Perspectives

Winter 2021 – Roadmap For Change

In recent issues of the Cooperative Business Journal, we have focused on how we are in a cooperative moment, a time when more and more people feel the need to be empowered in their businesses and economy. Readers of this publication know that cooperatives are a proven strategy for providing people the tools to impact their local communities and their business sectors. And this past year has brought into stark focus the need for change—to close the gap on inequality, address systemic racism, build resilience in the face of climate change, and respond to the changing nature of work.

In this issue of the Journal, we dig into some of the ways co-ops can be the agents for this change. From Kate Latour, we learn how worker ownership provides an avenue for wealth-building among Black women. From Adam Trott, we find out how cooperative associations are necessary forces for transformational change. During a conversation with Curtis Wynn, we hear how electric cooperatives are meeting today’s challenges.

And finally, we present a report on policies that can enable cooperatives to drive this change by building more inclusive local economies. Deeply informed by 11 roundtables held between 2019 and 2020 with co-op leaders across the country, the Urban Institute’s report provides specific tactics and policies needed for cooperatives to reach their full potential. This report was funded by the Cooperative Development Foundation in partnership with the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, with original funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

With these examples and this policy report, this issue provides a roadmap for how cooperatives can be a catalyst for change.