UK Society for Co-operative Studies
IRegistered charity, number 11752951
Annual report and financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2024
Page Contents
Trustees, annual report
Receipts & payments account
Statement of asset5 & liabilities
Notes to the accounts

UK Society for Co-operative Studles Trustees, annual report for the year ended
31 March 2024
Full name: The UK Society for Cwerative Studies
Organisatlon type: Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Reglstered charity number: 1175295
Prlndpal address
Holyoake House
Hanover Street
Manchester
M60 OAS
Trustees
lan Adderley
Secretary
Francesca Gagliardi - Trustee
Ruth Hall
Vice-chair
Janette Hurst
Membership Secretary
John Maddocks
Treasurer
Elisavet Mantzari
- Co-opted May 2023
Nick Matthews
- Trustee
Jan Myers
- Resigned October 2023
Rory Ridley-Duff
Resigned June 2023
Mike Wistow
Chair
Anita Mangan
Ex-officio (Editor in Chief of the Joumal)
Gillian Lonergan
Ex-officio (Produttion Editor of the Journan
Governance and management
The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted I September 2017.
Trustees are all members of the charity and apart from ex-officio officers are appointed by
members at the AGM. The trustees may also co-opt members to the executive committee
during the year. Co-opted trustees must stand for election at their first AGM following co-
option to confirm their appointment.

Objerts and Activities
The socievs objects are to advance the education of the public conceming all aspects of the
co-operative movement, and co-operative forms of structure, and, in particular, to assist,
commission and/or identify and publish research into the aforementioned areas. and to
promote the exchange of information and experience on c(TroperatFve studies and research.
The main activtties of the society include production of the Journal of Co-operative Studies,
supportin8 Study networks. organising seminars, online conversations and hosting a
conference.
Annual General Meeting
We held our Annual General Meeting {AGMI as a standalone event in the evening of 2
October 2023. We presented our annual report and accounts for the year l April 2022 to
31 March 2023, and held trustee elections.
Membership Type and Contart with Members
On March 31st 2024, UKSCS had 101 Individual Members and 6 Organisational Members. The
Constitution allows for a 'grace period, of six months between subscriptions falling due and
Membership being terminated. [It may be worth notingthat. at the time of writing (July
20241 a number of overdue Memberships have been successfully followed up since that date.]
We are also pleased to note that Members have received two- three e-mailed Briefings each
quarter. This has been a significant increase on earlier years and has covered both notification
of upcoming events and reporting back on UKSCS activities. The following pages give an
overview of activities that UKSCS has undertaken in the 2023- 2024.

Public benefit statement
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act
2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general 8uidance on public benefrt {PBI,
PB2. and PB31.
Summary of the main artlvltles undertaken for the public benefit:
Main activities during the financial year included:
Publication of the Journal of Co-operative Studies
Hosting a Lecture
Organising the annual Co-operative Studies Conferen
H05ting the Co-operative Conversations Series
Supporting other events across the Co-operative Movement
Summary of the main achievements during the period
We are grateful to our members for their continued support and additional subscribers to the
societVsJournL71. In particular. we recognise the many hundreds of hours put in by volunteers
acro55 all aspects of the activities described below.
Publlcation of the Journal of Co-operative Studies
The Journal of Co-operative Studies is published three times a year. It is a journal that accepts
both peer-reviewed articles from academic contributors and short articles from practitioners.
It is distributed in Canada in co-operation with the Canadian Association of Studies in Co-
operation ICA5C) and in Ireland in co-operation with the Irish Society for Co-operative Studies.
While one role of the Journol is the dissemination of the results of research, we remain keen
to ensure that its contents also reflect the role of the UK Society for CcFoperative Studies in
acting as a bridge between theory and prartice in advancing knowledge and understanding of
co-operation.
2023-24 has been a busy and productive year for those of us involved in the production of
the Journol with two open issues and one special issue. The new editorial team has
established itself and a productive working relationship has been established with the
international Editorial Advisory Board.
The most significant development in 2023 is that following consultation with the Journal's

