Co-operantics

People skills for co-operative working

How we work

Workshops

Our workshops are highly participative and interactive. It’s accelerated learning with materials available for download in advance. Topics include communications, meetings and decisions, conflict and negotiation, team working, new member induction. Where possible we like to include members from more than one co-operative in training – this is especially beneficial for new member induction.
Email Kate for an informal discussion about workshops.

Coaching

We offer coaching for individuals and small groups to explore issues around communications, assertiveness, confrontation and negotiation. Coaching can also be used to support project planning, setting goals, reality-check, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Coaching can be face to face or via phone calls.
Email Kate for an informal discussion about coaching.

Facilitation

We are often asked to facilitate meetings in co-operatives where there has been a breakdown of communications of some kind, and the co-operative needs someone who will be neutral but who also understands the dynamics of co-operative working. We also facilitate members’ days, retreats, team-building events and participative planning events.
Email Kate for an informal discussion about facilitation.

Co-operantics forum

The forum is intended as a place where co-operative members can share ideas or ask for help on co-operative working issues. It will be moderated by me. Initially we plan to use the forum as support for new member induction, a place where new members can meet members of other co-operatives, exchange views, share problems, ask questions and learn from each other.
Visit the Co-operantics Forum.

Downloads

Throughout this website there are free downloads – tools, tips and techniques for improving co-operative working. These will be of special interest to anyone attending a workshop, since they will be able to download and read them before the course starts.

Kate says:

“ During the 20-odd years I have been working with co-operatives, I have collected masses of useful information, tools and techniques for co-operative working, the sources of which are now lost in the mists of time. Some of the material has been adapted from ‘Organisational Issues in Democratically Managed Businesses’, published by ICOM in 1992, which was itself a collection of training materials contributed by ICOM member training organisations. ICOM was the UK federation of worker co-operatives which merged with Co-operatives UK in 2000. This small collection of tips, tools and techniques for co-operative working is just a start. I intend to add more materials over time, and I hope that colleagues and clients will contribute to the development of this site, so I have a special request for anyone using these materials: ... Please let me have your feedback."

If you find something less than useful, or have any changes you would make to the content, please let me know. Also, if you have other materials you think should be available here, please email them to me, I will be happy to acknowledge the source.

What we do    How we do it   Who we are    Communications   Meetings and decision making    Conflict resolution and negotiation techniques   Team working    New member induction    Home    Forum     Links     Search     Contact     Site Map

©Kate Whittle 2006 
Cooperantics 0845 456 0238  kate.whittle@cooperantics.co.uk

Website designed and built by Alpha Communication Ltd  - www.alpha.coop