the sharing economy - training toolkit based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

MARCO TORREGROSSAManaging Director

Euro Freelancers & European Sharing Economy Coalition

The Sharing EconomyTraining Toolkit Based on Strength, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

Summary

1. Definition

2. Examples

3. Characteristics

4. Technology

5. Business

6. Regulation

7. Sustainability

8. Developments

9. Freelance Economy

Definition

The Sharing Economy

“A social and economic system driven by network technologies and peer communities that enables the sharing of underutilised assets from space to skills to objects and money, transforming how we produce, consume, finance and learn”.

Source: Collaborative Lab

Source: Collaborative Lab

Source: ShareNL and What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption.

Underlining Principles

Optimisation of underutilised assets (tangible and intangible) with idle capacity

Shift from individual ownership to shared access Disaggregated physical assets consumed as services P2P marketplaces Horizontal value chains Collaborative digital technologies Trust between strangers More convenience, choices and empowerment of

people leading to increased productivity and economic growth

It is Already Happening …

Source: Aldo de Jong, Claro Partners

The 3 Systems of the Sharing Economy

1. Redistribution Markets redistribute things from where they are not needed to someone or somewhere they’re needed.

– Examples include eBay (auction site), Craigslist (local classified ads), Swap.com and niche marketplaces such as 99dresses (clothes), thredUP(children’s clothing), yerdle (various)

2. Product Service Systems allow members to pay for the benefit of using a product without needing to own it outright.

– Examples include Zipcar, Getable, Snapgoods, RelayRides, City CarShare, Velib, bicycle sharing platforms

3. Collaborative Lifestyles platforms allow for the sharing and exchange of less tangible assets such as time, skills, money, experiences or space.

– Examples include Skillshare, Airbnb, TaskRabbit, Lending Club, LiquidSpace, Vayable, time banks and local exchange systems such as Sel du Lac

Source: Young Global Leaders Sharing Economy Dialogue Position Paper 2013

Worldwide Blurred Distinctions

Professional and personal life

Public and private sectors

Manufacturing and services

Science and society

Multinationals and small businesses

“Proprietas” and “Usus”

Examples

Selected Examples of Sharing Economy Disruptions

Retailers disrupted by -> Zilok (peer2peer goods exchanges)

Hospitality disrupted by -> Airbnb (peer2peer accomodation)

Banks disrupted by -> Zopa (peer2peer money lending)

Transportation disrupted by -> Zipcar (peer2peer cars rental)

Staffing disrupted by -> Taskrabbit (peer2peer services)

Universities disrupted by -> Skillshare (peer2peer skills)

Design disrupted by -> 99design (peer2peer graphic design)

Journalism disrupted by GrassWire (peer2peer newsroom)

Selected Examples of Sharing Economy Disruptions (Continued)

Food disrupted by -> Feastly (peer2peer meals)

Clothing disrupted by -> sixosix (peer2peer cloths exchange)

Art disrupted by -> getARTup (peer2peer art exchange)

Office Rental disrupted by -> liquidspace (co-working places)

Dating disrupted by -> Rent a Friend (peer2peer friendship)

Travelling disrupted by -> Easynest (peer2peer travel costs sharing)

Volunteering disrupted by -> TimeRepublik (peer2peer volunteering)

Manufacturing disrupted by -> 3D Printing (co-creation manufacturing

Sharing Economy Recent Success

Source: Ouishare

Source: Collaborative Lab

Characteristics

The Sharing Economy Drivers (Social)

Renewed belief in the importance of the community (virtual and real) with sense of togetherness, intimacy, trust

Population growth: more people - smaller spaces - less stuff

Shift in power balance from centralised organisations to distributed networks of people

Global recession that has shocked consumers behaviours (instability forces change)

Independent lifestyle trend above all among young, IT savvy and urban people

Active citizenship

Disillusionment with consumerist culture

The Sharing Economy Drivers (Economic)

Monetise excess and the idling capacity of assets

Need to reduce carbon footprint by sharing assets, stretching the life cycle of a product and reducing waste

