Proposal to improve Irish economy

Celtinc Empowering communities

Proposal for “Your Country, Your Call” initiative
Written by Pamela Loreto and Ross Cranwell
April 16, 2010

“Your Country, Your Call”

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Executive Summary 2
1.1. Mission and Vision 3
1.2. Key principles for success 3
1.3. Goals and objectives 3
2. Celtinc Concept 4
2.1. Introduction to Celtinc concept 4
2.2. The Problem 4
2.3. The Opportunity 4
2.4. The Solution 4
2.4.1. Potential within communities 4
2.4.2. How it will work 5
2.4.3. Economic benefits 5
2.4.4. Creating employment 5
2.5. Appropriate for Ireland 6
2.5.1. Why it will work in Ireland 6
2.5.2. Why now? 6
2.6. Challenges 6
2.6.1. Motivation 6
2.6.2. Finding that focus 7
2.7. Summary of concept 7
3. Business model benchmarking 7
3.1. Community Entrepreneurship – Wenzhou Economic Model 7
3.1.1. What is Wenzhou Economic Model 8
3.1.2. Wenzhou Keys to Success 8
3.1.3. How the Wenzhou model applies to Ireland 8
3.2. Tidy Town model 9
3.2.1. What is Tidy Town Ireland 9
3.2.2. How it applies to this proposal 9
3.3. Crowdsourcing 9
3.3.1. Definition of Crowdsourcing 9
3.3.2. Examples of Crowdsourcing 9
3.3.3. How it applies to Ireland 10
3.4. Co-operative Model 10
3.4.1. What is a co-operative? 10
3.4.2. Who uses co-operatives? 11
3.4.3. How do you start a co-operative? 11
3.4.4. How does it apply to Ireland 11
3.5. Conclusion 11
4. Competitive advantage 11
4.1. Advantage within “Your Country, Your Call” 11
4.2. National advantage 12
4.3. International advantage 12
4.4. Competitive points in short 12
5. Management and Execution 13
5.1. Allocation of €500,000 13
5.1.1. Educate Ireland about the Celtinc Initiative 13
5.1.2. Educational conference for county council officials 13
5.1.3. Prize money for best improved towns 13
5.2. Marketing Strategy 14
5.3. Execution 14
5.3.1. County Level 15
5.3.2. Government level 17
5.3.3. Roles & responsibilities 17
6. Conclusion 18

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This proposal aims to identify a practical solution to transform the Irish economy and create
opportunities for employment by empowering the people and turning communities into
cooperatives.

Ireland has experienced exceptional economic growth over the past 15 years. Now that Ireland is
faced with a crippling recession, one of the key factors that led to the growth of the nation still
remains – the Irish people. The Celtinc proposal brings the people of Ireland together to build a
better future for the country.

Celtinc aspires to drive an entrepreneurial society where every single person has the opportunity to
be a business owner, to be part of a co-operative and to have a vested interest in an entity where
they have the final call. By aligning the member’s interest to grow the value of the co-operative,
people will be motivated to strive for their co-operative’s goals, affect their business in a positive
way and have a proliferating effect on surrounding businesses, the community, the country and
ultimately their lives.

Our proposal, which is based on indigenous entrepreneurship and company ownership, aims to
inspire a new, sustainable and achievable way of thinking to reignite not just one industry, but every
existing and potential new market. The common denominator amongst every community will be to
synergize that skill in labour into one entity and jointly work towards a common economic goal that
everyone can contribute to and benefit from.

It is from this concept that we have created the proposal, Celtinc.

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1.1 MISSION & VISION

Mission
To empower Ireland’s communities to create their own successful and profitable future

Vision
To drive the Irish economy to a more sustainable future than the Celtic Tiger

1.2 KEY PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS

 Inspiring creativity
 Empowering people
 Ownership for every citizen
 Focusing on community strengths
 Targeting foreign capital
o Top 20 wealthiest nations by estimated GDP 20091
o Irish Diaspora
 Community teamwork
 Adaptability
 Government backing and leadership

1.3 GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Goals
Increase GDP to consistent +3% by 2015. To turn communities into profitable cooperatives
by bringing people together to work for one common economic or social need.

