Co-op Hackathon 

The event aims to boost the development of co-operative, ethical tech. It’s an exciting FREE, two-day event that will bring co-operators together to develop digital solutions for the UK co-operative movement – and beyond.

Why? Co-operatives UK is on a mission to promote digital innovation in the co-operative movement. One way to do this is through Co-op Hackathons. After a successful first event in October 2023 in London, we are running a second hackathon on 8-9 May in Manchester.

The event will be delivered by Co-operatives UK, in partnership with The Co-operative Bank – supporting fair and ethical business together – and is in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Design Factory.

Get involved

There are three ways to get involved with the Co-op Hackathon – sign up via the booking form:

• REGISTER A PROJECT:
  • Got an idea that you’re keen to develop? Want to collaborate on developing it? Join us and build a team to work on it. You’ll need a clear, defined idea that you can pitch in an accessible way to an audience. All proposals will be considered, though we particularly welcome teams with projects related to sustainability, and housing.
  • If you have other team members you want to bring with you, they will need to register also, referencing the project. 
  • We will review submissions as they come in. The absolute deadline is 15 April but we encourage you to submit as soon as possible as we may need to close submissions early due to limited capacity.
• REGISTER TO ATTEND AS A SUPPORTER: Don’t have an idea but have skills to offer? Those with digital skills are particularly welcome to attend and work with teams: developers, data scientists, designers, project managers, etc. But these are not the only essential skills – there are many ways to support a team.
• ATTEND THE PRESENTATIONS: You don't have to attend the hackathon, but can sign-up to attend for the final presentations and networking at the end of the second day.

Travel bursaries

Co-operatives UK is committed to making our events as accessible as possible. We have a limited number of bursaries for this event – up to £200 towards the cost of travel and accommodation. Simply tick where appropriate on the form to be considered.

Venue and timings

The hackathon is taking place on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 May at Manchester Metropolitan University, Grosvenor East Building, Cavendish St, Manchester M15 6BG. 

Here's an outline of timings and activities for each day, which will be confirmed as soon as possible so that participants can book travel.

• Wednesday 8 May (9am-5.30pm): Introductions, networking, and teams presenting their ideas followed by plenty of collaborative hacking.
• Thursday 9 May (9am-7pm): A second, full day of working together to develop co-op-boosting tech. From 5-7pm there will be final presentations and networking. Teams will present what they’ve done and what their next steps will be.

Additional support

We recognise that the Co-op Hackathon is just one step towards creating a radical digital transformation of the co-op movement. Therefore we will be announcing further support and opportunities for the teams and projects taking part at the hackathon.

Who is involved with the Co-op Hackathon?

The event is being delivered by Co-operatives UK, in partnership with The Co-operative Bank – supporting fair and ethical business together. 

It is also in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Design Factory. This new initiative aims to open-up opportunities for students and researchers from any discipline by developing innovative partnerships with businesses across Greater Manchester.

Building on the success of the Co-op Hackathon 2023

Last year’s Co-op Hackathon took place on 19-20 October in London. It brought tech co-operators together to collaboratively develop digital solutions for the UK co‑op movement and beyond. 

We received inspiring proposals for a wide range of innovative ideas. Below is a selection of the projects that were developed at the event – and you can see the full list in our 2023 news story here.