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1989 CAN is launched. The mission statement reads "to build a resource to assist people seeking to establish or develop co-operatives or community enterprises". Upon the recommendation of Essex Co-operative Development Agency, Essex County Council enter into a contract with CAN to provide co-operative development services in the county. CAN develop a coherent approach towards the provision of promotion / enquiry handling / information provision / counselling and sign posting / start-up business advice / legal registration / ongoing support - which is to form the core business of CAN.

1990 CAN services are taken up by a range of agencies responsible for enterprise development in their communities. The first training programme for people aiming to establish new enterprises is set up in collaboration with an adult community college. This collaborative approach is to be repeated regularly with colleges, business centres and technology centres in the future.

1991 CAN workers take part in the piloting of the BTEC (now EDEXEL) accredited Co-operative Certificate of Business Administration. C-CBA courses have been delivered by CAN regularly ever since.

1992 CAN launch new initiatives aimed at the needs of women. Included in the products developed are programmes to enable women considering a return to work to examine their options and for women already in work to enter management roles.

1993 CAN goes international setting up and managing transnational projects. International links begin to form an integral part of CAN's work as co-working arrangements are made with organisations in Eire, France, Spain, and Italy. Also carried out are the first projects which involve working with people with a learning difficulty to create employment opportunities. This experience will be built upon in years to come as CAN becomes involved in setting up social firms.

1994 Working relationships are formed with a wider variety of groups and organisations. Collaborative projects are set up with Kids Clubs Network, Women's Refuges, and National Health Service Trusts. CAN's expertise in training needs analysis, training origination, project management and delivery, and sourcing funding helps develop a range of service provision. CAN are consultants in a successful worker take-over of a failing manufacturing business, the beginning of a strand of CAN activity in work on buyouts and succession issues in business.

1995 The first study of a local social economy sector is carried out in Southampton, immediately identifying support needs and potential for growth. In response, a bid to the dti brings forward funding for the development of an innovative training programme to address the needs of businesses developing from micro-enterprises to small to medium sized enterprises.

1996 CAN and Suffolk County Council collaborate to launch SUCCESS (Suffolk Co-operative and Community Enterprise Support Service). The launch conference is a sell-out. Within months a range of new co-operative and community enterprises are launched in the county. With help from Industrial Common Ownership Finance, large scale investment is made in new technology. Worker Co-operative Tantric Technologies Ltd creates a virtual environment within which CAN workers can access central resources and each other's help wherever they are. Croydon Borough Council commissions CAN to undertake a study of the local co-operative and community business sector. Together the Council and CAN launch Croydon CCBI (Co-operative and Community Business Initiative).

1997 CAN and Croydon Borough Council mount a highly successful conference on setting up local businesses to provide community care. This marks CAN increasing involvement in work in the development of care co-operatives. Housing co-operatives in Brighton commission development of a new training package on quality democratic management of housing co-operatives. CAN is part of the team of six co-operatives which originates and pilots the "Training For Growth" programme to comprehensively address the needs of small enterprises facing up to growth and change. CAN and allied co-operative Shewstone develop the Credit Union Business Administration programme to cover all aspects of setting up and managing a viable and successful Credit Union. It is piloted in the successful establishment of Dacorum First Credit Union. Credit Union establishment and development becomes another regular CAN activity

1998 CAN carry out a feasibility study and business planning exercise on behalf of the Hertfordshire Regeneration Partnership that results in the establishment of a craft workers co-operative. This marks the beginning of increasing CAN involvement with Single Regeneration Bid projects. CAN are consultants in the setting up of East Anglia Food Link. This triggers an increasing involvement in rural issues such as the setting up of rural labour co-operatives, sustainable agriculture projects and local food markets.

