FairShares Diagnostics

The FairShares Association have published some simple social auditing, participation and governance tools that are available on an open access basis. It is also designing advanced diagnostic tools for registered supporters and members.

These enable supporters and members to undertake initial social audits of their enterprises, then progress to more detailed investigations of social enterprise values, workforce/member participation, and governance ideology. The diagnostic tools are underpinned by ‘internationally excellent’ award winning research by Dr Rory Ridley-Duff (Reader in Co-operative and Social Enterprise, Sheffield Hallam University), Cliff Southcome (MD of Social Enterprise Europe), and Tracey Coule (Principal Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University). We would also like to acknowledge the financial and academic support of Mike Bull, at Manchester Metropolitan University, and a partnership with Alistair Ponton at Viewpoint Research CIC that was important in the development of the Workforce Participation Diagnostics.

The key papers underpinning the audit tools can be downloaded from Sheffield Hallam University's Research Archive:

• Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2007) “Communitarian Perspectives on Social Enterprise”, Corporate Governance: an international review, 15(2): 382-392[1]
• Ridley-Duff, R. J. and Southcombe, C. (2012) “The Social Enterprise Mark: a critical review of its conceptual dimensions”, Social Enterprise Journal, 8(3): 178-200[2].
• Ridley-Duff, R. J. and Ponton, A. (2014) “Workforce Participation: developing a theoretical framework for longitudinal research”, Journal of Co-operative Studies, 46, forthcoming[3]

see Winner: Best Research and Knowledge Exchange, 31st ISBE Conference.

See also:

• Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2012) “New Frontiers in Democratic Self-Management”, in McDonnell, D. and McKnight, E. (eds) The Co-operative Model in Practice, Glasgow: Co-operative Education Trust Scotland, pp. 99 – 118[4].
• Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2013) “The FairShares Model: a communitarian pluralist approach to constituting social enterprises?”, paper to 34th Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research Conference, Cardiff City Hall, 12th-14th November[5].