Develop a community of learning and practice around worker and business co-ops via open stakeholder groups. Raise awareness about cooperative models through education of procurement offices and financial institutions.
Progress Updates:
October 2019: DC Co-op Day brought together the DC co-op ecosystem – worker co-ops, limited equity housing co-ops, food co-ops, co-op technical assistance providers and co-op advocates – for a day of learning, connecting and organizing.
September 2019: DC is selected for the Shared Equity in Economic Development (SEED) Fellowship organized by National League of Cities and Democracy at Work Institute. The cross-agency team will spend 9 months working on a project to support the development of food cooperatives and shared ownership models for food-businesses in DC Wards 5, 7, and 8.
September 2018: Community stakeholders have moved forward in developing a steering committee to support developing a Cooperative Development Center. Mayor Bowser has declared October to be DC Co-op Month. The Cooperative Development Center is hosting a Co-op Festival on the National Mall on October 6th and 7th, 2018.
August 2017: DSLBD is holding monthly stakeholder meetings to support the development of a speaker’s list, speaking opportunities, and a community-developed mission for a peer-to-peer network. Stakeholders have held public workshops and made radio appearances.
- Timeline: FY17-18
- Lead and key partners: Dept. of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD)
- Related core sectors: any
- Related opportunity areas: any
- Related action areas: talent, business environment