San Francisco Bay Area Blueprint: Worker Cooperative Academy Design Framework. The Bay Area Coop Academy is one component of the Bay Area Blueprint. A collaborative year-long effort starting in April 2014, the Blueprint looks at three pathways to worker ownership for Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) workers: Small business cooperative entrepreneurship (the focus of the Coop Academy) Scalable worker coops startups, and Conversions of existing businesses to worker ownership Depending on the success of the Coop Academy pilot, we may seek ways to make it an ongoing program. As part of the Blueprint, we are also undertaking a related effort to design a course on cooperatives at Laney College. This document is a design framework for the pilot run of the Coop Academy. The framework is meant to be flexible so that final design of the program can be responsive to participants’ needs.

1. 1
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
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Bay
Area
Blueprint
Crea9ng
Pathways
to
Ownership
for
Low
and
Moderate
Income
Workers
in
the
Inner
East
Bay
Design
Framework

2. 2
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
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Coop
Academy
Overview
The
Bay
Area
Coop
Academy
is
one
component
of
the
Bay
Area
Blueprint.
A
collabora9ve
year-­‐long
effort
star9ng
in
April
2014,
the
Blueprint
looks
at
three
pathways
to
worker
ownership
for
Low-­‐
to
Moderate-­‐Income
(LMI)
workers:
• Small
business
coopera9ve
entrepreneurship
(the
focus
of
the
Coop
Academy)
• Scalable
worker
coops
startups,
and
• Conversions
of
exis9ng
businesses
to
worker
ownership
Depending
on
the
success
of
the
Coop
Academy
pilot,
we
may
seek
ways
to
make
it
an
ongoing
program.
As
part
of
the
Blueprint,
we
are
also
undertaking
a
related
effort
to
design
a
course
on
coopera9ves
at
Laney
College.
This
document
is
a
design
framework
for
the
pilot
run
of
the
Coop
Academy.
The
framework
is
meant
to
be
flexible
so
that
final
design
of
the
program
can
be
responsive
to
par9cipants’
needs.

3. 3
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
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Design
Framework
Par9cipants
Curriculum
Instructors,
Mentors,
Coaches
Delivery
Coop
Academy
Components

4. 4
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
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License.
1.
ObjecBves
2.
ParBcipant
Profile
4.
Curriculum
Framework
3.
Outreach
&
SelecBon
Process
5.
Instructor
&
Mentor
Profile
Coop
Academy
Design
Framework

5. 5
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
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• Expose
LMI
community
members
in
the
Inner
East
Bay
to
the
coopera9ve
business
model
– 120-­‐160
people
par9cipate
in
phase
1
(outreach
and
recruitment)
• Help
3-­‐5
worker
coops
launch
or
grow
– 5-­‐7
teams
of
3
par9cipate
in
phases
2
&
3
(classroom
cohort
and
follow-­‐up
coaching
for
advanced
graduates)
– Aiming
for
~15-­‐20
par9cipants
total
Coop
Academy
1.
ObjecBves

6. 6
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
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License.
Coop
Academy
2.
ParBcipant
Profile
• Individuals
directly
engaged
with
crea9ng
or
growing
worker-­‐
owned
coopera9ve
businesses
– Coop
founders
– Members
of
growing
coops
– Coop
developers
• Teams
with
strong
poten9al
for
business
success
&
job
crea9on
for
low-­‐
to
moderate-­‐income
workers
– Planned
or
exis9ng
coopera9ves
commi;ed
to
growth
– Highly
likely
to
transfer
Academy
training
to
new
job
crea9on
(business
launch
or
growth)
in
the
near
future

7. 7
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
3.
Outreach
&
SelecBon
Process
• Outreach
and
networking
(April
–
May)
– Generate
interest
– Learn
about
universe
of
poten9al
applicants
– Get
input
on
design
• Invita9on
to
apply
(June)
– Learn
about
prospec9ve
par9cipants’
strengths,
hopes,
ques9ons,
and
needs;
gauge
level
of
interest
and
fit
– Refine
design
concepts
to
address
needs
– Finalize
program
offering,
requirements
and
applica9on

