Printed from the http://offline.cooperatives-uk.coop/ site...

CMS Strategy

Co‑operation & Mutuality Scotland

Co‑operation & Mutuality Scotland (CMS) is set to transform perceptions of the social economy by projecting and promoting Co‑operative and Mutual Enterprise in Scotland.

The political, social and economic climate in Scotland has never been better for the development of a co‑operative and mutual approach across a spectrum of business and public services.

By raising the profile of Co‑operative and Mutual Enterprise in Scotland, CMS will enhance knowledge of the contribution of the sector to the Scottish economy. Co‑operative and mutual values and principles will be promoted and encouraged through education in schools, in academic institutions and in the wider community .

Co‑operation & Mutuality Scotland will bring together organisations as diverse as Highland Wholefoods and Scottish Co‑op; Energy4All Ltd and Airdrie Savings Bank; the Social Enterprise Institute of Heriot Watt University and New Lanark Conservation Trust; Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) and Ore Valley Housing Association.

It will provide a forum in which co‑operative ideas and experience can be shared and developed; in which best practice can be identified; and from which innovative ideas can be carried forward into reality.

CMS will press for representation of the sector on public bodies, which will ensure that co‑operative solutions are considered and adopted. Because it represents the interests of such a wide range of co‑operative and mutual organisations, CMS will be well placed to influence legislation in the Scottish Parliament.

In education, health, childcare, social services and the arts as well as in the more traditional areas of retail and finance, co‑operation and mutuality are ideas whose time has come.