils showed how much they are already achieving. Sensitive,tailored support is helping people with complex needs into work

3 See the accompanying

Evidence Paper fordetails about themethodology we used.

Stevenages Business Technology Centre is an enterprise hub forInnovation, business incubation and engagement providing integratedbusiness support. If each of the 256 district authorities in Englandestablished a similar hub, the resulting small business growth wouldcreate 90,000 jobs. Because the Centre generates an income stream,the cost of business support per job is less than half that calculatedfor previous national programmes.


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in Knowsley, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Strong civic leadershipis engaging employers in providing jobs for young people inSouthampton, Oldham, Sandwell and Lambeth. Enterprise and newbusinesses is being nurtured in Sunderland, Plymouth and Stevenage.

Our recommendations operate primarily at the level of principlebecause a one-size-fits-all approach would not allow cooperativesolutions to be developed locally. Specific local proposals are being

developed by individual councils in the Network.The RSA City Growth Commission has made a powerful case forlocalising control of skills and employment support polices so thatdecision making is aligned with local labour markets. This reportaddresses how that local control should be used and argues that co-operative, community based approaches to skills and employment canhelp generate greater local wealth.

So much more could be achieved through a cooperative approachbased on a firm partnership, with both business and individuals, freedfrom the constraints of central control.


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Andrew BurnsLeader of City ofEdinburgh Counciland Chair of the CCIN

Simon GreavesLeader of BassetlawDistrict Council

Archie GrahamDeputy Leader ofGlasgow City Council

Lib PeckLeader of LambethCouncil and Chairof the Commission

Tony NewmanLeader of CroydonCouncil

Jim McMahonLeader of OldhamCouncil

Ron RoundLeader of KnowsleyMetropolitan BoroughCouncil

Joe AndersonMayor of Liverpool

Peter MarlandLeader of Milton KeynesCouncil

Nick ForbesLeader of NewcastleCity Council

Mike StubbsLeader ofNewcastle-Under-Lyme

Borough Council

Brenda ArthurLeader of Norwich CityCouncil

Richard WattsLeader of IslingtonCouncil

Richard FarnellLeader of RochdaleCouncil

Ian StewartMayor of Salford

Darren CooperLeader of SandwellMetropolitan BoroughCouncil

Simon LettsLeader of SouthamptonCity Council

Sharon TaylorLeader of StevenageBorough Council

Paul WatsonLeader of SunderlandCity Council

Kuldip SahotaLeader of Telford andWrekin Council

Tudor EvansLeader of Plymouth CityCouncil

Dafydd WilliamsLeader of City of YorkCouncil

Cooperative councils are committed toaction.

Together with the 5m citizens that werepresent, cooperative councils willstrike new local deals with 1,000 businessesto help more people into better jobs.We urge government, in turn, to give us thepower, money and responsibility to getpeople skilled-up and into work.

Signed by 22 Leaders of Cooperative

Councils across the UK

Archie GrahamDepute Leader ofGlasgow City Council


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Cooperative Councils have a shared visionto increase the power and capacity of

citizens so people can live the lives theychoose. True wealth is more than materialpossessions it includes shared heritage,culture and social connections. But beingable to pay the bills matters. Sharing thebenefits of economic activity is the bestway to ensure our communities are strong

and resilient.Communities, business and government work hand-in-hand to createplaces where people and businesses thrive and put down roots. Weneed to recognise this interdependency. Genuine partnership based onshared responsibility and mutual benefit is the essential foundation ofcooperation so our first priority is to strengthen the social partnershipbetween citizens, communities, enterprises and councils.

Working in cooperation with our communities, we see the key roleof the council as a leader, broker and connector.4 Councils have ademocratic mandate to lead and cooperative councils make leadershipvisible by bringing people together around shared purpose. We

frame conversations in communities that focus on opportunities andstrengths rather than problems and needs.

Citizens should have control over the services they rely on andservices must be designed with citizens at their heart. This is the onlyway we can ensure that public services are doing the right things.Cooperative approaches that are co-designed with citizens unlockpotential, release creativity and achieve better outcomes.

Cooperative councils stimulate enterprise and the creation of newbusinesses by commissioning services through alternative models,such as cooperatives, social enterprises and community trusts.

Local leaders must innovate, not wait for permission from thecentre. Cooperative councils are already co-producing solutions tocreate enterprising, productive places, engage people in employmentand create better value for public money. We need to go further.

