Blog new - The Open Co-op

The self-reinforcing nature of cooperation and ethical business

Business as usual is unsustainable. Capitalism has legitimised the externalisation of various ‘costs’ to such an extent that it has

Resonate is creating a Co-operative Privacy and Trust system for digital dignity across communities

Artists in every field want to collaborate with each other and with their own community-supporting audiences. But trusted collaboration without

Decent Gov Now

By definition our government should be decent. But it is not. Being decent requires ‘conforming with generally accepted standards of

OPEN 2020 – Videos

We’ve now edited and uploaded all the videos from the main two days of OPEN 2020 – here they are

Bristol Pay – a possible future for local currencies

This webinar starts with a presentation of the history of the Bristol Pound and the learnings gained from running the

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Governance in collaborative projects

OPEN 2020 was run using an open source video tool, managed by a new platform co-op, meet.coop. But how should

Video: OPEN 2020 – Mutual credit deep dive

Although Mutual Credit has a strong pedigree, both theoretical and practical, it cannot be said to have ‘moved the needle’

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Cooperation will win

Watch the Introduction to day 2 and discussion with Esther Foreman from the The Social Change Agency. Esther and team

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Mr Gee

At the end of Day 1 of OPEN 2020 – after 6 hours of focused discussion about co-creating the collaborative

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Universal Basic Everything

During this session we hear from Iris Schönherr about the amazing Every One Every Day project they have been running in Barking

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Coordination in decentralised networks

There are hundreds of thousands of groups and communities working on building a new economy, but no centralised control or

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Tools of collaboration

Every group, project or community needs digital tools to enable collaboration. But which tools should we choose? This is the

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Introducing mutual credit

What is mutual credit? How does it work? How can we enable local mutual credit networks and transition away from

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – The language of the commons

“Throughout history, problems have arisen when the language used to represent reality fails to meet the needs and aspirations of

VIDEO: OPEN 2020 Introduction

OPEN 2020 is a collaborative online event for anyone that is interested in creating a world which places people and

building the commons economy - enric duran faircoin

Building the commons economy – Q&A with Enric Duran from Faircoin

In the run up to OPEN 2020 we interviewed Enric Duran, a founding member of the Catalan Integral Cooperative (CIC

OPEN 2020 Webinar – Vocdoni as an engagement tool for cooperatives

In this webinar we hear from Ferran Reyes of Vocdoni. Vocdoni is a FLOSS project building a privacy-centric platform for

OPEN 2020 Webinar – Holochain

In this webinar we hear from Grace Rachmany, Hedayat Abedijoo and Guillem Cordoba about Holochain. Holochain enables a distributed web with

OPEN 2020 Webinar – SourceCred

Inn this OPEN 2020 Webinar we hear from Dandelion Mane at SourceCred and discuss how we can reward collaboration. SourceCred

OPEN 2020 Webinar – Open Collective

In this third intro webinar of OPEN 2020 we hear from Xavier Damman, of Open Collective – which lets groups

OPEN 2020 Webinar – Digital Life Collective

In this second intro webinar of OPEN 2020 – Christina Bowen, Joachim Stroh and Graham Mitchell introduce the Digital Life

Scaling platform co-ops – lessons from Resonate.is

In the lead up to OPEN 2020 we spoke to Nick Meyne from Resonate, the community-owned music network. OSB: How

OPEN 2020 Webinar – DisCos & Guerrilla Translation

Watch the first intro webinar of OPEN 2020 with Stacco Troncoso and colleagues from Guerrilla Media Collective discussing DisCos, Distributed Cooperative

A platform to enable communities to thrive

The Open Co-op has a vision that we have championed for some time: That an open source platform which provides

OPEN 2020 – Reinvented: Networked commons initiatives

OPEN 2020 is a collaborative online event for anyone that is interested in creating a world which places people and

Decentralizing power and value using blockchain

In the run up to OPEN 2020, which will now be an online event, we caught up with Samer Hassan

OPEN 2020 – postponed

As event organisers the safety of our community is paramount and for the last few weeks we have been closely

Charge My Street – platform co-op seeking investment

The following blog is a guest post from Daniel Heery, from Charge My Street – a platform co-op that installs

Introducing Fairbnb.coop – Q&A with Damiano Avellino

The main challenge we need to solve in the platform co-op community is how to reach critical mass… and how

Introducing The Democracy Collaborative – Q&A with Sarah McKinley

I see a real need for “scaled connectivity” to advance our work as part of a viable ecosystem. In the

The case for open protocols

In my previous post on making groups work I argued that a centralised, cooperatively owned platform could be one of

OPEN 2020 partners with Redecentralize.org

We’re very excited to announce that OPEN 2020 has partnered with Redecentralize.org – a movement of people pioneering technologies and

Kate Raworth – A healthy economy should be designed to thrive not grow

What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? “Like a doughnut,” says Oxford economist Kate Raworth. In this eye-opening

Making groups work

There is a growing consensus that enabling groups, and networks of groups, to work together, is essential to delivering exponential

The gathering #SWARM

This excellent animated video came out in 2010 in response to the failed 2009 Copenhagen Summit. It advocates a network

