Development and Consultancy Services

Information Advice and Guidance (or IAG) usually takes the form of counselling sessions where the client outlines their objectives and the development worker provides advice on achieving those objectives. This can include: identification of appropriate legal structure; advice on approaches to take with marketing; appraisal of business plan; review of business idea; or advice on a human resources/democratic participation problem.

CAN's team of development workers provide IAG services direct to co-operatives, social enterprises or to clients of co-operative and social enterprise development bodies, regeneration partnerships, etc. Services can be purchased on short term (e.g. A day a week for 4 weeks or even just one day of "surgeries"), long term (e.g. annual contract to provide regular sessions or an agreed number of days support) or on an "as and when" required basis.

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location (hourly rates available).

CAN has extensive experience of planning business succession and transferring ownership of a company to the workforce in a tax efficient manner.

Our team can outline the process, carry out feasibility testing, work up a suitable business plan and provide project management support, training and advice both before and after the transfer.

If you plan to retire or sell your business and face a succession problem, or if you wish to run a project to deliver succession in your area, please get in touch.

To see more information about buyouts and succession please follow this link [Link to Succession info]

Guide Price: From £450 +VAT per day depending on location.

For co-operatives and social enterprises that are already established and trading, taking their business to the next level can require becoming investment-ready, contract-ready, procurement-ready, increasing the team size, exploring and expanding markets. In turn issues such as management systems, quality systems, accreditation, etc. have to be addressed.

It can be a real challenge to grow the business without neglecting the existing culture, existing successes, social mission and democracy. Understanding, skills, processes, tools and other solutions have to be developed that can immediately be applied to improving business efficiency, productivity and market penetration. We recognised that the development cost has to provide an effective return on the time that the enterprise invests.

At CAN we

• Work with you to decide what work needs to be carried out
• Help you develop your own solutions
• Provide support and guidance where it is needed but do not take over
• Create capacity not dependency
• Adapt solutions to fit your needs rather than fit your needs to the solution.

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location.

If your co-operative or social enterprise is growing or is reviewing the way it currently carries out people management then our human resource development service may be just what you are looking for.

CAN provides a range of human resource and personnel development services including:

• Human Resource strategic planning
• Skills auditing
• Reviews and / or appraisals
• Personal development planning
• Development of tools and processes
• Role / Job / Time-budget database development
• Training for Human Resource workers
• Mentoring and support for Human Resource workers
• Advice and guidance on specific legal issues
• Troubleshooting and mediation.

To discuss how CAN may be able to help you develop your human resources function please contact us or follow this link [Link to pdf infosheet]

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location (hourly rates available).

Before investing heavily in a new project or business, it is advisable to carry out a feasibility analysis. This can range from a quick estimation of success and identification of Critical Success Factors through to a full blown feasibility including market research and product testing.

A feasibility report can sometimes be used to lever in further support to enable the enterprise idea to progress to the next stage.

CAN's team are able to offer a feasibility evaluation appropriate to your budget or proposed co-operative, social enterprise or project.

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location (hourly rates available).

As a co-operative with a social mission, CAN recognises the importance of the "triple bottom line " and reports on social and environmental outputs as well as financial outputs. We are able to offer consultancy and development services to other co-operatives and social enterprises embarking upon social auditing.

Services range from identification of appropriate measurement strategies through to auditing the results of internal social accounts.

To see an outline of our consultancy service as a PDF document please follow this link. [Link]

Guide Price: From £450 +VAT per day depending on location.

CAN has developed quality systems and components for Co-operative Development Bodies and co-operatives that focus on continuous improvement and meaningful results for the organisation or enterprise rather than satisying inappopriate criteria.

Our services ranges from introduction of rudimentary customer care systems to consultancy in developing a bespoke Q.A. system or assistance in obtaining an existing Quality Standard.

Guide Price: From £450 +VAT per day depending on location.

CAN has extensive experience of mapping and research of social economy, social enterprise, community and voluntary sectors at regional, sub-regional and local level.

This research has then been used to influence planning of provision or as the evidence to justify funding applications.

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location.

Our policy development services range from assisting individual co-operatives and social enterprises on individual issues through development of a policy framework to social enterprise strategy development at local or regional level.

Guide Price: From £300 +VAT per day depending on location (hourly rates available).

Many otherwise successful projects have fallen foul of monitoring and evaluation requirements from their funders which have diverted resources away from delivery of the project. Setting up appropriate management systems at the outset enables the project to focus on delivery and enables the organisation to prove both tangible and "soft " outputs to existing funders and future backers.

CAN's experience includes the succesful provision of evaluation and monitoring information for European Funded projects. However, it should be noted that successful monitoring and evaluation lies in establishing the correct systems at the project outset. Please contact us for further information on our project monitoring and evaluation service or read the infosheet .

Guide Price: From £450 +VAT per day depending on location.