Business leadership is essential to ensure public and private

4 Our vision and theoryof change can befound athttp://www.

coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/
http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/http://www.coopinnovation.co.uk/internal-resources/vision-for-cooperative-localism/


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investment contributes to economic prosperity. Councils andbusinesses need stronger relationships. We know relationships taketime and require vision, leadership and trust on both sides. We needto go beyond contract compliance to create a broader cultural changewhere businesses have a broad commitment to their place and cansee benefits of collaboration over the medium and long term.

Devolution of powers and resources is crucial, but shifting decision-

making wont make a difference without cooperation.Councils must work together, with their neighbours and with LocalEnterprise Partnerships (LEPs), to ensure that the strategic frameworkfor growth and skills makes sense.5

Within a city-region, local leaders need to engage businesses indistinctive growth strategies that reflect the character, skills and assetsof their local area. This means pushing responsibility down to the lowestpossible level so those closest to citizens have the freedom to innovate.

5 The RSA City GrowthCommission sets

out how metro levelgovernance can beprovided by combinedauthorities and city-region mayors on thesame boundariesas Local EnterprisePartnerships. Skills andemployment budgetsshould be devolved tothese bodies.


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Public services are failing many of ourcitizens. Young people can complete upto 16 years of full-time education withouta clear idea of the opportunities availableto them, the skills that employers want and

need, or a future pathway into work.Schools have been given responsibilities for careers advice that theyare unable to fulfil while the world of work is changing faster than everbefore. The CBI has described careers guidance as on life support.6

Payment-by-results drives different providers to compete oversimilar cohorts, (those that are easier to place) while those with greaterbarriers to work are neglected.

Jobcentre Plus provides a low-level standardised service to all jobseekers, while the majority are likely to be able to find work on theirown with minimal engagement from Jobcentre Plus.

Those with multiple barriers to work, for example single parentsand people with ill health, face a bewildering regime of enforcement;often arbitrary rules are backed up by a sanctions regime that hasbeen termed a parallel secret penal system.7

In our evidence sessions we heard personal stories fromjobseekers in Plymouth and apprentices in Sandwell which illustratethe barriers and frustrations faced by individuals. The prescriptive,sanctions-based systems destroy confidence, further erode peopleswellbeing and ultimately increases demand on a wide range of publicservices.

The Commission also heard vivid illustration of market failure insome local labour markets with large numbers of young people being

trained for work in sectors with low employment, while employers faceenormous shortage of skilled labour in other sectors.8

We also heard about people trapped in a low-pay, no-pay cycle;trapped between Jobcentre Plus and poor quality jobs with few

6 Sellgren, K. (2013)CBI chief warns overpoor careers advice.BBC News, Educationand family section,19 June. [Online]

Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22966374

7 Oral evidence to theDepartment for Workand Pensions SelectCommittee, given byDr David Webster,University of Glasgow.For a review of theevidence see Watts, B.,Fitzpatrick, S., Bramley,G. and Watkins, D.with contributionsfrom the ESRC fundedWelfare Conditionality:Sanctions, Support

and Behaviour Changeproject researchteam (2014) WelfareSanctions andConditionality in theUK. JRF.

8 For example, Londonhas over provisionof health and safety,automotive industries,and hair and beauty,but under provision inmarketing and sales,fashion, textiles,creative and culturalindustries. The picture

is very different inother areas. Gardiner,L. and Wilson, T. (2012)Hidden Talents: Skillsmismatch analysis.Centre for Economic


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opportunities for progression, often living in in-work poverty andstruggling to balance their household finances.

The current approach to helping the unemployed is too prescriptive.It denies people control over their lives. Our vision is very different.We want to ensure that workless people are part of the solution. Weassume that our citizens want to work and make a contribution; thatthey have aspirations and want to progress in their lives and careers.9

Therefore, our focus is on removing the barriers that stop themachieving these goals, rather than forcing them to comply with arbitraryrules.

This is not a soft approach. We are strongly committed to an ethicof work and self-reliance. We do not believe it is good for individualsto rely on state support without making a contribution. We think mostpeople would agree. But there isnt one size fits all. We need to createdifferent ways for people to do their bit which are also sensitive totheir personal circumstances.

Our cooperative deal with citizens

We see our citizens as creative individuals with strengths andcapacities. We need to help citizens take control of their lives, and usepublic resources flexibly to find solutions that will help them.

We commit to working with our partners to develop: Help at each stage.A coherent pathway that supports every citizen

to make decisions about education, skills and work at key stagesthroughout their life,10and a commitment to keep the sustainableeconomic outcomes of our citizens and local areas at the core ofwhat we do.

Impartial information and guidance.A commitment to all secondary

students to open up the world of work and provide real and relevantwork experience and, if required, a tailored package of work-relatedtasters, work experience, mentoring and job-related training. Acommitment to all jobseekers to improve information about localjob opportunities and career progression routes; making it easierfor all residents to access and take advantage of them.

