We've got a couple. I'm posting one now, the other (Bristol Cable) to follow up shortly.

The UK Society for Co-operative Studies

Who they are

They aim to educate the public about the co-operative movement and co-operative forms and structures. They’re a very small organisation (turnover around £20k). They also edit/publish an international academic journal.

What they want

Current site: http://ukscs.coop/

They’re looking to do a few things:
- Extend their reach, to reach different and wider audiences
- Improve our comms, website in particular

What Outlandish thinks

They can’t afford to pay our rates to rebuild their website. We could CoBudget it ourselves, but if they don’t have much traffic to their website at the moment, rebuilding it isn’t going to fix that. And Outlandish is no expert in PR.

A good idea @brianspurling.

On the particulars of the UKSCS - the existing site was created by me a few years back, working on a shoestring with a thin brief, and with visuals/design briefing provided by another cooperative. I've been doing what I can to continue to support them on a pretty much pro bono and reactive basis since. And as you say, in order to broaden their reach, the website is but a small part of a larger need.

They are very limited, not only in terms of financial resource, but also in terms of the time that their people are able to commit to the project. I'd say that what they need is a marketing strategy, and the resources to deliver that. Ramping up the website is certainly part of that programme, as it's largely content-free right now, but investing a pile of time into their website will not solve the issue on its own.

The Bristol Cable

Who They Are

https://thebristolcable.org/

The Bristol Cable is a media co-operative – created and owned by over 1200 (and counting) people in the city. They’re working to redefine media, making it challenging, relevant and accountable to local people.

What they want

Subscription management, community management and CRM. They aspire to give members more flexibility on their subscriptions, to engage them in the issues in the news, and to leverage their skills in volunteering.

Current Tech: Wordpress & GoCardless. They don't really have any CRM-type capability at the moment.

Budget ~£5k

What Outlandish thinks

It feels like a longer-term opportunity: do a bit or work now, get some key wins in place, but then stick with them as their ideas progress. It doesn’t fit with Outlandish’s standard engagement model - we feel we’d be hard pressed to help out.

Anybody feel they could help?

This one could well be up my street in part. Wordpress isn't really my thing, but CRM is. And subject to their specific requirements, there might be a good fit with my favoured solution. I'd be happy to have a conversation with whoever, and find out more. The budget sounds realistic - potentially generous even!

Hi

Any freelancers out there interested in working with us on an e-learning job? We're looking for a team member with a solid track record of working on e-learning materials (an understanding of issues around sexual violence issues would be a bonus but not essential). It is just a potential job just now, for some time next year, but we'd like to get our team together as soon as possible so we can start talking, planning and costing things up. Please get in touch if you're interested.

Hi Louise, sounds like it could be a good match for us/one of our members.
Can you email more detail to hello@wereopen.coop when you have it and we'll take a look.

Hi John, it's a slow burner so can we have a quick chat on the phone next week ? Who's best person to chat to and what is the best number to get you (or whoever!) on?

Okay, drop me a line on john@weareopen.coop and we'll find a convenient time to chat.