Co-operative Business District

A guided journey to discover your own public service co-operative destination.

The UK Government has said it wants to turn the delivery of public services on its head by scrapping top-down central government control and enabling staff, users and communities to take control. This means putting decisions on service provision in the hands of those on the front line.

This guide, produced by Co-operatives UK and Mutual Ventures, takes you through the four main steps you will need to think about before setting up your own public sector mutual.

It covers:

1. The Big Idea: what are public sector mutuals and are they for you?
2. Getting Started: your first steps in setting up a new organisation;
3. Your Business Plan: setting down the key features of your idea in a clear, concise and organised way;
4. From Plan to Reality: some of the main hurdles facing public sector staff "spinning-out".