Objectives
This can be achieved through the following:
Oct 2014 +
Oct 2012 - Sept 2014
Oct 2011- Sept 2012:
July 2010 - Sept 2011:

Planning Execution Momentum Re-Strategise
phase. GDP phase. GDP gains on with Steering
static at -3% begins to project. GDP committee
or recover to jumps to +5- and
insignificant +1.5-3%. 7% as community to
increase. economy maintain no
recovers from less than +3%
recession. GDP.

1
GDP Estimate for Richest Countries in 2009

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2. CELTINC CONCEPT

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Celtinc concept
The Celtinc proposal’s goal is to drive an entrepreneurial society where every single citizen
has a vested interested in the economic success of Ireland’s towns and communities.
Through a cooperative business model where towns focus on one niche, with an added
incentive of a nationwide competition, we believe that Ireland’s economy can be
rejuvenated.

We want to place the power to change the fortunes of Ireland’s economy in the hands of the
people, to build a sustainable and adaptable economy for the 21st century.

2.2 THE PROBLEM

Current economy in Ireland
With the real estate collapse and loss of competitiveness in services in recent years, Ireland
has entered into an economic recession. As a result, many of Ireland’s highly educated
labour force are now unemployed, while others fear for their jobs and livelihoods. Ireland
has now found itself in a very challenging economic position that it is finding hard to break
out from.

2.3 THE OPPORTUNITY

Irish Communities
There are circa 4.5 million people in the Republic of Ireland2, made up of over 300 towns3.
Within each town, hundreds to thousands of people work in varying industries, each
focusing on different areas. Community spirit is strong in Ireland, but there is no common
goal bringing people together to develop the economy of towns in the country.

2.4 THE SOLUTION

2.4.1 Potential within communities
If each town is made up of a variety of skilled and non-skilled individuals, each with their
own talent and creativity, but focusing on different areas, there is a great opportunity being
missed.

Be it a housewife, a butcher, a pub owner, a farmer – each person within a community has
something to offer that could be used to help the greater community. A housewife can
entertain foreign tourists, a supermarket can help the local butcher to find foreign
distribution opportunities, and a local carpenter can help the locality save money with cost-
price insulation – all of whom, under a cooperative community arrangement, would have
the incentive to help at no cost. The potential is sitting in every single community, but it is
not been taken advantage of because there is no defined means, leadership and incentive
for the people and no common goal.

By simply bringing this community of people together (unemployed, employed, retired,
studying) to focus on one business goal, the prospects for everyone increases dramatically.

2
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators
3
Towns with a population of over 1000 people

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2.4.2 How it will work
Every community, led by the government and the county councils, will be brought together
to decide on one focus for the town. Once a direction is chosen that is deemed achievable
and profitable, through a co-operative structure the town will work together to drive it
forward and thus grow that community’s economy.

2.4.3 Economic benefits
Rather than a “statist” economy where state-owned enterprises and government
intervention receive full financial benefits, an entrepreneurial economy managed by the
community will drive wealth from the ground up. As individuals and communities prosper,
so will counties. As counties prosper, so will the nation of Ireland.

2.4.4 Creating Employment

Employment will begin for all potential community members once an initiative is chosen.
That employment will be compensated either directly through an agreed salary and profit
share of the successful co-operative or indirectly, with the possibility of recruitment from an
expanding local business.

Direct employment
The success of the cooperative will depend on the people. If a town achieves their goal of
making a profitable business within the community, the initial non-monetary contributions
can become “paid employment” through the profit share retention scheme. (Refer to 5.3.1
Step 4)

Indirect employment
Indirect employment means employment created outside of, but as a result of, the co-
operative structure. This Celtinc initiative will provide a platform for all individuals to
showcase their work skills to the larger community. Every individual that participates has an
opportunity to show their strengths to a variety of professionals within the community.
Then, when any other business in the area has the opportunity to employ as a result of the
co-operative, these individuals could be potential candidates.

