What URC business & governance model is right for you?

During this session partners from Oslo, The Hague and Ciudad Real came together to share their experience and knowledge on this important topic. They exchanged thoughts and ideas on what types of business and governance models might work best for the development of URCs in their own cities. One question which continued to dominate the discussion was around what role the city should play in the governance and management of the URC.

We concluded that there really is no one size fits all in relation to this question.  For those cities starting out on their journey a municipality led or ‘in house’ URC model might be best before evolving towards more complex models such as public-private partnerships. For other cities, perhaps where the ecosystem is already well developed, facilitating and supporting the development of more independent and self-sustaining social enterprises might be the best route to take.

Choosing the best business & governance model for an urban resource centre really depends on the specific local context and on the priorities that you want to address e.g. education & awareness raising, promoting repair, reuse, supporting start-ups, training to support employment, providing a drop off point, preparation for re-use etc.

Once the main aims and objectives of the URC have been clarified it can be helpful to take a look at some URC examples from other cities or even to arrange a short meeting with them in order to really get to know and understand the enablers and barriers that they face on a day to day basis and on the pros and cons of their model. Remember, there is no substitute for experience, so reach out and connect!

It’s also important to think about and have a good knowledge of your ecosystem (find some hints and tips for scoping the ecosystem in our snapshot here). Ask yourself what skills and capacities you could harness through strategic partnerships and how best these should be managed.

Finally it’s really important that when deciding which model is right for you that you do this in a truly participatory and collaborative way. Co-create a business model canvas together with your stakeholders. This is a tried and tested methodology that can help you define the best business model to suit your needs in a clear and concise way. The canvas also provides an easy summary for you to share and communicate with your partners.

We’ve created a short summary table outlining some of the main URC business models identified. We’ve included some working examples of these specific business models and listed some of the main pros and cons of each model from a city councils’ perspective. You can find the table here. We hope you’ll find it a helpful reference table to support your decision making during your URC development journey! 

By: Eileen Crowley, Lead Expert, Resourceful Cities