Action to Empower: Social Care Mutuals

The Social Care Community of Practice (CoP) is a series of online meetings and events designed to develop a network of people and enterprises interested in business model innovation involving new models of ownership that empower consumers and workers in social care.

These collaborative meetings enable the sharing of information and resources about co-operatives and mutual enterprises fostering a spirit of self-help and innovation in social care. Being part of the CoP is an opportunity to learn from other co-operatives and mutuals both in Australia and overseas.

Emerging from the Action to Empower Report and Roundtable held on 25 August 2021 the CoP is designed as a place for sharing ideas and learning from co-op experts about how the co-operative and mutual business model can help transform social care services.

1. The purpose of the Social Care Community of Practice (CoP) is to develop a community of practitioners to share knowledge, learnings, and experiences about how to establish co-operatives and mutual enterprises in social care.
2. Social Care CoP members will consist of people who are interested in knowing more about co-operatives and mutuals and understanding how this business model can apply either to existing enterprises or start-ups.
3. The Social Care CoP will start as a self-help initiative based on open sharing of ideas and knowledge. As commitment grows, and as resources become available, the aim is for this to evolve to foster deeper learning and application through the establishment of a Mutual Support Program for some targeted innovation projects in thin markets.
4. Social Care CoP members should ensure regular representation at the CoP meetings.
5. BCCM will provide a secretariat function for the Social Care CoP.
6. BCCM will invite practitioners to join the Social Care CoP based on a registration of interest.
7. BCCM members may request to join the CoP.
8. Following two introductory sessions led by BCCM, the CoP will co-design a program of meetings and/or events that will be promoted by BCCM and members of the CoP.
9. BCCM commits to organising three free CoP meetings annually with an agenda circulated prior to the meeting. Other events will be held on a cost-recovery basis reflecting the shared interests of the CoP.
10. Discussions and sharing of information will be done under the Chatham House Rule.

Please email Nicole Vlakic to apply to join the Social Care Community of Practice.