The Mutual Societies Development Unit (MSDU) supports the sustainable development of the mutual societies model. It provides a dedicated point of contact for support and insight.
What the unit offers
The MSDU will engage with:
- policymakers
- public authorities
- researchers
- academics
- think-tanks
- trade associations
- advisers (including co-operative development bodies) and sponsoring bodies (PDF)[2]
Through this engagement we can share insight from our data, provide technical input, connect those in the wider co-operative and mutual ecosystem. This could include helping you leverage our data for any analysis you are producing, participating in research interviews, or discussing how best to define a policy initiative aimed at societies.
We deliver the MSDU through our role as the registering authority for mutual societies[3]. We offer a range of other support services[4] relating to financial services regulation.
Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected].
Mutuals pre-application support service
Individual societies can benefit from our mutuals pre-application support service[5] (PASS). PASS can provide input where mutuals are developing new models of society.
We can also work on areas of challenge or opportunity, such as capital in co-operatives, or networks and secondary structures. We have, for example, provided input in the development of distributed ledger technology co-operatives, and engaged in discussions exploring a co-operative model for employee ownership.
Publications
In December 2025 we also published the following reports and academic papers:
- The mutuals landscape report[6], produced jointly with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
- Our mutuals report[7] assessing the landscape of registered societies, in our role as the registering authority for mutual societies.
- An academic paper on co-operatives and their ecosystems (PDF)[8]. This was produced by the Centre of Expertise for Cooperative Entrepreneurship[9] at KU Leuven.
- An academic paper on sustainable co-operative networks and ecosystems (PDF)[10]. This was produced by the International Centre for Co-operative Management[11] at Saint Mary’s University.
The MSDU is taking forward the work from these reports.
Further support
If you would like someone to speak at your conference or event, you can request a speaker[12].
You can also arrange research interviews, discussions on areas impacting mutual societies, discussions about our data, or any other engagement by emailing [email protected].
Public authorities, regulators, and policymakers can engage with us at any stage of the policy-development lifecycle.
You can also find more resources for managing existing societies[13], data on societies through the Mutuals Public Register[14], and sign-up for occasional updates[15] through our newsletter.
