A Co-operative Development Agency would strengthen the growth of the sector, helping co-operatives – both individually and as a network – to develop by providing a thick ecosystem of institutions and cultures that give information, advice, expertise and support.

A Co-operative Development Agency would have responsibility for:

Facilitating knowledge exchange among co-operatives
This would give co-operatives the space to share best practice, costs and risks through co-operative clusters, federations, peer support and mentoring programmes.

Supporting co-operative business development
The agency could work with the sector to promote economic co-operation between co-ops by connecting co-operative supply chains and encouraging inter co-operative trading.

Funding the development of a core co-op API
The core co-op API could provide the building blocks of a common digital infrastructure, enabling co-operatives to operate at scale. Benefits of digital connectivity could include:

• More meaningful membership participation in governance
• Greater collaboration within and between co-operatives
• Better relationships with co-operative customers and members

Replicating, sheltering and expanding successful co-op models
This would provide the required support to enable the replication and proliferation of successful co-operative models. The Agency would help shelter new co-operatives by providing support with core infrastructural requirements, reducing costs in the process.

Providing technical support to assist in worker buy-outs
This would include providing workers with professional feasibility studies for assessing the viability of new worker co-ops, as well as legal and technical assistance during the process.