Greco’s plan is a web-based trading platform for local communities the purpose of which is to enable community members connect, share and trade. This builds the connective tissue of the local economy so that the blood begins to flow again. Julian Dobson has talked about the ‘community economy’ which would comprise lots of independent community cooperatives that work together strategically to leverage their collective bargaining power. Increased resource productivity — learning to do more with less — is the key to meeting the demands of business in the 21st Century.

Greco’s trading platform has four components.

The first is a social network. These can be bought off the shelf. The second is a marketplace where people and organisations make contributions to the community in the form of volunteering time, off peak and spare capacity or excess stock. Any asset that is perishable can be contributed into the marketplace in exchange for a local currency that records the amount one has contributed (based on time but converted into points/£local). This means of exchange is the third component.

The fourth is a measure of value. That’s points. If i give 8 hours to the community, my contribution is recorded in the form of time then converted digitally into points (One hour = 1,000 points = c£10). Empty cinema seats which would otherwise perish have a face value of £6. i therefore need 6,000 points to ‘acquire’ that cinema seat, and i might buy some popcorn when I’m there. So in effect the ‘value’ that is being measured is CONTRIBUTION.

Recording contribution enables individuals who’s talents are not valued in the current system to build their own personal CV. It also allows businesses with excess stock (supermarket waste?) or spare capacity (seats on buses) to recycle it in the marketplace where they blend national and local currency dynamically to achieve their commercial equilibrium which is an optimised operation with no waste. And being able to visibly demonstrate (through points) how their interests are aligned with those of the community gives them a CSR platform. See this short video http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeriddell62?feature=mhee#p/a/u/1/B9_WCrv8qe8

Moving the conversation away from Gross Domestic Production to Gross Domestic Contribution will give UK plc the opportunity to prove that there’s value in values.

@mikeriddell62