Rising costs of production and of living, e.g. energy, food prices

Influx of VC Funding

Economic disparities and shifting of resources

Inaccessible luxury items

Pervasive unemployment

The Sharing Economy Drivers (Technological)

Peer to peer social networks

Mobile and real time technologies

Peer to peer payments

Internet of things

Overarching Drivers

Convenience

Costs saving

Desire for authentic experiences

Desire for quality goods and services

The Sharing Economy Appeal

Lower costs: only buying/maintaining one thing

Less is more: own something, swap for a lot,

Space saving: there is only that much you can fit under your bed

Total venture investments in sharing economy start-ups topped $431 million in 2012, continuing an upward

trend dating back to 2007 !

The Sharing Economy Consequences

More efficient allocation of underutilized resources

Favourable effects on competition, forcing traditional suppliers to innovate and reduce their prices

Greater consumer choice with lower transaction costs

New distribution lines to support multi-user product life cycles

Increases happiness and contentment due to positive social interactions

Expands consumption (more variety)

Lowers barriers to entrepreneurship

Fosters local production, exchanges, investments

Shifts power from top down, from centralized institutions to decentralized, connected communities and distributed networks

Organisational Shift

Where The Sharing Economy Works Best

The asset needs to become “liquid,” i.e. easy to share e.g. spaces and skills

The asset needs to have high idling capacity, i.e. low frequency of use e.g. cars or spare spaces

Assets that are expensive to own outright e.g. solar panels and luxury goods

Assets that quickly become obsolete e.g. baby goods and maternity-related clothing and products

Assets that have no demand or supply limitations, or whose value increases because of the fact it is shared e.g. travel experiences

Technology

The 3 Phases of Internet Evolution

Source: The Sharing Economy, Torben Rick

Power of Technology for the Sharing Economy

Increased efficiency

Enables to build trust/accountability among strangers

Peer to peer reviews and stars rating systems

How Trust is Built Online

Identity verification systems

Social network integration

Similar interests and values

Comments, rating and reviews

OLAF BLECKER

Online Reputation Data to Build Trust among Strangers

Extraction and aggregation of online reputation

Reputation capital as a credit to spend via data banks beyond market places

New forms of payment like virtual or peer-to-peer currency (Bitcoin) or social capital (Klout)

Privacy concerns

How to Measure Trust

Source: Aldo de Jong, Claro Partners

Challenges of Online Reputation

Is trust universal accross different types of sharing platforms?

Can I trust the „trust platform“ that is collecting all my data?

How will this data be used?

Do these trust aggregation platforms foster control, rather than trust?

Source: Francesca Pick, OuiShare

“The original idea of the web was that itshould be a collaborative space whereyou can communicate through sharinginformation.”

-Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web

Business

The 4 “I” Areas Ripe for Disruption

1. Infrastructures 2. IntermediariesComplex

Dictating Distributions

Non interactive

Enticing control

Monopolistic

Redundant

Diffused

Unwanted

Inappropriate

Expensive

3. Inventories 4. InstitutionalisationsCentralised

Enclosed

Burdensome

Locked in

Proprietary

Pervasive

Hierarchical

Broken trust

Unempowering

Inaccessible

Undemocratised

Recipe for Disruption

Follow an approach that makes it more accessible, more affordable, faster and with higher quality for a large group of people to do what matters to them.

Develop a way of offering a product or service that is difficult for others to replicate, keeping costs radically lower than competitors.

Tackle markets that existing companies are motivated to exit or ignore because they are unprofitable or seemingly too small to matter.

