Case Study 1: North East Music Co-operative (NEMCO) 

 In 1995, Newcastle Local Education Authority faced severe budget cuts. As a consequences it was forced to make all peripatetic music teachers redundant. The LEA wanted to continue to offer the peripatetic music service to its schools, and maintain employment, but could no longer afford to directly employ the music teachers.

With support from the City Council, and the Musicians Union, Economic Partnerships were engaged to take a creative look at what rescue options were open to the service. The solution finally forged by the teachers and Economic Partnerships was the establishment of a secondary co-operative of self-employed music teachers, which contracts directly with the schools.

Instead of  jobs and a quality service to schools being lost, the formation of NEMCO caused the reverse to happen. Newcastle City schools now enjoy more musical instrument teaching than before. The number of hours taught in schools increased by 10% per year for the first 2 years of NEMCO's operation, and now has increased by 67%. At the same time, the number of teacher members of the co-op has doubled, from 16 to 32. Furthermore, the range of musical instruments being taught has also broadened.

NEMCO have managed this success by introducing a wider range of instrument teaching options, staggered payment plans, and a number of innovative additional services. These include a discount scheme with local musical instrument shops.

As well as providing teaching it also acts as a musician’s forum and runs a number of orchestras and bands and special projects.

NEMCO Lessons

¥       NEMCO demonstrates both commercial & social aims-can be achieved

¥       It is important to wrap appropriate legal structure around the "business"

¥       Local authority support was crucial

¥       Change in management personnel-requires vision

¥       Change of structure injected entrepreneurial flare and improved management

¥       As a co-op the service became more client focused, with, for example, the range of instruments being increased

¥       Organisation became more creative with more benefits to clients, eg  deals with music shop.