Education and development
In addition to creating employment, this initiative will foster learning, which ultimately will
grow the professional experience of each individual involved. As community members share
ideas and best practices to improve their town, they will indirectly grow their personal skill
base – be it a local butcher learning how to garden to improve the local park, or the school
headmaster who learns online marketing skills in order to drive more traffic to the local
manufacturer or the community at large learning about the basics or business and
innovation.

In a co-operative, knowledge and skill sharing becomes a part of everyday culture that will
enhance education and potential for employment within the community.

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2.5 APPROPRIATE FOR IRELAND

2.5.1 Why it will work in Ireland
This concept will work in Ireland because the Irish have proven with the Tidy Towns initiative
(refer to 3.2 for more details on the Tidy Towns model) that we can work as a community for
the betterment of our towns. Ireland possesses a young, skilled and entrepreneurial
workforce that merely needs to be pointed in the right direction.

“People underestimate their capacity for change. There is never a right time to do a difficult
thing. A leader's job is to help people have vision of their potential.” John Porter

2.5.2 Why now?

Now is the opportune time to implement this initiative as the morale for the country is low,
yet the core strength of the country, our workforce, remains. It is time for the people of
Ireland to work together and to take the initiative themselves to change the future of the
country, with the support and guidance of the government.

While other proposals for this competition focus on one industry, tax incentives or
significant financial support from the government, the Celtinc concept puts the power into
the people’s hands at minimal cost to the State. At a time when the government cannot
readily fund business initiatives or are making significant cut-backs to public spending, this is
the most cost effective plan to build a sustainable future, by shifting the emphasis to the
people.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. ” Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher

2.6 CHALLENGES

2.6.1 Motivation

Ownership
One key element for implementation success will be the ownership that each potential
member will have for the town’s initiative. It has been proven time and time again that
aligning interest through ownership brings greater motivation to increase the value of the
entire business. By aligning the member’s interest to grow the value of the co-operative,
people will be motivated to strive for their co-operative’s goals, affecting their business in a
positive way having a proliferating effect on surrounding business, the community and
ultimately their lives.

Competitive element
Companies often request feedback on their service, but there is rarely the appropriate
channel or the incentive for people to help out a business whose success will not directly
affect them. This competitive element is the final piece to bring the community completely
together to improve the economic environment of the town as a whole. As with Tidy Towns,
a competition element will play a vital role in motivating co-operative communities. With a
nationwide competition (refer to 5.3.1) at stake, there is the local competitive element to be

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the most improved co-operative community in Ireland. Therefore, even if a community has
chosen to focus on one business within the town, each citizen will still want to help every
single business in the town so that the town can win the National prize.

2.6.2 Finding that focus

Competitiveness
In the business world, companies are created because they want to exploit an area where
they believe they can be competitive. Under this proposal, communities will have the same
strategy. It will be the role of the initial community meetings to select the key business that
will drive that community’s economic growth (refer to 5.1 for more details on the process
for choosing the focus).

Global Markets
Each community must “think outside of the box” to look at areas where they can exploit a
strength they possess. One of the key factors to success will be targeting businesses that can
attract international capital as well as those that can leverage off current, already existing
resources. Be it tourism, data entry, customer service, agriculture or any market where a
group of people can combine to work together to find a niche, then there is a chance that
Ireland can rise above the recession. To stimulate this non-traditional thinking, creative
workshops will be held throughout the country for key members of the community. This will
educate them on how to shortlist profitable, innovative, sustainable businesses. (Refer to
5.1.2 for more details on the creative workshop events)

Sustainability
The Celtic Tiger was a temporary economic phenomenon because it was based on a limited
amount of favourable conditions. Celtinc is sustainable because every community focuses on
a different niche. If one co-operative in the community fails the rest of the county or country
can pick it up to fill capacity. Economic growth and development will not be limited to the
confines of each town (refer to 3.1.1. for more details on “Cluster economies” in the
Wenzhou Economic Model).

