Monash, BCCM receive shortlist nomination

12 September 2023

Monash Business School, Monash University (Australia), with the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals, has been nominated for the Best Business School Partnership Award at the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024. The award recognises organisations that have adopted a proactive and innovative approach to strategic collaboration.

The BCCM and Monash University research partnership – the Mutual Value Lab – measures the value co-ops and mutuals create for their members and their communities. It was officially launched last month in Melbourne.

The lab is the latest addition to the Monash Business School’s pioneering Impact Labs, comprising dynamic interdisciplinary research labs that collaborate for impactful research with external partners. The Mutual Value Lab leverages the ongoing research collaboration between Monash Business School, the BCCM and the co-operative and mutual sector in Australia, which led to the rollout of the groundbreaking performance and impact measurement tool, the Mutual Value Measurement Framework©.

“Co-operatives and mutuals have always been challenged by the difficulty of identifying and consistently measuring the total value we create. The Mutual Value Lab puts a research spotlight on the systemic problem that co-ops and mutuals have in clearly communicating our purpose and impact, creating a space for our movement to investigate and expose the different types of value co-op and mutual businesses create,” said BCCM CEO Melina Morrison.

“While there are co-op and mutual centres of study around the world, this is the first time where the study of mutual value creation is at the centre of the enterprise, making this truly a global first. An evidence-based advocacy approach is essential to create a world-class operating environment for co-ops and mutuals.”

Associate Professor Paul Thambar, Director of the Mutual Value Lab said, “The ongoing and deep industry partnership between MBUS and BCCM showcases the value of industry engagement and the role that business school researchers can play in helping to resolve great community challenges and enable Thriving Communities. Being shortlisted for this prestigious award is recognition of this important work and the impact it will create on a global scale.”

The winners will be announced on 19 January 2024.