The second platform cooperativism conference, Building the Cooperative Internet was held at the New School and Civic Hall in New York City on November 11-13. These are the slides from my talk 'Platform Cooperativism in Australia: An Emerging Ecosystem'.

1. Platform Cooperativism
Building the Cooperative Internet
NYC 11-13 November 2016
Platform Cooperativism in Australia:
An Emerging Ecosystem
Darren Sharp
Director, Social Surplus
darren@socialsurplus.com.au
M: +61 419 314 655 T: @dasharp

2. Darren Sharp
Director
Australian Editor
PhD Candidate

3. Australian history…
• Longest continuous
human civilization on
Earth (>50,000 years);
• Colonial settler economy,
“the lucky country” -
rich in natural resources;
• Strong egalitarian
tradition, welfare state
and labour movement.

4. Australia in transition…
• Declining agricultural, mining
and manufacturing base;
• Housing unaffordability, inequality,
intergenerational wealth gap, the
climate crisis, real wages in decline;
• Rise of precarious independent
contractors and casual labour.

5. Australian Co-operatives & Mutuals
Australia’s Leading Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises in 2016
Centre for Entrepreneurial Management and Innovation

6. Australian Co-operatives Ecosystem
Advocacy, stewardship, events, knowledge, advice &
support for the local co-ops and mutuals sector...

7. Commons Transition Coalition
“Aims to connect leaders of groups,
organisations and enterprises that
support commons-based initiatives to
amplify our work, support our
endeavours and build capacity for the
transition to a just and environmentally
sustainable Commons Economy.”
• Founded in Melbourne, Australia December 2015;
• Over 130 members in the network;
• Convened events with Nathan Schneider and
Michel Bauwens in 2016;
• Founding Member of PC Consortium;
• Published City as Commons: A Policy Reader,
ed. Jose Ramos - http://bit.ly/CityAsCommons

8. Australian Platform Co-op Events
• CTC event with Nathan Schneider;
• Panel of local exemplars;
• Design Lab with social
enterprise AbilityMate;
• Read the event report -
http://bit.ly/SchneiderMelbourne

9. Australian Platform Co-op Events
Nathan Schneider and Janelle Orsi event in Melbourne
http://socialenterprise.com.au/projects/platform-cooperativism/

10. AbilityMate: 3D printed assistive devices for
people with disabilities using open design
We Are An Open-Source Community Inventing Products For An Inclusive Society.
We believe every person with a disability should have access to the assistive
devices they need. That is why are creating open-source designs for the most-
needed assistive devices. Once designed we setup hubs where these designs can
be customised and 3D printed in your local area.
http://www.abilitymate.com

11. bHive: the first platform co-op in Australia
http://www.bhive.coop/

12. AnyShare: a sharing platform co-op
• AnyShare is the the first business ever in the United States to
• share voting and profits with all stakeholder groups and also the
first internet company in the world to it.
• A FairShares Multi-Stakeholder Co-operative.
• Co-founder Eric Doriean based in Australia.
https://anyshare.coop/

13. Geddup: a community-action platform
• Founder is exploring how to convert Geddup to a platform
co-operative. Part of this is seeking to understand how co-ops
can raise scale-up funding.
• Objective is to create a funding structure that is both attractive
to non-member investors for investing startup capital in a
platform coop; and,
• Enables scale benefits to be shared with members of the co-op
rather than being channeled solely into equity investor returns.
https://geddup.com/

14. Open Food Network
A non-profit, social enterprise founded in Melbourne
building free software for better food systems.
https://openfoodnetwork.org

15. YLab is a social enterprise for young people
http://ylab.global/
Imagined by Foundation for Young Australians

16. enkel co-operative
• A Perth-based startup still in the business model-finding
phase, but with a pretty large community of 55 members.
• The content on their platform now is skillsharing and learning.
https://www.enkel.co/

17. Platform Cooperativism in Australia:
Future Prospects
Create more democratic ownership and governance of:
• Social Enterprise (alternative to the VC model);
• Responsible Sharing Startups (Sharing Cities, utilities);
• AgTech (especially food distribution);
• FinTech (community banks + blockchain);
• P2P Energy (community solar, exchange surplus);
• Regional entrepreneurship and innovation (livelihoods).

18. Darren Sharp
darren@socialsurplus.com.au
+61 419 314 655
@dasharp
www.socialsurplus.com.au
Thank You!
Amplifying the strengths of people and communities

19. Image Credits
https://urban.melbourne/forum/sculptures-and-monuments-go-walkabout
http://theconversation.com/australias-handout-addicted-car-industry-needs-some-tough-love-4907
https://www.flickr.com/photos/iancochrane_2011/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ginger_ninja/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:8hoursday_banner_1856.jpg
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/21/indigenous-australians-most-ancient-civilisation-on-earth-dna-
study-confirms
http://www.visitvictoria.com/-/media/images/melbourne/destinations/hosier-lane_mel_u_1150x863.jpg?
https://www.yha.com.au/uploadedImages/Content/en/Traveller_Stories/_Stories_/Melbourne%20Skyline-Shutterstock.jpg
http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7211460-3x2-700x467.jpg