Personal support. A tailored, dignified service for those who needextra help:11with face-to-face support from a personal advisorwho will help to remove barriers, develop skills, find opportunities,and support aspirations; empowering citizens to make a positivecontribution to society and realise their economic value, thusreducing their dependence on state support.

We expect citizens to: Take employment seriously. Schools and colleges to invest in

proactive engagement with employers, developing awareness andunderstanding of the world of work, placing pupils in work-placeopportunities, and recognising and developing vocational skills.

Share opportunities. People who are in work to share opportunities,through schools and other local networks, so that more childrenand young people in their communities can learn about jobs,careers and enterprise, including offering mentoring and real workexperience.12

Do your bit.Jobseekers to be pro-active in seeking information andopportunities, use the support that is available, be prepared to takeopportunities that are offered and attend work placements andmeetings on time.

11 This includes peoplewith health needs,disabilities, caringresponsibilities,low skills or lack ofconfidence, drug oralcohol dependencyand long-term

unemployed.

12 For example RealIdeas Organisationworks in schools todevelop youth-ledsocial enterprise andengages parents whoare also small businessowners in identifyingopportunities. In oneschool in Plymouthyoung people decidedto create an exportagency which hasnow operated forthree years, boosting

demand for Frenchand grown exportmarkets for three localbusinesses. See www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/

9 In depth research byJRF found familiesexperiencing long-termworklessness remainedcommitted to the valueof work and preferredto be in jobs rather thanon benefits. Shildrick,T., MacDonald, R.,Furlong, A., Roden, J.and Crow, R. (2012)

Are cultures ofworklessness passeddown the generations?JRF.

10 Many related ideasare being proposed,including incentives forschools through betteruse of destination data,and an Employability

Passport for school-leavers.
http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/http://www.plymstockschool.org.uk/our-way/


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Those most in need ofsupport can be least likely

to get itAntons story

Anton, 29, left Brixton Prison in October2013 determined to work. He had noqualifications but had experience ofpainting and decorating.

He was registered on the WorkProgramme, but his support worker hadleft and the new one did not contacthim.While in prison his family had not paidthe rent on his flat, and nobody hadmade him aware of the letters fromthe council. Two days after Antonsrelease from prison he was in court forpossession of his property due to rentarrears. The judge denied the councilpossession, but gave Anton strict

deadlines to catch up on the arrears.Anton applied for all the benefits he wasentitled to, to ensure that he kept afloatwith his rent.He stayed at a girlfriends house for afew weeks, because his flat was so coldand he could not afford to keep toppingup the pre-paid gas central heating.When he went home to change clotheshe found two letters from JobcentrePlus, one advising him of a change tohis signing on date, and another sayingthat as he had not attended to sign onhe was being sanctioned and deniedbenefits.

Antons first worry was Housing Benefit,as he did not want to end up in courtagain and lose the flat. He felt like ifit was not one thing it was another,

and that hed be better off coming offbenefits and just doing his own thing tosurvive.

Anton had breached his probation bynot being where the probation servicecould find him, so he was sent back toprison.On release Anton started a labouringjob which he enjoyed, but when hewas ill one day the boss told him not tocome back. Anton says they favouredforeign workers who were paid 17 a

day for 10 hours work.Anton is still not working.The Work Programme, housingdepartment and the probation servicelet Anton leave prison without support,sent Anton back to prison within weeksof release, and evicted him from his flatleaving him homeless.

Anton wants to work but he needs hand-holding, prompting and encouraging.

Anton needs to be treated as anindividual.


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Business in the CommunityReady for Work

Working with 150 businesses in 20locations to provide training, workplacements and post-placementsupport, Ready for Work equips someof the UKs most disadvantaged peoplewith the skills and confidence theyneed to gain and sustain employment.Clients face a range of challenges- homelessness, being in care,long term unemployment, criminalconvictions and a lack of qualifications.Participating companies offer

placements in return for provenbusiness benefits staff development,increased staff satisfaction, and costeffective recruitment for new staff. Theprogramme has supported over 3,200people into work since 2001. In 2009-10,for an investment of 1.03 million (55percent of which was from the publicsector and 45 percent from privatesector) the programme generated 3.12social return for every 1 invested. Thissocial value comprises benefits such

as reductions in out of work benefits,reductions in costs of re-offending, andsavings for the NHS.

