RE: FN-FORUM: This collective/cooperative/consortium thing

date posted 11th September 2007 17:35

Ian wrote:
> I was interested when I saw the discussion thread recently about =20
> gr0w, the agency in Bristol that is run along cooperative/
> collective lines. That seemed to me like a model that could work=20
> well. I contacted them with the idea of talking to them about how=20
> they make it work but sadly no-one has come back to me.


It's a pity that Gr0w don't seem to be willing to share their =
experiences.
Tam - any word from Chris Garrett RE his experiences working with them?

I think it's pretty important to get some feedback from existing =
schemes, as
my gut instinct is that a carefully thought-out system would be needed =
to
avoid in-fighting between members. Key areas to consider:

- When an enquiry comes in, who manages the project? Someone needs to:
- Write the proposal/contract, schedule personnel/resources, liaise
with the client, track deadlines and ensure they are met, resolve =
issues,
quality control checks (requirements tracing, etc)

- If a project requires a skill possessed by multiple members with =
time to
spare, how is the work allocated?

- How are members compensated for their role? Per hour (unfairly =
rewards
inefficiency)? A fixed fee (how do you value, e.g., building the =
database vs
proof-reading the content)?

- Who organises/handles/pays for overheads?
- Online/offline advertising/marketing, =
development/maintenance/hosting
of the co-op website, co-op accounts/financial management.


Just some thoughts. The number of issues is substantial, hence the need =
to
draw from others' experiences.

Cheers, Ben

--
Ben Johnson, Neogic Web Solutions
// design . development . managed hosting

w | http://www.neogic.com
t | +44 (0)1242 808 262
e | [EMAIL REMOVED]