When people ask what makes A Fairer Society different from a cooperative development agency, it often starts with a deeper question:
What do we mean when we say “co-op”?
Two Ways of Defining a Co-op
In the UK, there are two main ways to define a cooperative:
1.Acting according to the international principles of cooperation
These are things like open membership, democratic control, and autonomy. You can find them online and read through them, but the truth is, many people working in the co-op space haven’t done a deep dive — and that’s okay.
If you’re part of a healthy cooperative, those principles tend to get passed on through the culture. You learn what works just by participating. But if things aren’t going well in a co-op, it’s helpful to return to those principles and see what might be missing.
2.Being a legally recognised co-op under UK law
This means you’re registered as a bona fide cooperative society with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). But here’s the key: you don’t need this legal status to be recognised as a co-op.
You can operate as a company limited by guarantee, by shares, or another structure, as long as the international principles are written into your governance documents. If you act like a co-op — and organise yourself around those values — groups like Co-operatives UK and workers.coop will treat you as one.
What a Co-op Development Agency Might Do
A cooperative development agency (CDA) might support you in:
- Adopting the international principles of cooperation
- Transitioning your legal structure to reflect cooperative values
- Registering as a bona fide co-op
Their focus is often on the legal and structural side of becoming a cooperative.
What A Fairer Society Does Differently
At A Fairer Society, we help organisations live and lead in healthy, power-sharing ways — whether or not they become a legally registered co-op.
Our work often includes:
- Supporting teams to act like a cooperative
- Helping embed cooperative principles into governance
- Changing legal structures if that’s what makes sense
But at the heart of it all, we use sociocracy.
We see sociocracy as the gold standard for making the promises of cooperation real. Because it’s one thing to tick the boxes on paper — and another to build a workplace where everyone genuinely feels safe, heard, and engaged.
Why Sociocracy Matters
You can be a registered co-op and still have a team where people feel like they have no real say. Maybe you elect someone to a board once a year — but in day-to-day practice, there’s no more participation than in a typical hierarchical workplace.
That’s where sociocracy comes in.
It brings participatory democracy to every team — giving structure, clarity, and voice at every level. It’s how we help people move from theory to lived experience. From policy to practice.
In Summary
If you’re a co-op (or thinking of becoming one), a CDA can help you with structure.
We go deeper: helping you live the values of cooperation through the tools of sociocracy.
Even if you’re not ready to be a formal co-op, you can still benefit from the power-sharing, inclusive culture that sociocracy makes possible.
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Nathaniel Whitestone is a governance expert, OD/OT consultant, executive coach, and angel investor, committed to fostering Healthy Power in organizations. He thrives on unraveling complex systems, guiding leaders to innovate with integrity and playful revolution. His passion lies in seeding societal transformation towards empowerment and fairness.