1999 CAN reaches its tenth birthday. It celebrates by sitting down with first-ever customer, Essex County Council, to draw up a plan for social economy development in the county for the next ten years. Later in the year Greenwich CDA become CAN's one hundredth customer when CAN takes on delivery of a part of their SRB funded social enterprise start-up project. CAN is part of a partnership from across Europe to develop a training and support resource for people establishing social firms (Social Enterprise Employment Development).

2000 CAN develops the Credit Union variant of the Co-operative Certificate of Business Administration and pilots it as part of a successful project to establish a new Credit Union in Hertfordshire.

2001 On behalf of Social Firms UK, CAN facilitate the development of regional social firm support organisation Social Firms Eastern Region, and obtain its first project funding. CAN are business planning and management systems consultants to Greenwich Waterfront Credit Union, one of the first to achieve registration with the Financial Services Authority.

2002 On behalf of Greenwich CDA, CAN develops a training and support package to build the capacity of community groups to have "funding ready" financial administration and management. CAN launch the Social Enterprise Start-Up Program, aimed at empowering social entrepreneurs to establish sustainable social enterprises of all kinds. CAN becomes a member of the Open College Network and harmonises all its training to be compatible with the OCN accreditation system so that trainees are able to receive certification of their achievements

2003 CAN are founder members of South-East Co-operative Support, a strategic support organisation for social enterprise development in the south-eastern region. The Social Enterprise Start-Up Programme is accredited by OCN South-Central to level II of the OCN framework. CAN sets up its "International Division" working with a Belgian Company to turn subsidiaries into co-operatives.

2004 Succession London is launched with CAN agreeing to provide development services. The consortium will provide professional services to companies and proprietors wishing to sell their business to the employees. CAN completes a Research and Feasibility Study into the provision of a Social Enterprise Business Incubator in West Howe, Bournemouth. CAN develops a Delivery Plan for Social Enterprise Support for the wider West of England, in a piece of work managed by Avon Co-operative Development Agency for RISE (Regional Infrastructure for the Social Economy in the South West).

2005 Mapping exercises to establish the extent and nature of social economy organisations are carried out in South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset. A Development Needs Analysis of the Bristol Co-operative Sector is carried out for Avon CDA. This benchmark study will guide service delivery for the foreseeable future. CAN goes on to analyse how an “excellent service” would be created and delivered to meet these needs to guide the development of the CDA itself. New training courses are developed and piloted in Hereford, Worcester and Luton to assist Voluntary Sector Infrastructure organisations as they “change up” to assist their clients to become more enterprising, or establish social enterprises. New training is developed and piloted in Southampton to assist Community Development Workers and local champions to recognise potential for social enterprise development and work with local groups and social enterprise professionals to support the development process. Business Link for Wessex and the Co-operative Group jointly commission CAN to deliver support to new-start co-operatives and social enterprises in Dorset. CAN delivers Co-operative Governance and Participation workshops on behalf of Co-operatives UK throughout Southern England.

2006 A 4-day variant of the Social Enterprise Start Up programme is delivered to clients of Business Link in Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight. The acclaimed 4-day course is supplemented with Master Classes in Funding & Investment Acquisition and Social Accounting. More here.... As a member of South East Co-operative Support, CAN delivers management and governance training and support to Co-operatives in the South East of England. The work is commissioned by Co-operatives South East and funded by South East England Development Agency and European Social Fund.

2007 Business advisers and call staff working for Business Links in the South East attend CAN's Introduction to Social Enterprise training day. CAN and fellow worker co-operative Ealing Business Services collaborate to launch the Trading Up Initiative. It provides a one-stop consultancy and training service for the Voluntary and Community Sector moving into Enterprising activity, and draws on the wealth of experience both organisations have in the field. CAN are engaged by Co-operatives UK to develop the Worker Co-operative Code of Good Governance. Social Enterprise Works ask CAN to evaluate their Community Business Development Programme. Infinity Wholefood Co-operative Limited engage CAN to work on a two-year project to overhaul and enhance all their personnel policies practices and procedures.

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