Research

Co-operative research 

We conduct and collaborate in research projects to ensure a robust analytic framework for implementing policy and practice. 

We've gathered together a number of reports published over recent years on a range of pertinent topics relating to co‑operatives. 

The Co-op Economy

• Our annual report The Co-op Economy provides a sector overview for the UK.

Community shares 

• Community shares report 2023: Communities doing it for themselves aims to provide a detailed and inspiring update on the community shares market while celebrating key milestones, innovations and learnings over the last ten years
• Community shares impact report 2023: A retrospective of the previous year, this report captures some of the numbers and stories from the Community Shares Unit’s activities.
• Understanding a maturing community shares market is the most comprehensive report ever published on the community shares sector was published in 2020 – written by Co‑operatives UK, funded by Power to Change and Community Shares Scotland. It demonstrates the significant impact that community shares has had on businesses and communities across the UK. 

Ownership and employment

• What do we really know about worker co-operatives? Professor of Economics Virginie Pérotin looks at two decades’ worth of international data on worker owned co-operatives. In the largest study of this kind, this research consists of large-scale economic comparative analyses to reveal more about this sector.
• The Ownership Agenda: Could Thatcher's vision of a society 'where owning shares is as common as having a car?' ever become a reality? Ed Mayo and Carina Millstone review data on different forms of ownership between 1985 and 2016 and reveal that participation in the form of personal ownership has increased, but business ownership has declined. 

Inclusivity 

• Gender Pay Gap Report: The introduction of mandatory reporting on average gender pay gaps in 2017 requires all businesses with more than 250 employees to declare their data. This short report looks in more detail at this measurement, and compares broader statistics with those reported in the co-operative sector.

Co-operative business development

• Co-operative development and the client: Alex Lawrie, of Somerset Co-operative Services CIC, provides 'an exploration of trust, networking and professional practice amongst social movement activists in the solidarity economy'.
• Co-operative Business Survival: The Co-operative Economy 2018 report states that 80% of co-operative businesses survive the notoriously challenging first five years, compared to 44% of other businesses. But what’s behind this figure? This report details statistics for the UK and compares these with international data.
• The Big Co-op Census: View the final report of the largest ever UK survey of co-operatives, conducted as part of the National Co-operative Development Strategy.