KnowsleyCoaching forEmployment Programmefor young people who needextra help

In 2013 Knowsley Council commissioneda partnership of four voluntaryorganisations to deliver a programmeof employability, personal and socialskills development to Knowsley

Apprentice applicants and otherunemployed young people. Overthe duration of the programme, 165participants were trained, 82 supportedwith application skills and 134 withinterview skills. Good levels of learnersatisfaction, achievement and, mostimportantly, positive progression

were achieved and 67 percentprogressed to a positive destination- further education and training,apprenticeships, jobs, volunteering orwork placements.

EdinburghA co-designedemployment service forpeople with a disability

Five separate services for disabledpeople were transformed to focus onprogression to employment, ensuringthat in-work support was a key featureand that securing a job was the startof an on-going career which wassustainable. Co-production with serviceusers was core to commissioningthe new service and workshops andengagement techniques with serviceusers and providers informed the re-

design. The outcome was a one-stopSupported Employment service for alljob-seeking clients with a disability,bringing together a core consortium ofsocial enterprises and subcontractors.The early adoption of the SupportedEmployment model has alreadyresulted in a 50 percent increase inemployment outcomes.

Newcastle Futures

Helping people into workafter long periods ofunemployment

The council, working with local partnersincluding Jobcentre Plus, has createdNewcastle Futures, a not-for-profitorganisation which coordinates thework of all training and employmentagencies which help Newcastleresidents find employment. ThePartnership works together to makesure people get the support theyneed, whatever their needs maybe. Newcastle Futures Partnershiphelps build peoples confidence,brush up their skills, help them gainqualifications, explore new careeroptions, assists them into employmentand supports them whilst in work. Itworks in the heart of communitiesto provide direct support to peoplemost at risk of being excluded from

employment. Since 2007, 12,881unemployed people have registeredwith Newcastle Futures and 6,140 havebeen supported into work.

Treating job-seekers as individuals


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citizensis good for

We see our citizens as creativeindividuals with strengths andcapacities

Students, parents, school andbusinesses properly workingtogether can find incrediblycreative ways to bring benefitsto all.Lindsey Hall, Chief Executive,Real Ideas Organisation

Cooperation

Help at each stage

to make decisions abouteducation, skills and work atkey stages throughout life

Apprentice YoungWorker

Manager

Personal supporta tailored, dignified service forthose who need extra help to

get work

Important informationand guidancerelevant, meaningful

knowledge about real jobsfrom people who know

Take employmentseriouslybring understanding ofwork into schools and value

vocational routes

Share opportunitieshelp all young people getchances to try out work anddevelop their confidence and

social networks

Do your bithave a good work ethic andbe open to new opportunities


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Long-term economic success is built on theproductivity of our businesses and workers,yet business is not sufficiently engaged in

the success of our towns and cities.Membership of business representative groups is low and businessleaders are not involved in civic leadership.13The UK lacks long termtrusting relationships between business and local civic leaders basedon shared goals.

Business is largely disengaged from a skills system that isfragmented and out of step with economic needs.14

Relationships between schools and business employers are weak.Students find it hard to access work experience which disadvantagespoorer students and those who lack family connections.

Intelligence about supply and demand in the labour market,including business starts, growth sectors and skills needs, is poor atthe local scale, and poorly communicated.

Business support services are fragmented and confusing,especially for smaller businesses.15

Larger UK business works within a framework of quarterly reportingon shareholder value, which forces short-term thinking rather thanlong-term value.16

State welfare, in effect, subsidises employers in offering low pay;zero hours contracts have become more common during the recentphase of economic growth.17

Businesses in receipt of subsidies and tax benefits have no

reciprocal commitment to collaborate, provide good quality jobs, investin skills and work with schools.18

We need a new deal with business.Such a deal requires a supportive national policy framework and

13 See The Rt Hon theLord Heseltine ofThenford CH (2012)

No Stone Unturned:in pursuit of growth.Department forBusiness, Innovationand Skills.

14 David Hughes, chiefexecutive of adulteducation body Niace,said in December 2014that a flurry of reportshad revealed a trueconsensus that theskills system was nolonger fit for purpose.

15 A recent review by

Shared Intelligence forthe LGA found that asof July 2014 there were124 separate pots ofgovernment fundingfor local growth andregeneration, totallingover 22bn.

16 Often, rather thanbeing a reflection ofthe rapacious, mean-spirited and selfishnature of business,short-termism is simplya rational responseto the institutionalarrangements

corporate leaders arepresented with Wallis,E. and Tinker, R. (2015)In it together. FabianSociety.


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we welcome proposals to encourage a new relationship at nationallevel.19However, it is at local level that a new deal is made meaningful.Businesses work in the context of local labour markets and supplychains, local infrastructure, local education providers and a localcommunity. Effective local leadership and place-shaping bringstogether the factors that enable business to thrive.

