Co-operatives UK, as part of the Making Local Food Work programme, is offering free Good Food, Good Governance, Simply Legal and Simply Governance workshops from March 2011 to March 2012. Booking forms are now available for 2011; forms for 2012 will be made available later in the year.

The training workshop is suitable for the following: those advising, working with or participating in any community enterprise or co-operative organisation. It particularly focuses on the choice of legal and organisational structure.

The morning session uses presentation and case studies as a catalyst for group discussion and concentrates on:

Incorporation - What, Why and When?
The different legal forms used by community food enterprises:
• Unincorporated associations.
• Companies.
• Community Interest Companies.
• Societies.
• The different organisational types used by community food enterprises:
• Co-operatives.
• Social Enterprise.
• Community enterprise.
• Voluntary groups.

The afternoon session reinforces the morning session with a practical workshop in which the participants choose the most appropriate legal form and organisational type for a community food enterprise. This is done using:
• a paper-based select-a-structure exercise;
• and a web-based select-a-structure tool - newly revamped for this course.

Participants will also receive a copy of Simply Legal, Co-operative UK's comprehensive guide to the legal and organisational structures of third sector organisations.