How Companies Get Involved in the Sharing Economy

Partnerships Investment Business model reinvention Tapping into the crowd (crowdsourcing)

Examples from Big Companies Tapping into Sharing Economy

Nike (runners communities) Virgin Atlantic (sharing luggage space) Lego (pley, renting lego sets) Groupon (collective buyers power) French Post (digital identities for registered letters) Quirky (user-submitted ideas to the company via

virtual platforms) Starbucks (crowdsourcing design) Dell (crowdsourcing product specifications) Google Helpouts (skills sharing)

Sharing Economy Partnership Examples

Marriott and Liquid Space Google and Lending Club BMW and ParkatmyHouse GM and RelayRides Ebay and Patagonia GE and Quirky Philips and Indiegogo Walgreens and TaskRabbit Western Union and Airbnb Home Depot and Uber Kelly Services and oDesk DHL and MyWays Uniliver and Carrotmob Lufthansa and Home Exchange

“The secondhand market opens up [our] brand to a lot of people who can’t afford to buy it first-hand. In a way, it opens up a market to us that we might not have otherwise had.”

–Vincent Stanley, Patagonia

Business Models

Traditional selling for consumption is no longer the only viable business model. New models of access over traditional ownership include:

Rental

On-demand

Freemium

Subscription

Membership usage

Try-and-buy

Source: Collaborative Lab

Source: Aldo de Jong, Claro Partners

Source: Aldo de Jong, Claro Partners

Industrial Capitalism Sharing Economy

Access controlled by few Empower individuals

Cantralised Distributed

Monopoly Participative

Competitive advantage Open innovation

Individual customer Network

Design and deliver a product Design exchanges of services

How Companies can Embrace the Sharing Economy and Stay Profitable

Adapt business model to become a service: sell access to goods instead of ownership of those goods e.g. renting, subscribing, premium memberships, loyalty programs etc

Connect P2P buyers and sellers by encouraging and motivating a virtual marketplace

Enable customers to give feedback and build value to company brands via online platform

Source: Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter Group

Source: Javi Creaus, Ideas for Change

Benefits for Companies

More efficient, as the crowd helps you to create, distribute and sell your products

Sell same product multiple times Show durability of their products, commitment to

sustainability, a thriving community A long-term extended relationship with customers Serve new market segments Drive trial among prospective customers New value created between people, means new

revenues

Benefits for Companies (Continued)

Tap into repeated business transactions Additional cost of producing other units is very low

if redistribution markets are in place Strengten brand and competitive service Collect more users feedback and improve service If you act now, you will have first mover advantage Own no inventory, warehouses, distribution centers

or other ancillary overhead required for most traditional business models to operate

Shifting liability to providers and users

How to Turn Businesses into Platforms

Identify an idle asset

Allow customisation

Prolong product life-cycle

Allow multi-user interaction

Let users and providers rate each other

Marketplace Examples

Source: Jeremiah Owyang, Crowd Companies

Consumers Shift

Customers are becoming:

Sellers

Producers

Distributors

Lenders

Teachers

Customers are beginning to act like:

Hotels

Restaurants

Transport operators

Manufacturers

Banks

Universities

Common Reasons for Start-up Failures

Difficulty in building a critical mass of supply and demand

Difficulty in creating the inventory (especially with geographical dispersion)

Higher-than-expected operating costs (customer service, insurance, lobbying, customer acquisition, security, etc)

Competition from free alternatives

Customers sidestepping the middleman platform

Too much revenue going back to suppliers

Mounting opposition from conventional industry groups

Neglecting advocacy for regulatory change

Regulation

Regulations and the Sharing Economy

Why the regulators' sudden interest?

Scale: The rule enforcers are beginning to realize just how big the collaborative marketplace is growing.

Cash: As collaborative start-ups begin to monetise, governments smell taxable revenue.

Consumer Protection: Consumers and providers need an element of legal protection to exchange services between themselves.

Opportunities for a “Sharing City”

High population density and more assets to share Tackling congestion and efficient use of space Setting up sharable infrastructures (e.g. smart grids for

renewable energy generation) Bringing together residents and neighbourhoods Redefining public services, innovation and civic

engagement Commissioning studies on sharing assets within the city

and set up working groups to identify opportunities Incentivising public investments (grants, subsidies) Investing in co-creation centres and sharing of public

spaces

Seoul, South Korea: The Self Proclaimed “Sharing City”

Act No. 5396 (Act for Promoting Sharing)

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has declared the Sharing City as a new city paradigm. On 20 September 2012, the government disclosed its plan for promoting the “Sharing City Seoul” project, which includes 20 sharing programs and policies for generating or diffusing infrastructure to promote and enable sharing-based platforms.