If a community reaches a tough economic situation or feels another opportunity has become
fruitful, each community will be able to adapt. Due to the horizontal organisational nature of
a co-operative, they will already have been opened up to the concept of being in control of
their own future and will act to maintain it.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying
to adapt the world to himself. “ George Bernard Shaw

3. BUSINESS MODEL BENCHMARKING

The Celtinc concept is based off proven case studies. See below for explanations of these
models and how Ireland can adapt.

3.1 COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP – WENZHOU ECONOMICE MODEL

3.1.1 What is the Wenzhou Economic Model?

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Wenzhou is a major town in Zhejiang Province, China which drove its economy between
1978 to 2008 from 1.32billion RMB (141mill EUR) to 242.4bill RMB (26.25bill EUR). The
means to arrive at such numbers for a rural town on the coast of China was through, what is
known as the Wenzhou Economic Model. Wenzhou is a town whose businesses and
economy were built, run, created, and sustained by local people.

3.1.2 What were the keys to success in the Wenzhou Economic Model?

Innovation
Zhejiang is located by the coastal front of China, with no key industries located in the area,
relatively small national investment, and scarce resources. The region’s economy lagged
from the rest of China, bringing low standards of living. These severe circumstances
pressured the people of Wenzhou to break conventional thinking and nurture an innovative
and driven entrepreneurial spirit. This thinking helped to create township enterprises and
private enterprises, leading to economic growth and even higher income per capita.

Concentration on lighter industries
Industries chosen by Wenzhou people were strategic, they targeted the following:
a) Those that did not require high-technology, allowing for new businesses to enter the
market easily;
b) Industries where high quality of labour was not necessary, therefore could employ the
highest potential number of people; and
c) Industries which do not require large amounts of capital to start with quick turnover
allowing them to generate cash flow more quickly.

Cluster development
Though the sizes of each individual enterprise were small focusing on one single product, it
was a theme for them to work together to produce one big economic zone. Each enterprise
would concentrate on making a product, which would compliment another. This division of
labour created economic efficiency strengthening their competitive advantage.

Flexible government policy and support
Contrary to other provincial governments, the Wenzhou policy makers saw the vital role that
these local owned enterprises had in stimulating the economy. The government supported
and respected their spirit of innovation allowing them to build economic democracy. In
doing so the government were able to concentrate of other macro-economic factors such as:
a) Perfecting tax policies;
b) Improving infrastructure and construction
c) Social welfare
d) Improving public services
e) Strengthening of financial services

3.1.3 How the Wenzhou Model applies to Ireland

The Wenzhou model proves that a town that faces business challenges, such as a lack of
natural resources, a lack of skilled workers and a lack of foreign capital, can still be a strong
economic force given the right leadership and strategy. This model can inspire every town in
Ireland to demonstrate that no challenge is insurmountable to find a niche and grow a local
area’s economy.

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3.2 TIDY TOWNS MODEL

3.2.1 What is Tidy Towns Ireland?
“The primary focus of Tidy Towns was to encourage communities to improve their local
environment and make their area a better place to live, work and visit. The competition
aspect was an important element in developing friendly rivalry that would help boost
standards across the board.”

“Its success continues, and while it has moved with the times, it still retains the same core
principle of its founders - "make your place a better place."”4

“It is a spirit alive and well in all those initiatives and those who participate in them, as well
as in the thousands of individuals and organisations who every day take some action, large
or small, to improve their local environment, and help make their communities better places
to live, work and visit.”5

3.2.2. How it applies to this proposal

The key factor that the Tidy Towns initiative has, and continues to show us, is that
communities in Ireland can work together successfully for one common goal. This
cooperative system has been successful in Ireland before, and now we want to bring the
people together again, but for a different purpose. In the case of Celtinc, the common goal is
not to specifically improve the local environment (i.e. cleanliness of town), but rather to
improve the local economic environment.

