This year’s event was held at the Emirates Stadium, London on Thursday 22 October.
Speakers presentations can be downloaded below:
In the current economic climate, mutuals are more important than ever. They are a dependable rock within the financial services industry – more trusted than shareholder owned businesses, whose reputation among the public has collapsed.
Mutuals are organisations that are owned by, and run for the benefit of, their current and future members.
Foundation trusts are not only new, but their governance arrangements are novel.
Thursday 4th December 2008 - Emirates Stadium
This was the first ever national event to bring together the different wings of the mutual sector in one forum.
Reform of the NHS is progressing rapidly, but it is difficult to discern a clear underlying theme or sense of direction of that reform.
New mutuals have been established in a range of public service areas. How do they compare with state providers and what should be done to facilitate more mutuals?
The mutual sector is a hugely important part of a vibrant, diverse economy. Mutuals offer choice to the consumer, providing competition to PLCs and giving consumers the chance to do business with an organisation they can truly feel part of.
In recent years real progress has been made in re-discovering the benefits of mutual ownership, [...]
Stephen Burke, Neil Homer, Paloma Tarazona, Kathryn Graham and Cliff Mills
The Government has committed itself to extending the provision of quality childcare and early education services. It recognises that as the economy grows, childcare provision is vital in underpinning the regeneration of our most disadvantaged communities and ensuring parents can find work or appropriate training.
But the Government’s National Childcare Strategy, launched in 1998, is not delivering for all children and parents. Stephen Burke of Daycare Trust and Paloma Tarazonaof Social Enterprise London argue that Community-based social enterprises offer the best hope of addressing the chronic shortage of childcare in the UK.
Child’s Play demonstrates how social enterprises are the most successful vehicles for the provision of childcare to both poor and prosperous communities, and that the development of new stakeholder models may hold the key to affordable, sustainable quality provision for all.
Christine Oughton, Malcolm McClean, Cliff Mills & Peter Hunt
Football in this country is in turmoil. Many football clubs have serious financial problems; several face major threats to there very existence. Although the collapse of the ITV Digital deal last year was largely responsible for creating the current financial crisis, football was already experiencing financial pressures prior to the collapse of that agreement.
Much of football’s pressures are as a result of clubs’ structural dichotomy, which forces them to operate as both football clubs and profit-maximising businesses. This is especially true for those clubs, which are now Public Limited Companies. Clubs have found it difficult to balance the needs of shareholders and fans, and the collapse of the ITV Digital deal has raised new awareness about the corporate governance of football clubs.
The report explores the causes of this crisis and proposes that clubs can strengthen their long-term business foundations by taking a more inclusive approach to there corporate governance.