Co-operatives
NCB’s underlying philosophy is a developmental one.
In other words, a co-operative’s potential always exceeds their current state of being. Thus, when NCB works with a co-operative the ultimate goal is to help the whole of the co-operative to move forward on their developmental pathway. Co-operatives are somewhat unusual organisations in that they are owned by their members. They exist primarily for the benefit of members, who may also be customers, suppliers and/or employees of the co-operative. The services available for co-operatives from NCB include:.
Formation Advice
NCB principal Patrick Bradbery has been part of the formation team for three co-operatives in recent years. He was the foundation Chairperson for two of them, Bathurst Wholefood Co-operative Ltd and Central New South Wales Renewable Energy Co-operative Ltd. In these capacities, he has developed valuable expertise that can guide potential co-operatives as they develop their Rules and Disclosure Statement, both essential for the formation of a co-operative. NCB also has access to other professionals familiar with co-operatives and their idiosyncrasies.
Management Systems
Because of the unusual status of co-operatives, management systems employed need to ensure that active membership provisions are met. They also need to provide information for members that is somewhat different from standard management systems. For example, the number of members is often an indicator of the business trajectory of the co-operative. The members of co-operatives typically have a greater need for information about the operations of the business than do shareholders in a corporation. Using the Beer Viable Systems Model as a guide, NCB Systems can provide the desirable modifications to standard management reporting systems, so that members remain fully informed.
Member Education
History has demonstrated that one of the most important factors for the continuing success of co-operatives is education of the members. Ensuring that members are frequently reminded of the reasons why they, or their ancestors, formed a co-operative in the first place is vital. Also ensuring that members are able to interpret the information provided by the management systems is important. NCB Systems are able to provide educational interventions in hard copy or on-line that ensure members are well informed.
Development Services
In many respects co-operatives are similar to communities. Indeed, the more that they resemble communities the better they seem to work. For this reason, the development services described under the Services for Communities tab are the foundation for the development services for co-operatives provided by NCB.