Advice

Mutual capital consultancy that identifies opportunities for raising additional investment in the business and helps firms to prepare to take advantage of recent legislative reforms.

Find out more about Mutual Capital Instruments and the BCCM’s member-only Capital Partners Program.

Corporate strategies that make a virtue of your mutual status and ensure the interests of key stakeholders are appropriately represented to ensure that the business obtains the maximum benefit from their engagement.

Corporate strategies that make a virtue of your mutual status and ensure the interests of key stakeholders are appropriately represented to ensure that the business obtains the maximum benefit from their engagement.

As there is increased scrutiny of investor-owned business, co-operatives and mutuals have an opportunity to benefit, as long as they are able to communicate the value of their unique business purpose and member-owned status.

As they grow and change, the original ownership and governance arrangements in co-operatives and mutuals need to keep in step with the current needs of the business. Mutual governance practice should be reviewed to ensure that representative governance structures are modern and effective, resulting in imaginative and forward-looking decisions.

Co-operatives and mutuals must demonstrate:

• They are distinguished in the marketplace through a clear co-operative and mutual purpose that can secure a competitive advantage against investor-owned rivals
• The interests of key groups of people – particularly customers and employees – are appropriately represented to ensure that the business obtains the maximum benefit from their engagement
• The representative governance structures are modern and effective, resulting in imaginative and forward-looking decisions, rather than an obstruction to innovation and progress

The BCCM can help your business to refresh its mutual purpose.

The BCCM consultants have supported a number of leading co-operative and mutual businesses in reviewing the effectiveness of their corporate structure and practices:

• Providing an objective overview of the business and the organisational structure from a co-operative and mutual perspective
• Quantitative and qualitative polling of views from key groups of people, particularly customers, staff and management
• Reviewing strategic factors that are likely to impact the firm in the short to medium term
• Sourcing comparative case-studies of similarly-owned businesses
• Analysing the fitness for purpose of the organisation’s ownership and governance arrangements, and making recommendations for change
• Producing an implementation roadmap for change

Such strategic reviews have been undertaken in a range of sectors, including financial services, consumer owned retail, newspaper and media, internet domain registration and healthcare.

Public affairs and Government engagement strategies that build relationships and improve communications with key decision makers.

Individual businesses will naturally work with their peak bodies and fellow co-operatives and mutuals. But the first priority has to be the interests of their own members; public affairs activity at the level of the firm should be a key part of the overall business strategy.

Working with government, politicians and regulators requires specialist skills and the BCCM consultants have advised many large member-owned firms on how to maximise the value of this activity.

Our advice includes:

• Strategic audits of existing in-house and subscription-based public affairs activity
• Development of public affairs plans with clear strategic objectives and a roadmap for delivery
• Synchronising public affairs with public relations work
• Project based consultancy, for example on legislative change
• Ideas for maximising political contact programmes
• Profile building for businesses and senior executives

BCCM consultants work to improve the business environment for co-operatives and mutuals. We have a distinguished track record in political advocacy. Our energy and experience have delivered unrivalled results for mutuals in many countries. We have: 

• Improved and updated the legislative environment for mutuals
• Influenced policy in all major political parties
• Articulated the relevance of long-standing mutual business
• Advised Governments of various political parties

The BCCM curates national and international study groups to enhance collaboration and learning in the sector. BCCM’s study group clients include co-operative and mutual businesses, governments, non-profit organisations, consultancy organisations and researchers.

Past Study Groups

BCCM’s European co-operative housing study tour in April 2024 visited Copenhagen, Vienna and Zurich, to learn about the housing co-operative model and its benefits. The tour covered a variety of affordable co-operative housing models and examined financing mechanisms that have ensured the growth of these sectors. Participants:

• Visited housing co-operatives and met with co-op housing members, heard the stories of how they were developed and got a first-hand understanding of the benefits for residents of affordable co-operative housing.
• Learned about the development of the large affordable housing co-operative sectors and the financing and legal systems that made their growth possible.
• Obtained an understanding of the societal benefits and social impact of affordable co-operative housing.
• Assessed how we can support the growth of housing co-operatives in Australia.

Read Unlocking the “Missing Middle”: Lessons from the European co-operative housing sector.

In 2018 the BCCM hosted a study group to the UK visiting leading public service mutuals and an East Coast Study Tour to disability, aged care, housing and health co-operatives.

In December 2018, The South Australian Department of Industry and Skills created an opportunity for a select group of service providers and change-makers from South Australia to learn more about how co-operatives and can help transform the NDIS and aged care through innovation and new business models. The tour was curated and led by the BCCM. View the East Coast co-operatives look and learn study tour.

Read more about BCCM study tours.