At GICS 2025, you’re not just a spectator—you’re part of the engine of change. The Innovation Factories are immersive spaces where participants, facilitators, and experts co-create solutions in real time. Powered by Mur Web, these sessions transform live interaction into actionable strategies that cooperatives can take home and implement. This year, three Innovation Factories will focus on some of the most pressing challenges facing the cooperative movement:
Factory 1 — Empowering People To Act
Oct 27, 11:30 AM | Building a Culture of Accountability
How can cooperatives embed accountability at every level? This interactive session explores ethical frameworks, transparency initiatives, and practical strategies to reinforce responsibility. Participants will co-design approaches that strengthen trust within organizations.
Michel Séguin
Full Professor and Chairholder of the Guy-Bernier Chair of Cooperation, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Tom Skinner
Chief Operating Officer, Fair Tax Foundation, UK
Medhi El Fettami
Strategy Manager, Impact ON, Canada
Factory 2 — Building Trust Together
Oct 27, 4:00 PM | Cooperatives in the Digital Age: Challenges, Opportunities, and Collective Strategies
Digital transformation brings both promise and risk. This Factory invites participants to explore how cooperatives can harness technology, protect members, and share digital assets collectively. Together, participants will identify strategies to ensure the cooperative model thrives in a digital-first world.
Jacob Matthew Drum
Director, Member Engagement and Executive Support, The Consortium for Collective Enterprise Cooperation, Canada
Violetta Nafpaktiti
CEO, Dot Coop, UK
Olivier Clyti
Director of Strategy, CSR, Digital, InVivo, France
Factory 3 — Co-Creating Inclusive and Sustainable Change
Oct 28, 11:15 AM | Ethical And Sustainable Financing To Support The Cooperative Transition
This interactive, co-creative session will feature the world premiere live demonstration of Coop Exchange, a groundbreaking digital platform for cooperative investment. Participants will explore the shift from extractive to regenerative finance and discover how cooperatives can lead this transformation. Using the platform, they will identify concrete strategies to align financial activities with environmental and social goals, support ecological transition, and adopt innovative instruments like green bonds. Every idea generated will be captured and shared with the group, turning collective insights into actionable solutions.
Arthur Bruel
Television host and journalist, United Kingdom
Joe Sandford-Hughes
Head of Development, Coop Exchange, UK
Aaron Stewart
Group General Counsel & Deputy CEO, Coop Exchange, UK
Across all three Factories, active participation is the priority: with Q&A, live voting, quizzes, word clouds, and real-time feedback, every voice in the room shapes the outcome. Together, we’ll turn collective intelligence into practical solutions that strengthen cooperatives worldwide.
👉 The Innovation Factories are not just workshops—they’re engines of change. Join in, contribute, and leave with ideas ready to put into action.