Our cooperative deal with businessCooperative councils want to build a spirit of enterprise andentrepreneurship. By establishing a cooperative relationship,where the benefits to both sides are clear, we want to engage thecommitment, energy and innovation of business to bring benefit to allour citizens.

We are committed to: Promote business leadership. Get business involved in the

leadership of the place, support the development of representative

institutions and networks for small businesses, and use our buyingpower to promote innovation and collaboration among localbusinesses and social enterprises.

Develop local employment commitments.Work in collaborationwith business and employers, and build on existing initiatives,to develop shared local commitments to provide good qualityemployment with fair pay and opportunities for progression .20Forsmaller employers, who need to get their business onto a firmfinancial footing, this could be backed up with business support toimprove productivity and growth.21

Broker relationships between schools and employers.Developmechanisms, including new cooperative organisations, to link

young people with employment and businesses with schools toensure young people develop work related skills .22Over time thiscollaboration will ensure that schools and colleges supply moreapplicants able to meet business needs.

In return we expect business to: Take part.Make a commitment to the development of place and

people by actively participating in local initiatives, local leadershipboards and business networks and helping to shape localstrategies for growth, recognising the value this brings.

Share assets and expertise with the community.Look foropportunities to maximise the social value of activities, resourcesand assets; for example allow local colleges to use equipment,offer apprenticeships and mentoring, or collaborate with socialenterprises and community organisations for community benefit.

Adopt good employment practice.23Support a local employmentcommitment to provide fair employment and opportunities fordisadvantaged people. Participate in initiatives to work with schoolsand young people to inspire them about employment opportunities,provide workplace experiences and develop the employees of thefuture.

17 It has been estimatedthat 4.3m peopleare in work and onbenefits (housingbenefit, council taxbenefit, working andchild tax credits). Seewww.ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-

are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/

18 See Farnsworth, K.(2013) The BritishCorporate WelfareState. Renewal 21 (4).

19 See Fabian Society(2015) op. cit.

20 Similarrecommendationshave emerged fromFairness Commissionsand Living Wage

Campaigns.

21 For example, PlymouthUniversity partnerswith the PlymouthManufacturers Groupto offers SMEs 12free hours supporton their ElectronMicroscope, enablingsmall microelectronicsand manufacturingcompanies to identifyproduct failure andimprove quality.

22 For example, Hackneyhave launched an

initiative to give 100pupils a real job for12 months. Seewww.news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-century

23 For example, UnisonsEthical Care Chartersets out goodemployment practicein homecare and hasrecently been adoptedby Islington Council.The Living Wage

Foundation run anemployer accreditationscheme.
http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://news.hackney.gov.uk/the-hackney-100---bringing-the-saturday-job-into-the-21st-centuryhttp://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/18/how-many-families-are-in-work-and-on-benefits-youll-probably-be-surprised/


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Local leadershipengaging business

Southampton Employmentand Skills Plans

Southampton City Council hasdeveloped a programme ofEmployment and Skills Plans (ESPs) tomaximise local skills and employmentopportunities in major construction,retail and hospitality projects. Theprogramme builds on the Councilspartnership with the Construction

Industry Training Board (CITB) anduses a Client Based Approach foremployment and skills initiatives,with a particular focus on achievingequality outcomes for priority groups,disadvantaged residents and thosefacing multiple barriers. The programmetrailblazed its approach to agreeingsocial targets to support equality issues.Our economic analysis indicates thatthanks to the brokering role playedby the Council, the economic value

of nine ESPs attached to 90 million ofproperty investment in 2012 totalledapproximately 400,000. This is 15 timesthe benchmark value that developersinvest in employment and training,based on a national average rate ofdeveloper contributions.

The Edinburgh Guarantee

This council-led partnership hasengaged 350 public, private andthird sector employers to tackle rising

youth unemployment. A cooperativeethos underpins the initiative: it is across-sector, non-political strategicpartnership supported by strong and

visible leadership and advocacy fromcouncil and business champions.The Guarantee aims to increaserecruitment, improve the preparationof young people for work, and remove

barriers to employment for youngpeople. Providing businesses with asingle point of contact for engagementwith schools and school leavers has

enabled much stronger relationshipsbetween employers and schools.From 2011-2014, the partnership hasimproved positive destinations from 82percent to 91 percent and seen youthunemployment drop to below theScottish average. The programme hasincreased economic value to Edinburghof 17m and saved an estimated 4m inbenefits payments.

