WHAT GLOBAL phenomenon was started in Fenwick in Ayrshire 240 years ago, is worth around $1 trillion worldwide and will get a new boost in Scotland this week?

The answer is co-operatives.

According to new research, hailed at an event in Fenwick yesterday, the principles of the historical co-operative movement were founded by the Fenwick Weavers Society in 1761, more than 80 years before the much better known Rochdale Pioneers who sold basic provisions to workers at affordable prices.

Now a new agency set up by the Scottish Executive aims to take us backtothefuture.Co-operative Development Scotland, which officially launches tomorrow, will promote the concept of co-ops and give practical advice on those seeking to form them.

Their pitch is that while the idea may initially raise some eyebrows there are actually a lot of co-ops about.

Co-operatives already account for 4% of Scottish GDP with annual turnover of £3.5 billion, £25bn in assets and more than two million members and 21,000 employees, according to research carried out by Heriot-Watt University in August.

Do those seem like huge numbers? Well, remember that the co-operative and mutual sector in Scotland includes the likes of Tullis Russell, Scotmid, First Milk, Loch Fyne Oysters and the Dunfermline Building Society.

One of the biggest is the John Lewis Partnership, an ordinary for profit business, indeed a major high street presence, with part of the profits being distributed to its employee owners in the form of dividends.

Ian Hughes, who is heading up CDS, says that in the few months while he has been doing the preparatory work in developing CDS, part of the Scottish Enteprise network, he has already informally advised on the creation of six new co-ops. Interestingly, three of those are in the media sector.

Hughes is keen to stress that this is part of the SE network's business growth drive. A co-op, as far as he is concerned, is a for-profit business which happens to be set up using that legal model. We are not talking here about co-ops launched in the social enteprise sector.

And what an interesting model it is. If you are part of a group of people wanting to set up a business or buy out the one you currently work for and are willing to share the risk then that model could be for you.

Most people tend to think of entrepreneurial drive as being the province of an individual or perhaps a pair of entrepreneurs but is that really the full story?

As we have reported in these pages before, Adrian Atkinson, the managing director of business psychology consultancy Human Factors, believes that the number of outright entrepreneurs are limited. But there are a lot more people who are what he calls "enterprisers."

Such people are willing to start or grow businesses as part of a team, are willing to take limited personal risks and are usually part of highly competent teams.

I know about one of six co-ops Hughes has advised on. The Very People is composed of seven experienced media professionals (including my predecessor as business editor of this paper).

This was not a pre-existing team, although some of the group had worked together before, but they have similar or complementary skills in regard to handling a variety of media and marketing jobs.

There are also many co-operatives being set up in sectors such as agriculture and forestry.

Could you set up a co-op alongside your main, sole-owned business or partnership, perhaps to target the export market or to take on another major or risky project that you don't want to handle on your own?

If you are an out-and-out entrepreneur who thrives on risking it all, are totally driven, don't like taking holidays, need to be in absolute control, then being part of a co-operative is not something you should look at.

But if you are instead thinking of setting up a business or are part of a management thinking of buying one out then a co-op might be the way for you to go. Are you willing to take a bit of risk without perhaps putting your house and your shirt on the line, and do you want to have a bit more of a balanced life and take a holiday now and then that might not be the case with the out-and-out driven entrepreneur?

If all this applies to you and you are part of a team or thinking of forming one to set up or run a business, an approach to CDS might be a good idea to see if this is a model that would work for you.

CDS is being set up as a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise and will be backed by up to £3 million from the Scottish Executive over the next three years. It is part of a commitment to enhance co-operation and employee ownership contained in the Executive's Smart Succcessful Scotland strategy.

The agency, when it is fully up and running, will offer specific services aimed at developing the co-operative business model, including legal, tax and management advice.

CDS will not manage the relationships with businesses that are set up - they will be done through the local economic company network - but will come in when required to give specific advice on the setting up and running of co-operatives.

For me this fills a gap in the business creation armoury. Providing it is firmly focused on its specific aim and role and does not overlap with the existing providers in the business creation space then it will be a valuable addition to what already exists.

Hopefully it will lead to more Scots taking their destiny in their own hands and "getting the enterprise habit". That really would be a good way to go back to the future.