Survey on coworking in Europe in 2010

This 2010 Coworking Europe conference deck presented survey findings on the emergence and characteristics of coworking spaces across Europe. Prepared by Jean-Yves Huwart of Enterprise Globale and Katarzyna Szkuta and David Osimo of Tech4i2, it mapped responding locations and used the survey sample to estimate growth from 22 spaces established before 2008 to 120 in 2010. The deck described a sector composed mainly of small operations: 52% of surveyed spaces had eight to 19 seats, while 23% had 20 to 49 seats. It reported that 75% operated as commercial companies, compared with 13% as nonprofit organisations and 2% as public agencies. Revenue came primarily from subscriptions and related commercial activities rather than subsidies. The survey also examined collaboration and creativity within coworking communities, reporting that 87% of spaces had seen coworkers start a new project with people they met there. Alongside the quantitative findings, the presentation outlined potential European policy implications, including entrepreneurship, innovation, urban renewal, telework, lifelong learning, flexible employment, active ageing and social innovation.

Key findings

• The deck estimated that the number of coworking spaces in Europe rose from 22 before 2008 to 120 in 2010, based on extrapolation from the survey sample.
• Commercial companies accounted for 75% of surveyed spaces, while nonprofit organisations accounted for 13%, public agencies for 2% and other models for 23%.
• Among surveyed spaces, 87% reported that coworkers had started a new project with other coworkers they met in the space.

Presented by Jean-Yves Huwart, Katarzyna Szkuta and David Osimo, Enterprise Globale and Tech4i2, at Coworking Europe 2010