Editorial Advisory Board, the UK Society for Co-operative Studies Board opted to remove
the six-month embargo on publications and to add Dols (Digital Object Identrfiers) to all
new papers. Our green open access policy means that neither readers nor authors are
charged fees. As an international peer-reviewed journol. we think that this is an important
way of supporting the co-operative ecosystem because it makes published research
accessible to readers, while also ensuring that prospettive authors do not face prohibitive
costs. The 56{31 Winter issue was the first with Dols and without a six-month embargo
period. Volume 57 will be the first full year of green open access without an embargo
period and with Dols on all papers. Work is ongoing to add Dols to the recent archive.
We are continuing to promote thejournolthrough our website and social media channels
and to improve access and visibiltty both for those publishing in the Journal and to potential
readers and subscribers. The UKSCS website has received 22.931 views (18.776 in 2022-
23) from 116 countries over the year. There has been an increase in traffic ft)r all countries
in the last year. The Journal pages remain the most popular first visit with 1,751 file
downloads of current and past issues of the Journal, and related material.
The open call Summer issue
Vol 56 No. I
featured articles about Canada, South Korea,
England, and Wales. written by both academic and prattitioner authors. Themes included
the potential for worker co-operatives to provide social care, the connections between the
Hansalim Life Movement and New Cooperativism. co-operative publishin& the evolution of
the Centre for Alternative Technology. and the joys and difficulties of worker co-operatives.
The Autumn issue (Vol 56 No. 2
was also an open call. butthe papers were broadly similar
in that they all addressed the future of co-operatives by investigating areas such as the
sustainable development goals {SDGs), business models. Strategic Renewal, and the role of
education in promoting social transformation. Examples came from Turkish co-operatives,
Irish credtt unions. consumer c(Foperatives around the world (UK, Finland, Sweden,
Norway, Italy. France. Canada. Australia, South Korea, and Japan). and the Preston
Cooperative Education Centre.
We received positive feedback on the Winter issue, Robert Owen and CO￿per0t10n, L.
Vol
56 No. 3) which was a special issue prodU￿d to mark the 250th anniversary of Robert
Owen'5 birth. The issue showcased the global reach, diversrty, and continued relevance of
Owen's work. It explores Owen's legacy. adult and co-operatNe education, utopian and
realism in co-operatives. Sand reform, civil rights, ccwperative and labour movements. and
a co-operative model of entrepreneurship. The special issue was guest edited by Professor
Chris Williams, who brought together an impressive group of scholars from around the

world. The Editorial Team were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of his untimely
death. Chris brought vast knowledge, skill. friendship, and ¢(￿peratiVe spirit to the special
issue. He was also a valued member of thejournals Editorial Advisory Board.
During the year, we also issued calls for
ers for special issue5 on co-operative education
{schedule for Autumn 20241. worker co-operatives {scheduled for 2025). and co-operative
futures in China (scheduled for 2025). All the suggestions from the last AGM on potential
contributors / contributions were gratefully received and have been followed up for
inclusion in future issues.
Finally, thanks go to all contributors. and everyone involved in reviewing, editin& proofin&
printing, and distributing both the online and hard copy editions of the Journal.
Hosting a Lecture
In December 2023, we hosted co-operative law expert, lan Snath, in 'Reflections on Co-
operative Law. The event took place online duringthe day on Monday 4 December 2023,
with the recording available on ourwebstte and YouTube Channel:
htt
www.ukscs.coo
events
reflections-on-co-o
erative-law-with-ian-snaith
lan gave his reflections on the field of co-operative law, and his thoughts for the future. with a
Law Commission review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
underway.
Organising the Annual Co•operative Studies Conference
th
Our 55 conference took place on March l and 2 2024. It was held in Lichfield and UKSCS
was supported by Central CO-OP With venue and arrangements. The Conference title was
"Sustoinobility Of The Co-opemtive Ecosystem.. The Role Of SecondGry Co-operatives And
Fedemtiond,
The keynote presentation was from the Chief Executive of Central cO￿p and the
subsequent Panel Session consisted of senior representatives from: the Federation of
Worker CO-OPS; the Building Societies Association- the strate￿ & Intelligence function in
Co-op Group.
The Conference is intended to be a national focus for Co-operative practitioners and
researchers and the format included the opportunity to visitldiscuss: Central Co-op
community stores; the city of Lichfield and the reasons forthe location there of the new
Central Co-op office buildings- Central co￿PS apprenticeship schemes.