The Shareable Cities Resolution in US

The Resolution was adopted by the US Conference of Mayors in June 2013! The resolution, co-sponsored by fifteen mayors including Mayor Lee of San Francisco and Mayor Bloomberg of New York City, states that:

“mayors resolve to make their cities more shareable, encourage better understanding of the sharing economy, and create local task forces to review and address regulations that may hinder participation in the sharing economy.”

Questions for Cities in the EU What opportunities to pass a similar resolution or a manifesto among the

cities signatories of the EU Covenant of Mayors?

What shared infrastructures and urban development plans are needed to help the sharing economy take root at city level?

What department, agency, working group or other vehicle is needed to lead collaborative economy strategy and vision within the local government?

Does your city have any plans to do a systematic mappings, an impact assessment or life-cycle analysis of its own assets which have idling capacity and/or might be shared?

Does your city have any plans to create a hyper-local directory of examples in the collaborative economy?

How can your city promote or create sharing economy platforms and public/private partnerships with start-ups in this space?

How can the sharing economy help to achieve your city’s targets in the framework of other initiatives e.g. carbon reduction, climate action plans, Covenant of Mayors, recycling, regeneration, resource efficiency?

How can your city mitigate the impact of existing outdated regulations that unintentionally obstruct collaborative ventures and new business models?

Questions for Cities in the EU (Continued)

How can your city incentivise public investments and community-focused financing mechanisms in the sharing economy ecosystem e.g. investing in incubators and accelerators, research projects, building capacity of collaborative economy companies, networks and cooperatives, shared infrastructures, micro-entrepreneurship, social innovation etc?

How can your city regulate on the sharing economy on a sector-by-sector basis, incorporating feedback from collaborative companies, end-users and involving a broad set of stakeholders in consultations?

How could your city take the lead in the creation of a “Shareable Cities Network” at EU level?

Under which existing EU city network can sharing cities be embedded or incubated?

What plans does your city have to review/establish laws in the field of taxation, zoning, insurance and licensing to allow the sharing economy to scale?

What collaborative sectors have the greatest traction in your city among shareable transportation, housing, food and retail or others and how to leverage their outreach?

How does your local procurement system favour public tenders with criteria that include shareability or collaboration?

Examples of PPPs Between Cities and Sharing Economy Enterprises

Bike/car sharing infrastructures and pick up points

Smart grids for renewable energy excess output sharing

Empty public buildings utilisation

Partnership for emergency preparedness (e.g. airbnb & San Francisco during superstorm Sandy)

Reallocation of redundant workers to maker spaces

Local group purchasing platforms for consumers

Investment in co-working spaces

Establishment of hubs for reusable products diverted from landfill

The EU and the Sharing Economy

Some common goals:

1. Increase resource efficiency

2. Create jobs and prosperity

3. Build community participation

4. Advance social innovation

Great opportunity to combine efforts around joint priorities and mainstream a stronger, more resilient Europe in view of meeting the EU2020 objectives.

The EU 2020 Strategy and the Sharing Economy

“The consumption of goods and services should take place in accordance with smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and should also have an impact on job creation, productivity and economic, social and territorial cohesion".

- EU 2020Strategy

Taxation

Insurance

Labour

Licensing / Permitting

Health and safety

Digital

Liability

Zoning

Consumer protection

Environment

Certification

Data privacy

Patents

IPR

Finance

Regulatory Topics Impacting the Sharing Economy

EU Policies and the Sharing Economy

Problem: Current lack of tailored European policy frameworks and institutional support for regulating this new sector. Absence of regulatory measures creates uncertainty that may inhibit investments and development of the sector and can result in companies trying to exploiting loopholes in the legislative vacuum, damaging consumer trust.

Solution: The European Sharing Economy Coalition aims to inspire European policy makers by providing them with a tangible narrative, available scalable solutions and an innovative vision for faster adoption of the Sharing

Economy across policies, sectors and markets in Europe.