8. 8
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
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License.
Coop
Academy
3.
Outreach
&
SelecBon
Process,
conBnued
• Teams
submit
applica9ons
– First
applica9on
deadline:
July
11
– Rolling
applica9ons
accepted
through
August
1
• Team
interviews
– July
21
–
August
8
• Par9cipants
selected
/
invited
– August
15
–
September
1
– Target:
5-­‐7
teams
commit
to
program
by
mid
to
late
August

9. 9
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
• The
curriculum
framework
is
designed
as
a
menu,
to
enable
the
specific
curriculum
delivery
to
be
tailored
to
the
group
of
par9cipants.
• We
may
tailor
the
classroom
por9on
of
the
Academy
to
fit
the
needs
of
our
cohort
and
individual
par9cipants
by
making
some
classes
required
and
others
op9onal;
in
this
case,
we
will
work
with
each
team
to
determine
which
of
the
op9onal
sessions
they
will
a;end.

10. 10
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
Business
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• Business
feasibility
and
planning
• Business
model
and
strategy
• Marke9ng
• Business
financing
• Financial
planning
and
management
• Growth
planning
• Surplus,
profits
and
taxa9on
of
coopera9ves
• Balancing
business
and
social
goals

11. 11
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
People
&
Culture
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• Construc9ve
communica9on
• Self
management
• Conflict
management
• Hiring,
firing
and
evalua9ng
employees,
candidates
for
membership
and
worker-­‐owners
• Employee
à
Worker-­‐owner
transi9on
• Building
a
healthy
organiza9onal
culture
for
the
long
haul

12. 12
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
CooperaBves
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• Coopera9ve
principles
• History
of
coops
in
the
United
States
and
around
the
world
• Site
visits
to
Bay
Area
coops

13. 13
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
Governance
and
Management
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• Management
models,
roles
and
processes
• Governance
op9ons
• Leadership
issues
in
coops
• Decision
making
prac9ces
• Effec9ve
mee9ng
prac9ces

14. 14
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
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Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
Legal
aspects
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• En9ty
forma9on
• Raising
capital
• Corporate
governance
• Employment
law
issues
• Taxa9on
of
coopera9ves

15. 15
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
4.0
Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
4.
Curriculum
Framework
Content
Area:
Coop
Development
Menu
of
topics,
adaptable
to
par3cipants’
needs
• Coop
development
cycle
from
feasibility
to
maturity
• Pros,
cons
&
ethics
of
different
development
models
• Components
of
a
development
process:
TA,
training,
management,
governance,
other
• Defining
roles
and
authority
of
developer
and
coop
• Resourcing
a
development
process:
funding
and
other
resources

16. 16
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
4.0
Interna9onal
License.
Coop
Academy
5.
Instructor
&
Mentor
Profile
• Instructors
– Knowledgeable
about
content
– Able
to
adapt
to
help
par9cipants
apply
concepts
to
their
businesses
– Skilled
in
par9cipatory,
problem-­‐based
teaching
techniques
(popular
educa9on)
• Mentors
– Successful
coops
or
small
businesses
suppor9ve
of
coop
model
– Strong
prac99oners
in
at
least
one
content
area
– Industry
match
with
Mentees,
where
possible

17. 17
Worker
Coop
Academy
Design
by
Blueprint
Collabora9ve
is
licensed
under
a
Crea9ve
Commons
A;ribu9on-­‐NonCommercial-­‐
ShareAlike
4.0
Interna9onal
License.
For
more
informaBon,
visit
SELC’s
website:
www.theselc.org/worker-­‐cooperaBve-­‐academy
A
project
of
the
Blueprint
CollaboraBve