Tidy Towns has proven that this model can work in Ireland. Celtinc will take the fantastic
ground work by Bord Fáilte, the Irish Tourist Board, and by the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and expand on it to bring Ireland into a new
economic era.

3.3 CROWDSOURCING MODEL

3.3.1 Definition of Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of Crowd and Outsourcing for the act of taking
tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a
group of people or community, through an "open call" to a large group of people (a crowd)
asking for contributions.6

3.3.2 Examples of Crowdsourcing

Your Country, Your Call is based on the crowdsourcing imitative, where people from all over
the world come together to contribute their ideas for the goal of rejuvenating the Irish
economy with the incentive of a cash prize for the individual participating. Similar
crowdsourcing initiatives are common in other industries such as product development and
media.

4
TidyTowns.ie - http://www.tidytowns.ie/interior.php?id=2
5
TidyTowns.ie - http://www.tidytowns.ie/interior.php?id=3
6
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing

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3.3.3 How it applies to this proposal

Our proposal is based on the power of the group, rather than the individual. Like
crowdsourcing, Celtinc will bring the ideas and teamwork of a community together to
contribute to one common goal (improving the local economy) with each person given the
incentive of financial benefits.

3.4 CO-OPERATIVE MODEL

3.4.1 What is a co-operative?

Cooperatives have been around conceptually since 1498*, their contribution to the
economy, though often overlooked has been significant. Cooperatives exist in all sectors, in
almost every country in the world. According to ICA Global 300 2008 edition, the top 300
mutual and cooperative enterprises in the world, recorded combined assets of $30-40
trillion, with an annual turnover of approximately $1.1 billion US, nearly the size of the
world’s 12th largest economy in the world as at 2008.

A co-operative is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance ’95 as

“An autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic,
social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-
controlled enterprise.”

The co-operatives exist to allow members to reach objectives which would otherwise be
unattainable of acting alone. Principles driving co-operatives include;

 Voluntary and open membership
 Democratic member control
 Member economic participation
 Autonomy and independence
 Education training and information
 Cooperation among co-operatives
 Concern for community

There are three main types of structures, being: (1) User-controlled; (2) User-owned; (3)
User-principled, with structure (1) being more applicable. User-controlled co-operative is
one in which the members own, as well as control the co-operative by electing board and
committee members and vote of major operational matters.

3.4.2 Who uses co-operatives?

A co-operative can be used by individuals or a community with a common vital economic
need, interest or desire.

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A co-operative is not restricted in scope and can be used by those in recreation and leisure,
manufacturing, agriculture, technology or other products and services.

3.4.3. How do you start a co-operative?

Starting a co-operative is not a simple project. A lot of planning is involved prior to
executing. Steps (not exhaustive) have been listed below:

1. Invite potential key members and conduct exploratory meeting to discuss issues and
potential common economic, social or cultural necessities that needs to be fulfilled.
2. Assuming meeting concludes to continue with cooperative, select a steering
committee.
3. Conduct preliminary survey to determine potential use of cooperative, and vote on
project to proceed with.
4. If proceeding, conduct needs and feasibility analysis and prepare business plan.
5. Present findings of analysis and business plan.
6. If all approved by members, prepare legal papers and incorporate.
7. Elect board of directors, and convene to elect officers, assign responsibilities and
implement business plan.
8. Conduct membership drive, acquire capital (monetary or otherwise).
9. Implement plan, and begin operations
10. Meet on a regular basis to review, re-strategize, monitor and perform controls on
operations.

3.4.4 How does it apply to Ireland?

In order to incentivise community members to drive the local towns without direct
financially rewards, we believe that the cooperative model is the best way to drive the
economy from the ground up.