The European Sharing Economy Coalition

The Coalition promotes and monitors progress towards European and national policy that:

Mainstream the Sharing Economy

By campaigning to raise awareness, improve visibility and build capacity of community and policy leaders.

Sustain the Sharing EconomyBy advocating for fair and sensible regulations, ensuring the Sharing Economy becomes a political priority at European level.

Scale Up the Sharing Economy

By promoting leadership and best practice exchange, aiming towards scalability and transferability in the EU.

Invest in the Sharing Economy

By raising EU funding to kick start relevant pilot projects and platforms all over Europe, above all in cities.

MA S S IVE

Recommendations for EU Policy Makers

Create an environmental for sharing economy enterprises to grow given the economic benefits they bring. If necessary, pursue smart and targeted regulations.

Treat sharing economy enterprises as facilitators in a p2p marketplace, not as traditional employers.

Legislate only as a complement, when there are gaps (market failures).

Create a level playing field among p2p business and traditional businesses.

Measure impact and make policy decisions that are data-driven and flexible given the pace of change in this new market.

Facilitate a mechanisms for local authorities and cities to learn about the sharing economy and how to develop appropriate rules and enabling infrastructures.

We have always been in a culture where more is more, and suddenly we are in a culture where less is a better quality of life. It’s pretty revolutionary.

-Bill Stewart, VP Customer Care at Sunrun

Sustainability

Global Consumption Trends

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Current World Resource Consumption

Market forces rather than human needs dictates the distribution of resources, goods and services

Commercialisation has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, encouraging highly individualistic and unsustainable consumerist lifestyles

Natural resources are usurped at far greater rates than they can be replenished

At least 18 international conflicts have been triggered by competition for resources since 1990 and this is set to increase in light of a rising world population, soaring global consumption and rapidly disappearing energy supplies

Sustainability Benefits

Environmental Less resource use and CO2 emissions, if number of new products

manufactured is reduced Higher demand for good quality products, if products are to be

lend or leased, repaired, upgraded multiple times Favours eco-design for multi-user experiences, durability and

repeat customisation for shareable products

Social Enhances social interaction, community building and trust

between citizens Access to high quality products also for low income consumers Lowers barriers to entrepreneurship Helps learning new skills

Sustainability Concerns

Rebound effects (offset the sustainability benefits)

Does sharing under-utilised items leads to longer lasting and higher quality products or leads to increased and faster consumption?

Does home sharing lead to a more sustainable tourism or leads to more tourism, hence higher environmental impacts?

Does car sharing lead to more sustainable transport or the money saved from car sharing is reused into long distance travel?

Does office sharing lead to more sustainable energy use?

Does movie streaming lead to higher carbon impact coming from the intensive energy use caused by inefficient equipment?

Sustainability Concerns

May increase faster consumption, if sharing is used as trial before buying new products

May increase disposal of old items in exchange of newer ones, if shared item is cheaper and with lower quality

May increase transport, distribution, logistics and related CO2 emissions (e.g. long distance shipping and delivery of items from home to home)

May increase social disparities, social dumping and job losses

Way Forward for Sustainability and Sharing Economy

Invest in behavioural change, awareness raising campaigns and capacity building to reduce the rebound effect

Create measurement systems for the long-term positive sustainability impacts against key performance indicators

Create minimum environmental performance standards with high benchmarking potential

Commission environmental impact assessment and lifecycle analysis studies on sharing assets above all in large cities

Way Forward for Sustainability and Sharing Economy (Continued)

Support green public procurement favouring sharing economy enterprises

Introduce mandatory requirements for shareable products (e.g. minimum recyclability, reusability, upgradeability and durability)

Promote the creation of awards schemes for the most sustainable sharing economy concepts

Support the development of one sharing economy regional cluster in the EU to accelerate the innovation process

Source: April Rinne

Developments

Source: Frech & Wuest

Market Developments

Movement towards professionalism of sharing services (To Follow -> B&Bs on airbnb)

