Wales Co-operative Centre
Canolfan Cwdweithredol Cymru

Co-operative and social enterprise news, reviews and stocking fillers

How to Make a Million Jobs: A Charter for Social Enterprise by Colin Crooks
New Start book review
Colin Crooks’ book attempts to answer the question ‘how do we create real jobs for the millions who have been unemployed (or under-employed) for a long time in areas that are conditioned to high levels of unemployment?’

Is the future of healthcare co-operative?
The Guardian looks at how a growing number of heathcare co-operatives are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional private providers

Community energy online: linking people to projects
A new funding website is bringing together people who want to invest in sustainable energy through community energy projects

The Venture Crowd
Report from Nesta
"Crowdfunding is big business. The idea of financing projects or businesses with small contributions from large numbers of people is catching on in a big way and now accounts for significant amounts of money. In 2011 alone, €1.5 billion was raised through crowdfunding for projects and businesses in need of funds... Not only does the model provide finance but also access to a large number of people who can test and market an idea...The model effectively harnesses not only the contributors' desire for the reward but also the intrinsic or social motivations to back a project"

And finally, with only 11 weeks until Christmas this is an essential stocking filler
A rocket from Rochdale: Co-op tells its story in graphic novel form
The celebration of the movement of its pioneers from their Lancashire roots to an imagined space mission in 2044!