From Third Sector Online
A support service to help communities take ownership of their resources was launched last week by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The Community Shares Unit, which will have a budget of £590,000 over three years, will be run by Co-operatives UK, a trade body that promotes cooperative enterprises, with support from Locality, the network for community-led organisations.
The unit will support the use of community shares and bonds, which allow large numbers of people to invest small amounts of capital in local projects without the costly regulation involved in a standard share issue.
Community share issues have increasingly been used to take over ownership of local resources, such as shops, pubs and sports clubs, as well as to set up green energy projects.
A good idea for Canada too? We could build on the expertise of the Centre for Social Innovation with their community bonds.