Reputation and trust to become a new currency (To Follow -> Bitcoin)

Accountability in collaborative manufacturing, more business to “police” the system and ensure equal retribution for contributors

More synergies between collaborative consumption and collaborative production (To Follow -> 3D printing, maker movement)

More removal of “middle-men” (To Follow -> from sharing companies owning the stock to peer2peer sharing)

“Shareability” criteria enacted in private procurement along the supply chain

More “unionised” type of associations for sharing economy providers (To Follow -> union of Uber drivers in Seattle)

More sharing economy companies to start CSR programs and CSR internal departments

Rising B2B sharing of manufacturing equipment (To Follow -> Floow2 in the Netherlands)

Market Developments (Continued)

More partnerships between corporates and startups in traction sectors (housing, mobility, retail, food, education) and across EU Member States (To Follow -> Marriott/Liquid Space, Google/Lending Club, BMW /ParkatmyHouse, Ebay/Patagonia, GE/Quirky)

More platforms to be shaped as cooperatives, own and financed by users and not by VCs (To Follow -> Coop Europe)

Integration with sensors development and internet of things (To Follow -> smart home appliances and mobile apps)

Increased focus on customer service for sharing enterprises (To Follow -> Uber)

More p2p providers moving into other services along the value chain (To Follow -> airbnb and hospitality industry, uber and mobility industry)

Introduction of “matchmaking in searches” type of algorithms

Aggregation of users’ data and reputation dashboard to boost trust in p2p marketplaces

Shareability index for companies

Source: Michel Bouwens, p2p Foundation

Policy Developments

“Shareability” to be effectively integrated in EU innovation policies (To Follow -> EU2020 Strategy)

More financial support from public authorities to sharing economy startups e.g. on market data collection (To Follow -> CAPs projects of DG Connect e.g. co-working spaces and new H2020 calls)

White Paper and Consultation Conclusions on Crowdfunding (To Follow -> DG Internal Market and European Crowdfunding Network)

Possible EU Commission Communication on “Collaborative and Participative Consumption” (To Follow -> DG Health & Safety – July2014)

Recognition of micro-entrepreneurship and freelancing into EU labour legislation (To Follow -> revision of Directive on Professional Qualifications)

More support for harmonised peer2peer finance legislation (To Follow -> Revision of Financial Services Directive)

Emergency response and resilience planning through sharing economy (To Follow -> DG Environment Impact Assessment Reviews)

Policy Developments (Continued)

More cross-sectoral coalitions for advocacy with a focus on top-down approaches (To Follow -> 9Flats, Wimdu, Housetrip alliance in p2p accommodation)

Network of Sharing Cities to be possibly integrated in the EU IP on Smart Cities (To Follow -> HL Sherpa Group Meeting 31/03/2014 and CoR)

More attention for end-of-life phase in current product designs, as customer will seek durable and shareable products designed for longevity (To Follow -> EU eco-design directive revision)

Sharing Economy and Freelancing Petition in European Parliament or through European Citizens Initiative (To Follow -> 2014 European post-election campaigns)

Consumers protection effectively enacted for electronic payments (To Follow -> EU Consumers Agenda and e-payment directive revision and BEUC)

Direct financial support to high speed broadband projects at local and regional level (To Follow -> EU Digital Agenda Developments)

Challenges to Overcome

Scaling up from the young, urban and IT savvy to a viable alternative for everyone and everywhere

Changing consumers’ habits and cultural barriers e.g. in new EU Member States with rising middle class

Finding a level playing field with incumbents and traditional industries e.g. hotels, transportation etc

Friction with trade unions and consumers organisations on workers and consumers rights & safety

Liabilities and the need for targeted insurance products for sharing assets

Fragmented start-up scene with uncertainty about funding after initial VC

Centralisation and potential formation of monopolies (e.g. airbnb, uber) with loss of diversity and healthy competition

Challenges to Overcome (Continued)

EU Competition legislation inhibits certain collaboration between companies (within product chains can be seen as a cartel)