Get Oldham Working

Get Oldham Working launched in 2013to galvanise partners and increasecommitments from employers,building on existing services provided

via employability@oldham. It bringstogether a wide range of stakeholders,including Jobcentre Plus, WorkProgramme providers, work clubs,Positive Steps Oldham, Voluntary

Action Oldham, Oldham BusinessLeaders Group, and private and publicsector employers, to prepare youngpeople and the unemployed for work,encourage businesses to invest inOldham and create employmentopportunities. The cooperativeapproach across all organisations hasbeen promoted as part of the councilseconomic strategy. Coordination acrossschools and colleges through OldhamLearning Cooperative Partnership helps

smooth the transition from educationto employment. Since the launch ofthe campaign youth unemploymentin Oldham has fallen sharply makingOldham the best performing localauthority across Greater Manchester.The initiative is well on target to reach itsgoal of 2,015 employment opportunitiesby 2015.


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Plymouth 1000 Club

The 1000 Club is a partnership betweenthe council and Plymouth Chamberof Commerce to address the city-wide issue of youth unemployment.The Club aimed to recruit 1,000 localcompanies and work with them toencourage and support a youngperson into employment by creatinga job, taking on an apprentice orgraduate intern, or providing a workexperience placement. It providesa much needed brokerage servicebetween businesses in the city and

young people effectively a one-stopshop. Since it launched in 2012, the1000 Club has supported the creationof over 800 jobs in the city and morethan 900 apprenticeships, equivalentto a cost per job of just 60 for theproject. In addition to this, the Club has

supported over 3,000 young people tosecure some form of work experienceopportunity. It continues to grow.

Sandwell Guarantee

The Sandwell Guarantee is apartnership of local businesses, theCouncil and local training providersto tackling worklessness in youngpeople aged 16-24. Launched in

September 2014, the initiative aims tosupport 4000 young people to enteran apprenticeship or job opportunitywhilst supporting local businesses torecruit and providing wage subsidiesfor employers. The initiative has so farengaged with 103 local companies,generating 193 job opportunitiesand placed 78 young people intoemployment. Young people are at

the heart of the initiative as membersof project meetings and involved inthe design of pre-employment andtraining programmes. The SandwellGuarantee encourages young peopleto take ownership of their job seekingand receive confidence and motivationtraining to sell themselves to employers.

Lambeth Working

Lambeth Working supports access toemployment for Lambeth residentsthrough a network of local employmentand training providers including thecouncil funded Lambeth WorkingBrokerage, Jobcentre Plus, LambethCollege and a wide range of voluntaryand community organisations. Thepartnership creates tailored skills andemployability support programmeswhich respond to the very specific

needs of the individual and theemployer. Through its wide rangeof partners Lambeth Working canmeet pre-employment needs for theindividual such as literacy, numeracy,as well as making people workready through advice and interviewpreparation. Clients are also referred tolocal advice and support agencies forwider issues such as housing, benefits,and welfare. Lambeth Working placed852 local residents into employment in

2013/14.


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Nurturing enterprise

Sunderland Software City (SSC)A partnership with the University of Sunderland, and NorthEast Business & Innovation Centre, SSC launched in 2009, todrive growth of software, digital and technology enterprise inSunderland and the wider North East region. The organisationhas transformed the face of software in the city and providedsupport to some 340 software businesses and 100 start-ups helping them realise their potential and enter nationaland international markets. Championing technology andsoftware in the city, SSCs expert advice and understandingof technology has helped create more than 528 new jobsand contribute an estimated net increase of 21m in regionalGVA. As the software community grows, it is the organisationsambition to support a threefold increase in local businessesand revenues by 2020, with the creation of 2,000 new jobs.

Plymouths Social Enterprise City

Plymouth is rapidly developing as a global social enterprisecity. While contributing significantly to economic growth intheir own right, social enterprises also deliver benefits to theoverall wealth of an economy through a range of socialand environmental objectives. Plymouth has one of the mostactive social enterprise business networks in the UK and theworlds first social enterprise university. 150 social enterprisesemploy nearly 7,000 people and bring in an income of around500m. A new 500,000 Social Enterprise Investment Fund hasbeen created by the council to create jobs, leverage in matchfunding and bring back vacant buildings into use, madepossible by the support from public and private sector partnerswho helped secure Plymouths Social Enterprise City status.

Stevenage Business and TechnologyCentre (BTC)

Since May 2009 BTC has provided a high quality locationfor new and growing businesses and an Enterprise Hub forinnovation, business incubation and engagement. The councilpartnered with Wenta, a social enterprise, using a sharedfunding arrangement for costs and profit which providesan incentive to work effectively in partnership and deliverquality outcomes. The Centre provides property managementservices to tenants, on-site business support, conference andmeeting rooms, a bistro, networking opportunities and accessto knowledge partnerships. Occupancy is now 83 percent.The Incubator, extended in 2012, provides grow-on spaceto employ staff once businesses have grown. 96 percent ofbusinesses start-ups are still trading after 12 months.


