There are three major goals of our Peer Network:
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It builds stronger and more formal relationships between worker-owners at different cooperatives, creating more opportunities for worker cooperatives to engage with each other (Cooperation Among Cooperatives).
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Worker-owners gain skills that allow for job mobility, whether within their cooperative or in a new cooperative endeavor. This supports the cooperative principle of Education and Training.
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Cooperative businesses are strengthened by adding new skills among members and by building up existing skills among more members. For some cooperatives, this might mean that the co-op will finally have a member who can manage IT systems. For other cooperatives, this might mean that the co-op will have multiple members trained in finances, creating redundancy and more ability to share the workload.
In 2023, we received a small grant that covered stipends for mentors and mentees. We are evaluating how that went, and also working on a better system for connecting people to each other without an intermediary. Look for more updates in mid-2024.
In the meantime, if there's something you'd like to learn from another co-op, let us know and we are happy to connect you (and help figure out which co-op might be able to provide the most relevant information for you).