Guidelines needed for public procurers in support of sharing economy enterprises

Unintended macroeconomic effects: surging prices in real estates, taxes, over-regulation

Political backing: socialistic values vs. free market capitalism

Lack of standardized reputation systems

Black market limitation

Concerns over privacy and public safety for vulnerable consumer groups

Standards on quality control and harmonisation of online terms of use

Lock out effect (exclusivity of peer to peer communities)

Technological novelty to meet social needs

Mainstreaming “beyond GDP” principles (e.g. happiness index)

Challenges to Overcome (Continued)

Application of traditional industry standards in regulations

Drawing the line between peer-to-peer sharing and conventional commercial activities

EU legislation on product planned obsolescence still to be mainstreamed

Disintermediation of services (when users bypass the platforms after first interaction)

Donation system instead of actual fees, sometimes used to circumvent legislation

Raising taxed revenues for city councils from sharing economy providers

Ensure economically disadvantaged citizens and neighbourhoods can benefit from sharing economy, not only convenience-seeking affluentswith high disposable income

Sharing transactions mostly happening among people with the same social/economic status

“Infra horam vespertinam, inter canem etlupum” - “At dusk, when one can’trecognise a dog from a wolf”

-Latin proverb

The Dark Side of the Sharing Economy

Local outreach Digital trust Members exclusivity Quasi monopolies Profit Vs non-profit Shared ownership and distributed governance Workers rights Minimum wages Health and safety Liability and consumers protection Data privacy

From Collaborative Consumption to Collaborative Creation

Collaborative Consumption (reactive) => earn some money, subsidise your belongings ownership (e.g. zipcar), have more human cantered experiences (e.g. airbnb)

Collaborative Creation (proactive) => building new skills, create a business, drive an industry, more meaningful livelihoods, create innovative solutions, jobs and new forms of wealth (not just share it)

Source: the new economics foundation

Co Financing

Co Production

Co Creation

Co Design

Co Distribution

Co Marketing

Co Selling

Co Profiting

Imagine the Power of Collaboration

Big Shift to the Sharing Economy

Me <=> We

Ownership <=> Access

Global <=> Local

Centralised <=> Distributed

Competition <=> Collaboration

Company <=> People

Advertising <=> Community

Credit <=> Reputation

Money <=> Value

B2B <=> P2P

Hyper Consumption <=> Collaborative Consumption

Freelance Economy

“There are laws for people and there are laws for business, but we are a new category, a third category, people as businesses.”

-Brian Chesky, CEO Airbnb

A Role for Freelancers

in the Sharing Economy

40%of EU’s workforce will be

freelances by 2020 and these are the users and providers powering up the sharing economy

Freelancers and the Sharing Economy

It is notion of the past that freelancers are only hinging to their professional sector. Nowadays, also because of the changing economic climate, freelancers are more adaptable, therefore suitable actors to thrive in the collaborative economy.

Despite the massive growth of freelancing, European policy makers still focus on “job” creation rather than “work” creation, an area where independent professionals actively contribute.

Targeted regulations that address freelancers in the collaborative economy are often missing, as well as platforms to supply a rotation of providers into different marketplaces.

A re-definition of outsourcing is needed to fit the sharing economy new developments.

While freelancers create much of the value on p2p marketplaces, they do not participate in the shared distribution of the value once captured through a public offering, acquisition, or other form of surplus distribution.

“A half century from now, our grandchildren are likely to look back at the era of mass employment in the market with the same sense of utter disbelief as we look upon slavery and serfdom in former times. The very idea that a human being’s worth was measured almost exclusively by his or her productive output of goods and services and material wealth will seem primitive, even barbaric, and be regarded as a terrible loss of human value to our progeny living in a highly automated world where much of life is lived on the Collaborative Commons.”

-Jeremy Rifkin, The Zero Marginal Cost Society

“The Future is already here. It’s only not widely distributed yet.”

-William Gibson

MARCO TORREGROSSAManaging Director

Euro Freelancers & European Sharing Economy Coalition

marco.torregrossa@euro-freelancers.eu

@eurofreelancers