Dr. Jon Walker

Jon Walker has over thirty years experience working in the co-operative business sector. He has established and co-managed a range of businesses including retail outlets, a small-scale manufacturing plant, a warehouse and a chain of supermarkets dealing mainly with wholefood, organic and fairly-traded products. Concurrently, Jon has lectured, published, consulted and provided training courses in both private and public sectors, on organisational structures.

In particular Jon has pioneered the use of innovative organisational techniques known as the Viable Systems Model, in both large cooperatives and an eco-community. The resulting organisational changes have resulted in working practices which are both efficient whilst at the same time being based on principles of participation and individual creativity and autonomy.

Jon is based in Yorkshire where he continues to have direct involvement with the co-operative food sector there, in particular in developing food networks that serve local communities. Nationally, he is working with the Transition Network, the Permaculture Association and the Cooperative Group.

Major Achievements:

·          Establishing three cooperatives all of which were handed over to their members as flourishing businesses.

·          Taking the Out of this World retail chain from a lossmaking business into profit whilst General Manager of the business.

·          Researching and successfully applying the Viable Systems Model – a comprehensive organisational modelling tool - to large cooperatives and to an eco-community.

Current Employment History:

2009 – present              Director, Green Valley Grocer, Slaithwaite.  Founder member of a new community-owned  greengrocer and wholefood shop. 

2008 – present             Core Group member, MASTT (Marsden and Slaithwaite Transition Town) . Jon organised Local Food Day for Marsden and Slaithwaite Transition Town in October 2008 in order to promote the initiative. He has persuaded a local grower to open his farm to visitors once a week. 

2007 – present             Senior Consultant, Community Viewfinders Ltd. Jon has worked on a number of assignments, for clients including the Soil Association, Milton Keynes Global Centre, the Transition Network, Shared Earth, and the Robert Owen Banking Partnership, Permaculture Association, the Co-operative Group, and the Global Climate Trust.

2002 – present               Director, SciO (Systems and Cybernetics in Organisations). Consultancy offering courses and continuing the development work of deceased academic Stafford Beer.

2002 – present               Academic author.  Have published several papers  on  complexity  theory, organisational cybernetics,   participation and sustainability.

Education:

·          Aston University, 1972 – 1976, PhD  in Cybernetics.

·          Exeter University, 1967 – 1971, B.Sc. (Hons, First class), Engineering Science

Interests and Activities:

Alongside his busy working life, Jon spends as much time as possible with his family and friends in the local community in the Colne Valley. He is a keen gardener, continues to retrofit energy efficient materials into his home, and is very slowly rebuilding a 1933 Austin 7.