3.5 CONCLUSION

These proven business models form the core of the Celtic proposal. The Wenzhou model
proved that any town can grow its economy with the right strategy, while the Tidy Towns
program has proven over the years that Irish communities can come together for one
common goal. Crowdsourcing and cooperative models will bring together the power of the
Irish masses to create efficient and sustainable solutions. All of these models can provide
solid benchmarks for any town within Ireland can create an economically successful
community.

4. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

4. 1 “Your Country, Your Call” level

Within this competition, the strength of our proposal is that it takes the best out of every
good idea submitted and combines them together. In addition, it is a nationwide initiative
that very single individual can be involved in, regardless of age, race, occupation or skills.

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Government aid proposals
To expect the government to subsidize the growth of the economy is a difficult task
considering the significant cut backs in the budget for 2010. It is the people that should be
generating ideas and profits and not relying solely on the government. The people of Ireland
need ownership of the future of the country, and government aid through monetary of fiscal
change is not the most sustainable way to rejuvenate the country’s economy.

Industry proposals
A number of the proposals submitted on “Your Country, Your Call” suggest optimization of
specific industries such as energy and tourism. Though all positive contributors to the
economy in their own right, the weakness these proposals have is that they will put the
country at risk from being too reliant on one industry that may in the future decline due to
factors that our country cannot control. By giving each community the opportunity to
diversify industries, we are still allowing the potential for Ireland to become leaders in
certain markets, whilst reducing risk related to focusing on one industry for the entire
country.

4.2 National Level

As each town will be looking to its own strengths or strategy, no two towns will be exactly
the same. This will mean that the nation will create a variety of strong niches that are in
healthy competition with another and therefore continually raising the bar for quality within
the country.

4.3 International Level

Being competitive on an international level is a key element of the Celtinc proposal.

It will be up to each town as to what their niche will be, but it is crucial to identify an area
which is conceptually large enough to be internationally competitive. If every town within
Ireland can target one niche in the global business market, and then leverage off of each co-
operatives product or service as in a Cluster Economy, then there are limitless opportunities
to succeed internationally.

Every community needs to think outside of their community and look at how they can
compete with the world. Countless niches still exist in the business world today – and it is up
to each Irish community to find them and collaborate strategically to position themselves
competitively.

4.4 Competitive points in short

 This proposal does not discriminate
o Everyone can be involved (not just one section of people are rewarded)
o Doesn’t discriminate industries (every industry and business has the
potential to flourish)
o Everyone is accountable
 National and international competitive element
 Not reliant on external international factors
 Sustainable
 Potential for profit
 Brings community together

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 Improves Ireland as a whole
 Everyone is motivated to contribute towards a common goal
 Brings together all the good ideas from other contributors - this is bigger than all of
them (groups of niches, not one niche)
 Empowers the people of Ireland without putting pressure on the government to
make unrealistic changes (tax cuts etc)
No direct capital required (refer to 5.1. for more details on how the 500,000Euro will be
distributed to build the program).

5. MANAGEMENT & EXECUTION

5.1 ALLOCATION OF €500,000

5.1.1 Educate Ireland about the Celtinc Initiative: €150,000

Goal
To drive interest and recruitment of members

Marketing positioning
Educate communities as an economic version of Tidy Towns.

Implementation
Main communication will be through (i) national and local government bodies (ii) national
advertising campaign will require funding (TV, radio, media) (iii) PR will be headed up by
spokesperson for the campaign (iv) Website set-up

5.1.2 Educational conference for county council officials: €100,000

Goal
To inform about the initiative and to inspire creativity

Implementation
Event made up of 2 parts. The first part will provide details about how this initiative will be
implemented within each county. The second part of the event will focus on creativity. An
independent consulting company which focuses on creativity (e.g. Whatif? Innovation
company) will run workshops with county council official to open up their minds to creativity
so that they can pass on these ideas to the towns within their area. 150,000 Euros will cover
the cost of the consultant creative company, Event organization company, hotel space, free
board and transport for county council officials.