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GlasgowCommonwealth EmploymentInitiative (CEI) andCommunity Benefits

CEI aims to create a lasting legacyfrom the games through long-term

employment opportunities for youngpeople in the city. Since 2009 CEI hashelped 5,422 young people secureemployment with training. Funded byGlasgow City Council, the programmeinvolves other organisations incommissioning, designing, managingand delivery include Jobcentre Plusand a range of training providers, localprivate sector businesses and tradeassociations. Since 2008, the CommunityBenefit Programme has been included

in the procurement of all majorinfrastructure and focuses on threemain areas: targeted recruitment andtraining for the long term unemployedand those leaving education or training;advertising business opportunities;and the development of SMEs andSocial Enterprises. Partners includeSkills Development Scotland, GlasgowChamber of Commerce, Federation ofSmall Business, Clyde Gateway (urbanregeneration compwany), CommunityEnterprise in Scotland and GreaterGlasgow and Clyde NHS. The projectdelivers business benefits well beyondGlasgow, to surrounding areas andacross Scotland.

Sandwell CouncilThe Black Country SkillsFactory

This employer-led education andtraining collaboration aims to addressthe current shortfall in high- value

manufacturing skills in the BlackCountry, increase the pipeline ofsuitably skilled staff and become aself-financing first point of contact forskills development. The Skills Factoryhas worked closely with small andlarge companies to develop a suite ofemployer-led bite-size training coursesin key skill shortage areas. Courses aredelivered in conjunction with specialisttraining providers and subsidised byup to 30 percent. The organisation is

also working with training providers andcolleges to promote subsidies of up to1,500 for SME companies who have nottaken on an engineering apprenticein the past 12 months. The Skills Factoryengages with schools, further/highereducation, teachers, parents and pupilsto develop awareness of careers in themanufacturing sector.

Using local leverage


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Cooperation

is good for

Broker school-employercollaborationhelp all students gainexperience of real work and

understand future jobs

Get business involveddevelop networks to engagesmall businesses and involvebusiness leaders in drivinglocal growth

Develop local employ-ment commitmentsto back a living wage, faircontracts and access to

training

Take part in thecommunityoffer ideas, support localinitiatives and help developskills

Share assets andexpertiseallow trainees or entrepreneursto access space, equipmentand knowledge

Support localcommitments to goodemploymentsupport fair pay and invest in

skills

Cooperative councils want tobuild a spirit of enterprise andentrepreneurship

Strong business leadershipis absolutely vital. It is part ofthe responsibility of businessleaders to make sure that weengage.Steve Cardew, ManagingDirector, Kawasaki PrecisionMachinery (UK) Ltd

business


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Government is locked into a failing system

of centralisation and control.The fragmentation of services drives increased demand and additionalcost while failing to meet the needs it was designed for.

National accountability, often expressed through output targetsand data, distracts from the real purpose of the service and leads togaming by providers, and frustrates committed public servants.24

As attention focuses on reducing costs through prevention, theneed for locally joined up solutions becomes more apparent.

National politicians make decisions for the whole country in theinterests of equity, yet regional and local inequalities have got worse.

Citizens feel increasingly powerless to influence decisions andbecome ever more disengaged from political processes which seem tohave no relation to their lives.

Providers become agents of the central state, locked into tightcontractual relationships and inspection regimes which makeinnovation high risk.

High stakes accountability brings a lack of trust, which hides realperformance and makes it harder to improve.

Our centralised political system is holding back the UKs economicprosperity. By giving greater power to cities the UK could unleashbillions of pounds worth of additional growth.

We have a cooperative vision of devolution, to push power into the

hands of citizens rather than holding it in the town hall.Our economic and political geography varies hugely the skills

of our people, the capacities of our institutions, the potential of oureconomies all affect what is needed and what will work. So solutions

24 For example, workprogramme providersoutput targets canlead to perverseconsequences.


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must be local. But they must be developed and designed cooperatively,with the people that will benefit, working with the grain of their lives,building on their skills and capacities, and with costs and benefitsshared more fairly.

Our deal with government

We want to work in partnership with government to design solutionsthat will work for our areas. We are committed to learning, innovatingand sharing data on our costs and outcomes. We need government, atall levels, to support this innovation by giving local providers freedomand investing in cooperative solutions, so locally, public, private andcommunity sectors can work together to achieve real benefits forcitizens.