These discusslons were followed in the evening with the opportunity for networkin& a
session from Co-operative Education, a presentation on worker co-ops in Catalonia. and a
presentation on the work of Central Co-op in Malawi.
Day 2 continued to provide a focus for networking and considered discussion, with the
focus on recent academic insights from leading Co-operative academics from the Ireland
and India as well as the United Kingdom.
Though attendance was smaller than the previous year, feedback was positive and the
Conference was financially successful.
Hosting of a Co-operative Conversations Series
UKSCS has developed an online conversation format. which is now called 'Co-operative
Conversations.. This hour-long evening event involves interviewing a member of the co-
operative movement about their personal history and contribution, supplemented by broader
discussion amongst members.
During the year Conversations have been held WFth:
Laura Dunne. Heod of Marketing & Membership ot Lincolnshire Co-op, and Tom Blount.
Science Pork Director bncoln
Rory Ridley-Duff, Pmfrssor of Cfroperotive Social Entrepreneurship at Sheffield Hallum
University ondfvrmer UKSC5 Choir
Henry Leveson-Gower, Founder and CEO of Pmmoting Economic Plurolism
Rose Marley, Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK
Tanya Noon. Dirertor of Centr(71 Co-op, Dirertor of CO-OPS UK (Gmongst othets)
Graham Boyd. Founder of Evolutes1X.
Supporting other events across the Co-operative Movement
This year. the Society has actively worked with other orBanisations in the co￿perative
movement in support of its charitable objective to advance the education of the public

concerning all aspects of the co-operative movement, and co-operative forms of structure,
and, in particular, to assist. commission and/or identify and publish research into the
aforementioned areas, and to promote the exchange of information and experience on c
operative studies and research.
The Editor-inQhief of the Journol and the Associate Editor (Production) are members of
CoRNet, the co-operatives research network.
The Editor in Chief represented the Journal at a 'Co-operative publishing. session at the ICA
Conference. University of Dundee, 24-26 June 2024.

Indication of Reach
It is not possible, nor probabty useful, to be statistically encompassing about the reach of
UKSCS- one idea from one conversation with a particular individual might significantly change
an approach to national policy, for example. Howeverthe UKSCS website does provide us with
numbers and the following are some ot the key ones for the year April 2023- March 2024:
Measure
Number of users .........-.................-..........
Number
5.91x1
Comment
Up from 4.2k the previous year
Total views of pages and screens ...........
22,931
Up from 18,776 the previous year
Top five pages viewed
The importance of the website as
means of accessing the Joumol is
also highlighted when looking in
detail at the number of interactions
lie clicking a button or submitting a
form etc, rather than passively
viewing a web pagel which was
more than 11,000
Journol of Co-operotive Studies .-_....-.
UKSCS ..........................................-............
UKSCS- Home...................-....................
UKSCS Conference 2024.........................
About us .....................-.................-..........
3499
3235
1559
910
771
International Reach (Users)
UK................-...............................................
USA....-..........................-..........................
Poland ....................................-..................
Canada ........................_....-.................-....
India
2076
950
423
245
223
The figures to the right are the top
five from a list of 116 countries
identified.
File Downloads
JCS. 551112022 Special issue: Johnston
Birchall- An appreciation ....-..................
Conference 2024 .......................................
JCS. 55(312022 Special issue= New
cooperativism ............-..-...-.--.....-.........
143
The figures to the right are the top
five identified from a total of 1,751
123
i￿)
95
JCS. 54131 ...................................................
JCS 55121 ..............................................-....

The Executive Committee Attendance at Committee Meetings
We held four meetings during this reporting period, all taking place online.
Name
Actual
lan Adderley
Francesca Gagliardi
Ruth Hall
Janette Hurst
Gillian Lonergan
John Maddocks
Anita Mangan
Elisavet Mantzari
Nick Matthews
Jan Myers
Rory Ridley-Duff
Mike Wistow
Possible
Valuing our Volunteers
The society could not function without the generous support of its volunteers. Volunteers
Organ￿ed and participated in a setting up. running and reviewing a variety of activity and
events during the year including:
the AGM
produrtion of the annual report
editing and producing theJoumol
dministering and fulfilling journal orders
planning and running the Conference
administering membership
keeping Members informed through the website, e-mails, Co-operative Conversations,
individual conversations and the many small interactions vthich keep any membership
organisation running
managing funds
bookkeeping and financial management
liaising with partner organisations
all the activities associated with facilitating and supporting committee meetings