5.1.3 Prize money for best improved towns: 200,000 Euros

Goal
To add a final motivation edge to the initiative
- Primary incentive: To boost your personal and communities economic situation
- Secondary incentive: To win extra finances for you and your economy

Implementation
Clearly marketed during campaign

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Prize awards
Most improved town in nation (1st, 2nd, 3rd – 40,000, 20,000, 10,000)
Most improved town in county (1st – 5,000 per county)
Prize money spend to be invested in town (decision made by town’s inhabitants)

5.2 MARKETING STRATEGY

Goal
To get communities on board with the initiative, and educate Ireland about the co-operative
strategy, its principles, advantages, disadvantages and the fact that it is “Your Call” as the
business owner.

Marketing positioning
Educate communities as an economic version of Tidy Towns.

Key points to be communicated
Clear, easy to understand, realistic, everyone should be involved, everyone benefits.

Implementation
Main communication will be through national and local government bodies
 National advertising campaign
 Hire an advertising agency
 Communicated through TV, radio, press

 Public relations
 Selected government member to be point person for PR
 Interviews with all local press
 International press also possible, but key is first to communicate clearly to
local population
 Website set-up
 Allowing towns to communicate privately with other community members
on a forum and a project management platform (e.g. base camp)

5.3 EXECUTION

5.3.1 County Level

Steps to execution are in-line with 3.4.3 outlining how to start a co-operative.

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1. MEMBERS INVITE & EXPLORATORY MEETING.

•Invite potential key members from each Town and conduct exploratory meeting
at County level to discuss issues and potential common economic, social or
cultural necessities that needs to be fulfilled.

2. STEERING COMMITTEE

•Assuming meeting concludes to continue with cooperative, select a steering
committee. The steering comittee will tend to be the first board of director's.
•As members of the committee are the initial organisers of the co-operative, they
should be town council members with significant interest in the project, have
strong business knowledge and be respected within the community.

3. PRIMARY RESEARCH

•Preliminary survey to determine potential use of cooperative, and vote on project
with which to proceed.
•To ensure the survey's effectiveness, potential members needs to be informed
about the concept of co-operatives, the solution it provides, principles and
terminology, practical operations, pro's and con's and membership contributions.
This can be done through a town exploratory meeting (after County level
exporatory meeting).
•The objective of the survey is to (a) Estimate potential members (b) Gauge
potential members experience/skills sets (c) Type of product/service the town will
concentrate (d) Period which members are willing to work contribute (e) Type and
size of contribution, whether services or financial
•To assist in directing towns selecting a product or service, towns should consider
the following guidelines. (i) Business level: existing businesses (ii) Industry level:
new or existing "light industries" (for definition of refer to 2.2.1 Wenzhou Model);
or "green" industries with climate change focus as they generally will be more
supported and sustainable in the future.

4. FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS & BUSINESS PLAN

•Armed with the information obtained from the initial town survey, the Steering
Committee are now in a position to be able to develop a basic business plan, with
a priority focus on feasibility of the chosen product or service as voted in Step 3.
•At minimum, analysis and plan should include: sensitivity analysis for best and
worst case scenario; facilities; equipment; labour estimates; and future costs.
•Qualified advisors from the township or "traded" from another town should be
used.
•Minimum unit value of membership share should be defined, based on estimates
from feasibility analysis.
•Due to the current circumstances of the Irish economy, financial contributions to
count towards membership maybe harder to collect. The solution should be that
contributions from the community should be financial and/or labour. For example,
if a lawyer is willing to contribute his expertise and time, this should be quantified
and counted as part of the contribution for membership shares (value of labour
monitored by proper assigned approvers based on average market rates).
•Business plan should be formulated to include the survey and feasibility findings.