An internet revolution of democracy

In his paper on ‘Democracy and E-Democracy – A discussion of the possibility of supplanting traditional representative democracy with e-democracy’,

Mutual credit – an alternative to the extractive economy

One of our key projects at The Open Co-op is The Open Credit Network, which evolved out of OPEN 2018

Co-op Workers bursaries to attend OPEN 2019

The Solidfund is offering members of worker co-ops bursaries to cover the costs of travel and tickets to the OPEN

Paul Mason joins the OPEN 2019 Gathering

The Open Co-op is proud to announce Paul Mason will be attending at OPEN 2019. Paul wrote the important and

Defining a shared purpose for the progressive movement

*In this article I use the term ‘progressive movement’ to mean all the people and organisations that are working, or

OPEN 2019 joins IWGB boycott of University of London in solidarity with workers

The exploitation of temporary, freelance and out-sourced workers is a serious issue. As companies get bigger and more powerful, and

OPEN 2019 – Lightning talks – Solutions for the regenerative economy

The OPEN 2019 Community Gathering will feature a selection of lightning talks explaining ideas and solutions that support the development

The Key Themes of Collaboration

Having re-watched the webinar on Catalysing Collaboration at Scale I wondered if it might be possible to identify some of

Video: Catalysing collaboration at scale

The video below is a recording of a webinar exploring how to catalyse collaboration at scale. This first even of

Defining the DNA of collaboration

As a species, human beings are barely more intelligent than kindergarten kids. We revel at our place at the top

OPEN 2018 podcast – When communities of practice meet the collaborative economy

Below is a recording of a session from the OPEN 2018 conference about “When communities of practice meet the collaborative

OPEN 2018 podcast – The BIG Questions: Tech, Power and Society

Below is a recording of a session from the OPEN 2018 conference on “The BIG Questions: Tech, Power and Society”

OPEN 2018 – Review

What happened at OPEN 2018? Connections Aside from all the presentations on the Main stage, the

OPEN 2018 Videos – Main Hall sessions

OPEN 2018 – Welcome and reflections from day 1 Oliver Sylvester-Bradley provides an explanation of platform co-ops and a few

OPEN 2018 – Questions

Here’s the list of questions that were asked via Slido at OPEN 2018 on the Main Stage… a lot of

OPEN 2018 Videos – Workshop Space sessions

DAY 1 The workshop space at OPEN 2018 featured a range of session covering many different projects and approaches to

OPEN 2018 Videos – Open Space sessions

DAY 1 The Open Space sessions at OPEN 2018 were a chance for attendees to put forward their own discussion

OPEN 2018 – Preview

OPEN 2018 is not just about showcasing platform co-ops. It’s about the ownership revolution and forging a path to a

The changing narrative – A new ontology for the progressive movement?

Have you ever wondered why the world works like it does? Why things seem skewed in favour of the rich

RChain – a blockchain 3.0 framework for ‘glocal’ cooperation

In the run up to OPEN 2018, Oliver Sylvester-Bradley from The Open Co-op interviews Claire Tolan, a developer at Resonate,

Holochain – The commons engine for cooperation at scale

This article is the second part of our interview with Matthew Schutte, Communications Director at Holochain, which covers their plans

The changing narrative – Q&A with Indra Adnan

“Politics does not have to be a grim thing – sitting in a chair listening to someone talk at you

Holochain – the perfect framework for decentralised cooperation at scale

Holochain is a new technology project with huge potential for the cooperative economy. Members of The Open Co-op have been

Resonation – An interview with Peter Harris

Resonate is a music streaming co-op and a great example of a platform co-op which is changing the way business

Decentralized co-operation at scale

The following post is transcript of a recent webinar on “Decentralized co-operation at scale. What patterns work? What are the

Co-op Workers bursaries to attend OPEN 2018

The Solid Fund is offering members of worker co-ops bursaries to cover the costs of travel and tickets to the

Riverford boss to speak at OPEN 2018 about converting to employee ownership

We’re very excited to announce that Riverford Organic‘s boss, Guy Watson, will be speaking at OPEN 2018 about giving the

Hullcoin: can blockchain unlock the hidden value in Hull’s economy?

It might come as a surprise – but something innovative is happening in Hull. Hull is one of those cities,

The making of the Cooperative Cloud

Co-owned web infrastructure is a clear goal for the co-op movement. As well as ensuring our data is not abused

Working Together – 8 innovations for coops and unions

There are now 7.1 million precarious workers in the UK. That is more than 20% of the UK workforce and

OPEN 2018 – Join us to learn about…

At OPEN 2018, one of the in-depth breakout workshops where we dig into the practicalities, will feature co-op experts explaining how

Who are the new Co-op weavers?

There’s something exciting happening in the world of co-ops which harks back to the very beginning of the movement. Although

“Find the others…” at OPEN:2018

Trebor Scholz speaks at OPEN 2017 about the new role for co-ops, unions and tech within the burgeoning cooperative economy.