Financial Revlew
The Society achieved a surplus for the financial year ending March 2024, with net receipts of
£3,383. The charivs main income sources continue to be a mix ofgrants and donations,
membership fees. events and journal orders. There is, though, some change in the mix with a
noticeable shift awayfrom print and towards digital versions of the journal. Membership
income has remained fairly steady while the 2024 annual conference achieved a healthy
surplus. Overall the Society continues to find rtself in a sound financial position, due in no
small part to the continuing contribution of volunteers in developing and sustaining the
various attivities of the organisation.
The charitys policy on reserves
The charity has three unrestricted designated funds established to support the activities of the
charity:
Operating reserve £8.[￿￿) (to cover up to 12 months core activities)
Journol production and distribution fund £2.0(K) {to meet commitments)
Conference bursaries fund £2,LKIO (to offer free or discounted places}
Thanks
Thanks to all the society members and trustees for their sUPPOrt and work over the year. Also,
thanks to funders. the co-operative societies and all with whom ULSCS have worked over the
year 2023 -2024
signed on behalf of the charitys trustees:
Mike Wistow, Trustee and Chair
Date: IS I IL( i(SX
io

UK Society for C04)perative Studies
Receipts & payments account
for the year ended 31 March 2024
2023
2024
Tctsl
FLrd5
Fur
Fwd5
2.(KKJ Grants & d(Tht%￿S
3.2￿1
Vembershp
Joum81 r￿￿pts
Conferen¢* t*•s
Other elents
Sundry [￿ts
Tolal ￿lpts
3,170
120
3.870
3,170
120
3.870
6.280
12.1WJ
&160
160
Ptyments
Volunteets. eywnse5
ountsng sofiw8re & support
Bank tharges
324
324
781
Inlemet & sile
J¢JJrttal
Conference
Other e￿tS
Sundry payments
9.365 Total tseforn lAn￿r of IWKIS
837
1.&37
4,916
144
144
144
47n
2,825
27.799
14•t rv*5pts
Cash funds at start of thi% p￿￿￿j
Transfers bets*en lunds
Cash fvnd¥ at end of thls perlod
).624
30.624
YJ,S24
34,007
34.007
li

UK Society for Co•operative Studies
Statement of assets and liabilities
at 31 March 2024
2023
).624
Bank
Cash ￿ hand
34.IX)7
30,624
34.007
Debtors
10
10
10
10
Assets Eptsioed for the charitys own y8e
The tharity dc*s not have any items of ￿u1p￿￿nI or
other assets ièt8ined for the use
Llabilili•8
Creditor5
Ibpnce r￿pts. 1￿Mal
120
120
120
120
Sion8d
. Trustee
Date IS (ILI IL
12

UK Society for Coaoperative Studies
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2024
l. Re¢eipts & payM￿ts •¢¢¢unts
R￿ipts and paytTtenls a¢J>)unts contain a summary of money ieceived and money
spent during tho period and a list o13ssets and 1vb1lFt￿ at Ihe end of the perii)d.
and cash in hand.
2. Grants & donallons
3. FurKls anatysis
op￿th9 119¢0*ts (P￿ments) Closthg
Unrestrfcted de¥igrFated funds
Operatwlg [eser￿￿
Journal
cOnf￿ence
{83T)
(1631
16.IXKI
13

UK Society for Coknoperative Studies
Notes to the accounts - continued
During the accounting perx)d: no reimbursements ielatiog to trustees. Iravel and
meeting expenses arose. mainty because all meeb.ngs look place online via
Zoom lather fa￿ to f￿e.
5. D•bto
There were no debtors at year eThl.
Shafes
The shares are In CcwFerative Press Limit&J and have a nominal value of £10.
7. Credito
There were no LYeditor5 at y￿r e￿￿.
8. Trust•Ès' Trmuneration
Nong of the twstees were pakl any remuneratton Iluting the peric*J.
9. Gl(wary of t
Advance rnuipts: These a￿ amounts ￿e1ved by Ihe dwtty in the accountMIg
period, for use in a future per￿.
Cr•ditors: These are amounts ¢y*ed by but not pabj in the
a¢x¥)unting Feriod.
acLountsn9 per￿d.
Restricted funds: These are funds given to the (*arty. subj'ect to spe¢>
restrictions set by the dorKw. but withÉn the gen￿al obj&* ofthe d)arity.
LlrK8strieted designated fvnds: These are unrestrk#&l fvnds set &ide by the
trustees for 5peafic pUr￿SeS.
14