5. PRESENT FINDINGS

•Present findings of analysis and business plan to potential members.

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6. LEGALS & INCORPORATION
•If all approved by members, prepare legal papers and bylaws and incorporate.
•Greater care and consideration needs to be taken in this step, as it defines the
processes for membership applications, share valuation, meeting and waiver
notices, etc.
•It is important to emphasise the one person one vote notion.

7. ELECT KEY MEMBERS & ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITIES
•Once bylaws created, elect board of directors, and convene to elect managing
officers.
•Directors are assigned to each critical area of operations, officers are to manage
implementation at town level.
•Managing officer selection is critical to the success of implementation as they are
responsible for day-to-day operations. CV's, survey's, skills nominations should
be reviewed for each potential officer to confirm skill set to run co-operative.
8. MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
•Conduct membership drive, acquire contribution from monetary or otherwise.
• If not monetary, services can be counted as a contribution, monetised according
to average market rates, then deducted from distributions at specific
percentage. This gives those without liquidity an opportunity to be a members of
the co-operative.
9. LAUNCH
•At the direction and supervision of the directors, managing officers should work
to launch the following tasks:
•Facilities - Selecting office and key facilities should be finalised.
•Employment of staff - Member roles and responsibilities sbould be assigned.
•Staff orientation and education - Education and training implemented for each
staff to ensure efficiency and empowerment.
•Business development - Strategy to market, grow cashflow income should
always be considered.
•Product and service agreements - Terms of business with key partners to ensure
optimisation of operations should be established.
10. RE- STRATEGIZE, MONITOR, REVIEW
•Meet on a regular basis to review, re-strategize, monitor and perform controls
on operations.
•Budget and forecasts reviewed and scrutinized.
•Directors and managing officers should engage in strategic planning adjusting for
current/unexpected events, with ultimate direction voted by all members.
•Continuous education should be conducted for all members from director to
member level.
•SHARE THE WEALTH, in accordance with co-operative bylaws.

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5.3.2 Government Level

Pilot
To test out the co-operative initiative, the government will execute a pilot execution.
Method for doing so is as follows:
1. Government identifies target towns: Recommended strategy is to select 1 town from
each county. This town should be one officially measured to have the lowest income per
capita.
Reason for selection method is that these towns have a bigger challenge in the co-
operative initiative, and if it is a “success” with them, then it will be easier to apply to
other towns.
2. Government to report findings: Findings include (i) percentage participation within
towns (ii) Time frame from planning to launch of operations (iii) Total capital required
(iv) Matters which delayed/ hindered process (v) Matters leading to successful
application of initiative (vi) Recommendations for national launch.
3. Capital: These participating towns should also be eligible for funding from the €500,000
allocated in 5.1.1 Education and 5.1.2 Creative workshop. This is done so on a purely
mathematical allocation as illustrated below.
= €150,000 (total 5.1.1 allocation) + €100,000 (total 5.1.2 allocation)
= €350,000 / 4, 459,300 (total Irish pop) x 68.6 % (pop. age between 15-64, likely
participants)
= €0.11 per person x 930 number of people in target town eg. Crossmolina, Mayo
= €105 for education and initiative awareness

5.3.3 Roles & Responsibilities

A) Town/Community members

B) Town Council

C) County Council

D) Government

A) Community members: Take ownership of co-operative and get involved!
B) Town council: Help the town to launch and operate from the ground level
C) County council: Oversee at county level, and assist in making higher level decisions
D) Government: Provide leadership, education and oversee implementation nationwide

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6. FINAL CONCLUSION

The Celtinc concept is an initiative to drive creativity within an untapped potential that lies in
each community. If these communities are well directed, each town can find its niche in the
international market and bring prosperity to that area and within Ireland as a whole.

Our proposal has been created to offer a new and achievable way to look at business within
Ireland, and we hope that it can inspire the Irish people to rejuvenate the national economy.

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Proposal to improve Irish economy

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