Co-operative Assistance Network Limited

There comes a point in the process of starting up an enterprise when you need to "take stock" - review the state of things and make sure that action plans are focused and co-ordinated.  This may be when important decisions need to be made or before applying for finance or support, for example.  And that is exactly when our Development Needs Analysis for Start Up Groups service is best applied.

This is by far our most popular service and has been continuously improved over many years and after hundreds of iterations.

With this analysis we take a snapshot of the development state of your co-operative enterprise using a comprehensive set of metrics.  This is used to set priorities, make action plans and assign tasks to the client and/or consultant.  It establishes a baseline against which progress can be measured.

The methodology that we use helps to ensure objectivity by "zooming out" and asking questions that you may not have considered.  It also evidences the need for intervention and can be used to support an application for funding or other forms of assistance.  It is designed specifically for co-operatives, social enterprises and community businesses in the UK but may be useful to others.

This exercise takes 2 to 2.5 hours to gather data.  To do this we like to meet 2-4 key players either face-to-face or by videoconference.  It then takes another couple of hours for us to analyse the data and write our report.

This service can be provided at no cost if you qualify under our First Consultation Free scheme.