Geof Cox at the 2006 EFES Top 100 Conference

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Geof Cox has been involved in social enterprise for 30 years, and over the last 15 years has worked as a freelance social enterprise developer and as an associate of a number of top social enterprise consultancies, including the international social enterprise development organisations Social Enterprise Europe and NESsT.

He is a specialist in organisational change and restructuring, especially around the start or expansion of trading activities by public or voluntary sector bodies. His work includes:

• advising charities and other not-for-profit organisations on enterprise development
• public service transformations to social enterprise
  
• social firms and other enterprises for people with disabilities/disadvantages in finding paid employment
• business aspects of the arts and creative industries
• training public and voluntary sector staff in social enterprise development and management skills, throughout the UK and in many other countries, especially in Eastern Europe.
• organisational development planning, especially appropriate organisational structures for trading and the 'floating off' of trading activities.

Geof Cox's published work includes a number of articles in refereed journals on business and the arts, and the following technical guides

• RIPFA Key Issues 4 : Social Firms (Dartington 2009)
• The Template Social Firm Share Community Interest Company (SocialFirmsUK 2008)
• Bringing Social Firms Out Of Public Authorities (SocialFirmsUK 2006)
• A Guide to Charities Starting Social Firms (SocialFirmsUK 2006)
• The Extra Elements (co-author, SocialFirmsUK 2005)
• The Template Social Firm Guarantee Company (SocialFirmsUK 2005)
• Delivering Community & Employee Buyouts (co-author, Cooperatives^UK 2003)
• Legal/Financial Structures for Social Firms (SocialFirmsUK 2000)
• The Musician's Union Guide to Music Co-operatives (Musicians' Union 1996)
• Turnarounds - A Guide to Democratic Conversions and Buyouts (OpenUniversity 1995)

He also has over 25 years voluntary sector management experience, including officer positions with national bodies such as ICOM, and is currently a director of Social Firms UK and The Common Cause Foundation.

Recent work includes

• advising on the transformation-to-social-enterprise of health, social care, education and arts services for a number of UK public authorities
• organisational development planning including development of trading company subsidiaries for a number of national and local charities
• helping restructure charitable activities as self-financing services, both in the UK and Eastern Europe and Eurasia
• published research papers on social enterprise organisational structure development
• frequent training seminars on the transition from public and voluntary sector management to social enterprise
  
• management and delivery of social enterprise training programmes throughout the UK, Eastern Europe and Eurasia

 Geof Cox is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and RSA Connector for France, a Master of Arts (MA, Keele, 1982), a qualified teacher (PGCE) and BAHons (Nottingham).