Delivered by Co-operatives UK in partnership with The Co-operative Bank

About peer mentoring

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As part of The Hive support, co‑ops get the chance to meet and learn from other co‑ops that have had similar experiences, made mistakes and learned along the way.

Peer mentoring – learning from other co‑ops!

Running a co‑op can be a challenge. Even with the right group of people in place, there will always be unknown issues and challenges ahead. Meeting other co‑ops through peer mentoring is a learning opportunity for both parties.

  • Up to three days peer mentoring is available, where your group or co-operative is matched with another more established and experienced co‐operative. The content of support is agreed between you and your peer mentor.
  • Peer mentoring is currently limited to phone/video calls and email due to Covid, but does not impact the quality of support. 
  • Mentor co-operatives need to be a Co-operatives UK member.

You can apply for peer mentoring support as part of a bespoke package of support which also includes one to one direct support and skills training. 

Quote mark
As an experienced co‑op with a good understanding of running a co‑op business, our most valuable insights, shared knowledge and encouragement have come from one‑to‑one conversations with members of co‑ops like our own.
– Siôn Whellens of Principle Six and Calverts.
The value of mentoring
Calverts mentored filmmakers Blake House Cooperative when they needed to develop their co-op business
Read about their mentoring relationship

A group or co-operative is generally matched with another, more established and experienced co‑operative. We aim to match you with a mentoring organisation from a similar industry sector or business model. Mentor co-operatives need to be a member of Co-operatives UK – The Hive team will advise about this during the application process.

Every mentoring relationship is different but all mentoring relationships present the opportunity for both mentor and mentee to learn from each other. Our mentors are passionate about co‑operative ways of working and democratic ownership models, helping you to adopt processes around consensus decision‑making and effectively engaging with and managing members.

The role of our peer mentors

  • Mentors can introduce you to other similar co‑ops or networks or signpost to sources of information, advice or further support when appropriate. They can help you to make more efficient use of professional or technical advice and support.
  • If appropriate, the mentoring could involve a visit to the mentor’s business or premises to see at first hand how they do things or meet with board members.
  • Mentors will draw on their own experience to help you to spot problems, how to avoid them and how to co‑operatively work through them.

What our peer mentors don’t do

  • They are not there to replace the role of consultants or support providers and they will not provide specific business advice or technical support which the group will rely on.
  • You can apply for peer mentoring support as part of a bespoke package of support which also includes one to one direct support and skills training. 

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Find out how two neighbouring community energy co-ops benefitted from peer mentoring
Read the case study

Business support from The Hive

Find out if you can apply for our expert support
More about The Hive
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