OPEN 2018 – The voice of the future

This little 1 min video highlights what to expect at OPEN 2018, the Platform Co-op conference on “Collaborative technology for

Announcing OPEN 2018 – The Platform Co-op Conference

After an extremely successful event in February 2017 at Goldsmiths University The Open Co-op conference is back with a new

What would a Co-op Coin ICO look like?

Co-op coins are not a new concept but the days of trading locally minted coins for a pint of milk

“What happened to the future?” video from NY conference

This superb discussion about Platform Co-ops entitled “What happened to the future?” was the plenary at the recent event “The

Belonging is a superpower – Patterns for decentralised organising

If you work in any type of co-op, or non-hierarchical group, with open and inclusive values and aspirations for horizontal

Inter-generational Collaborative Platforms

At OPEN 2017 one of the open space sessions which was proposed by Phil Carey focused on “Inter-generational Collaborative Platforms”.

OPEN 2017 – Videos

Watch the videos from OPEN 2017 – The two day conference on Platform Co-ops, organised by The Open Co-op on

“Creating a financial model that benefits the many over the few” – A Q&A with Brianna Wettlaufer, CEO of Stocksy

Brianna Wettlaufer is the CEO and Co-founder of Stocksy, a platform co-op which offers a highly curated collection of royalty-free

Book review – Ours to Hack and Own

If you’ve ever wondered about how a new, collaborative, sustainable, democratic economy might work the new book ‘Ours to Hack

John McDonnell on enabling mass participation to create a democratic economy

In this mini video the Rt Hon John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaks about Labour’s thoughts on

PLANET – An open source operating system for a collaborative, sustainable economy

The following post presents a vision of an open source operating system, which we at The Open Co-op believe would

£2,000 prize and business support for co-op tech entrepreneurs

Budding tech entrepreneurs offered chance to win £2,000 PRIZE and business support for co-op tech entrepreneurs. People with ideas for

Disrupting capitalist democracy

Technology is disrupting outmoded industries at an unprecedented rate. As the gyroscopic effects of the neoliberal model wobble out of

Re-writing the core code of business: A Q&A with Douglas Rushkoff

Douglas Rushkoff is a writer, documentarian, and lecturer whose work focuses on human autonomy in a digital age. He is

Democracy spreads like a virus: A Q&A with Nathan Schneider

In 2015, Nathan co-organised “Platform Cooperativism,” a pioneering conference in New York, which kick started a wave of global discussion

An introduction to Platform co-ops

Just like traditional co-ops, platform co-ops are organisations that are owned and managed by their members. While traditional co-ops are normally

Platform Co-ops – Definition and history

What are ‘Platform Co-ops’? Platform cooperatives are online organisations which are owned and managed by their members. Platform co-ops follow

Introducing Open 2017 – what are platform co-ops?

Platform co-ops, and the burgeoning movement behind them, are big news. For the first time since the inception of the

The murmurations of a collaborative, sustainable economy

In 2010, when Transition Towns started growing into the hundreds in the UK, with another 250 worldwide, it felt like

Corbyn’s Digital Democracy Manifesto supports Platform Co-ops

Platform Co-op Support The Open Co-op welcomes the support for Platform Cooperatives outlined in Jeremy Corbyn’s Digital Democracy Manifesto (pdf). Recent

Not a Co-op? Not a Platform Co-op!

Last month Shareable wrote a great article entitled “11 Platform Cooperatives Creating a Real Sharing Economy“. It’s a really nice list of

Open Value Networks

Open Value Networks are very similar to Bettermeans’ Open Enterprise ideas and variously described as “people creating value together, by

Podcast: The Internet of Ownership

Originally published on 3CR Community Radio A podcast on The Internet of Ownership and Platform Co-ops with Nathan Schneider and

Audio: The dark side of the sharing economy

Image: Shareable Originally published on ABC Radio National Life Matters Show Are you part of the virtual sharing economy?

Platform Cooperatives and Beyond: The Future of Collaborative Governance?

A video from OuiShare Fest 2016 Speakers: Marc-David Choukran (La Ruche Qui Dit Oui) Yassir Fichtali (Up Group) Nathan Schneider

Co-operatives aren’t co-operatives unless they co-operate with each other

This article was originally published on Imperica High-tech tools of exploitation are being repurposed to build a fairer economy. The

Outlandish – Platform Co-ops event

Saturday night is not the time most people chose to meet to discuss disrupting democracy. But that’s what happened at

Self-Organizing Community Democracy for the Internet Age

A nice talk by Loomio‘s Ben Knight at the 2015 Bioneers Annual Conference Emerging in response to the need for

Platform Cooperativism: Challenging the Corporate Sharing Economy

The “sharing economy” wasn’t supposed to be this way. Aided by the tiny computers most of us carry with us

How the Digital Nomads of Social Media Squad Run a Distributed Co-Op

Alanna from Loomio met Romain Chanut at POC21, a 6 week innovation camp in France focused on open source hardware

How Platform Coops Can Beat Death Stars Like Uber to Create a Real Sharing Economy

Image: The Battle of Yavin where the first Death Star was destroyed. Credit: Fanpop We have an epic choice before us between

1 2 Next »