We commit to: Provide leadership.Collaborate locally to determine jointly

agreed outcomes for business growth, employment and skills

development, and be held to account for the achievement of theseoutcomes in the context of an overall place-based strategy. Workto create a local culture of enterprise and innovation, engagingall sectors in efforts to create wealth, and meet social needs bybuilding on local resources, assets and skills.25

Deliver effective services.Improve the use and impact of publicresources by improving the flow of information, designing joined-upsystems around the citizen, reducing duplication and maximisingopportunities for collaboration and added value.26

Be accountable. Publish information about plans and ourperformance, create opportunities for public questioning andensure effective local systems of scrutiny.

Win trust of citizens.Communicate with and involve our citizens,seeking their energy, ideas and commitment at every stage.

In return we expect government to: Trust us. We know our places. We know what works, what matters

and how to get things done. We are collaborative and innovative.We need the power to implement locally designed solutions, andproviders to be freed up from national targets so they can focus onlocal impact.

Share information with us.National government provides resourcesin the form of loans, grants, tax relief and other incentives tomany organisations in the private and voluntary sector, as wellas the public sector. This is all public investment in our places.Cooperation is a relationship of mutual responsibility and mutualbenefit. To make local cooperation meaningful we all need to seewhat the deal is what do you get and what do you give?

Let us design the systems that work for us.The local economyand labour market is different in every area. The strengths andcapabilities of local institutions vary hugely, as do the attitudesof citizens. In each local area we need to look at skills andemployment together and co-design systems that will really benefitour citizens.

Give us the resources to do the job. At the moment budgets are

locked up in different agencies and institutions each working tonational priorities. Services must be commissioned locally by peoplewho know what is needed. This will help us drive more relevant,innovative services that meet the needs of citizens and business.

25 For an example ofcollaboration in actionsee Lambeth FoodPartnership www.lambethfood.org.uk/

26 Local councils shouldhave the powerto redesign localsystems to improveoutcomes for citizens,including nationally

controlled servicessuch as Jobcentre Plus.Criticism of poor jobmatching by JobcentrePlus has led manycouncils to establishtheir own brokeringservices. There is hugepotential to increasevalue for moneythrough innovation,for example locatingjob brokering in GPssurgeries, combiningsupported brokeringwith mainstreamlocal recruitment or

making better useof social media. Tobe effective servicesneed the buy-in andsupport of employersand jobseekers.Local partners shouldcollaborate to developthe approach thatworks best for theircitizens.
http://www.lambethfood.org.uk/http://www.lambethfood.org.uk/http://www.lambethfood.org.uk/http://www.lambethfood.org.uk/


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To support our deal for citizens, localcouncils should be given responsibilityfor getting people with complex long-term needs into work. A packageof funding should be devolved tocouncils to enable them to providetailored packages of support, includingfunding that currently sits in the adultskills, employment support and healthbudgets.27

To support our business deal, the adultskills budgets should be devolvedfrom the Skills Funding Agency to localareas, preferably to groups of councilsor combined authorities working withthe LEP, colleges, skills providers andbusiness to commission a range of

provision in line with local growthstrategies and labour market needs.

Devolved powersand resources

27 The top priority should be those in receipt ofEmployment Support Allowance (ESA). Onceestablished the service should be extendedto longer term Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)claimants. The main funding streams would be thebudgets for Work Programme and Work Choice the two Department for Work and Pensionscommissioned employment programmes whichsupport both ESA and JSA claimants. Localcontrol of the adult skills budget will enable it to be

used more effectively to help those with complexneeds. Local authorities already control publichealth funding which can support this group, andin addition councils and Clinical CommissioningGroups should co-operate to commissioneffective employment support for those withhealth conditions, including mental healthservices.


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is good forgovernment

CooperationDeliver effective servicesmake employment and skillsservices work better for citizensand improve value for public

money

Provide leadershipdevelop plans that engageall sectors in efforts to create

wealth and meet social needs

Trust uswe know our places, what

works and how to get thingsdone

Share informationwith usabout public resourcesgoing to the businesses andorganisations we work with

Let us design systemsthat work for usco-designed to benefitbusinesses and citizens

Give us the resourcesto do the joblocal control of employmentand skills budgets

Win trust of citizensinvolve local people, seeking

their energy, ideas andcommitment at every stage

Be accountablebe open and transparent andensure effective local scrutinyof decisions

Central government should show leadership andencourage all businesses to get involved in local networksand take an active role in supporting future growth.Peter Hartland, Chief Executive,Plymouth Chamber of Commerce


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RSA

8 John Adam Street,London, WC2N 6EZ0207 451 6848www.thersa.org

www.coopinnovation.co.uk

unlocking our wealth: a cooperative deal for community resilience, jobs and growth

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