Wikipedia talk:Articles for deletion/FairShares Association

I would like to challenge the decision to delete this page on the basis that the information was independently verified by people with no connection to the leadership of the association, and sources to documents that provided this verification were provided in the article in accordance with Wikipedia guidelines.

The information is reliable - it has been verified independently by people who have no leadership role in the FairShares Association. Specifically, the formation of the FairShares Association and its connection to Internationally excellent research was verified by staff at Sheffield Hallam University. Sheffield Business School submitted two 'impact cases' in 2014 - a reference to this impact case was provided in the article about the FairShares Association.

This impact case was authored by myself and Dr Tracey Coule (who has no role in the association). It was further checked by Professor Suzanne Tietze (Head of Research, Sheffifeld Business School), Professor John McAuley, Dr Anita Gurney (Research and Innovation Office, Sheffield Hallam University), Professor Adrian Hopgood (Dean of Sheffield Business School), and Professor Paul Lawless (Faculty of Development and Society, Sheffield Hallam University). An impact case in the UK Research Excellence submission is a research product of a university, whether or not a person with a role in the association is involved in its preparation. It goes through a peer-review process that is far more rigorous than most journal articles and is features on the website (and public record) of the university.

The Wikipedia article was also supported by references to peer-reviewed academic research about the FairShares Model that has been entered into Sheffield Hallam University's research archive. The co-author for this paper - Mike Bull of Manchester Metropolitan University - has no connection to the FairShares Association (he is not a member, not a founder and not part of its leadership team). His involvement in research on the FairShares Model was precisely to provide a third-party view of its development and significance. Since that first paper, a second paper has been written with Mike Bull attesting to the historical significance of the FairShares Model. It is currently going through peer-review for the journal Business History.

The EU Commission has already recognised - independently - the value of the work of the FairShares Association. It funded an innovation project that included Co-operative and Social Enterprise Support Ltd (the UK's first FairShares Company) - it's role in this project is to brief other European partners about the work of the FairShares Association. This provides further independent scrutiny of its value. There are several more EU bids in progress that will include further scrutiny and work on FairShares - these involve partners in France, Germany, Crotia and Indonesia.

The first FairShares Association Conference will take place in July at Sheffield Business School (see www.fairshares-conf2014.eventbrite.co.uk to confirm this.

We believe that Wikipedia editors should also consider the information was added to Wikipedia by a Reader (i.e. an internationally recognised researcher in the field). A Reader in the UK is equivalent to a Professor in most countries. Whilst I do have a connection to the founding group of the association, and it uses my research products, my role is to provide academic input. I am not a paid member of the association, and receive no compensation from it. Several outputs about it have been authored by myself and logged in the university's research archive, including model articles of association licensed to the association that are the product of decades of research on social enterprise governance.