Thoughts and success stories

Dr. Brett Fairbairn has been researching co-operatives for over 30 years; as a Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, he has become…

In this episode, Kyle, Dan, and Aasa discuss what member engagement looks like for co-operatives, given how many different types of co-ops – and different…

At its most basic, every co-op needs a champion with a vision, a group with a shared interest and a market for the service or…

The co-operative business model has been relatively underutilized by Indigenous peoples in western Canada. Corporate structures and limited partnerships have more often been the go-to…

In this episode, Aasa sat down with Dr. Dionne Pohler to discuss her keynote speech from the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association’s 2018 conference. Dr. Pohler’s address…

In the last episode in our series on board governance, Audra, Kyle, and Aasa talk about the importance of diversity on boards. Having people with…

Saskatchewan is getting a new Chamber of Commerce. A group of Indigenous business leaders in Saskatchewan have formed this province’s first Indigenous Chamber of Commerce….

In this episode, Audra, Kyle, and Aasa tackle what happens when things get contentious on a board. We discuss the kinds of conflict that boards…

In the construction sector there is plenty of room for inefficiency. Often one contractor will frame a building, another will wire it, someone else will…

For the first time since inception in 2012, Stocksy United, an artist-owned photography + cinematography co-op run by some of the world’s best creatives and…

We dive right into the discussion of working vs policy boards with a controversial question: Why do working boards suck? Being on a working board…

Succession planning is how business leaders answer the question of how their business continues without key players, like owners and high performance or essential skill…

The Mountain CoLab co-operative The nature of work is changing, and with it, the model of traditional office space. With the rise of the gig…

This episode kicks off our four-part series on co-operative governance with Co-operatives First’s Executive Director Audra Krueger. Kyle, Aasa, and Audra talk about why people…

Most co-ops have, at some point or another, encountered difficulties getting their members involved in the organization. Low engagement can reveal itself in a variety…

Defining member engagement for a specific organization is often tricky. It can also be hard to measure. But defining member engagement for your organization and…

The Food Forest and Learning Centre Co-operative Maggie Bluewaters shares a story of healing and food security in rural Saskatchewan. Our thanks to Maggie and…

Episode 3: Why we need governance In this episode, Kyle and Aasa from Co-operatives First talk to Paul Thompson, Research Officer at the University of…

The co-operative business model is versatile and being used successfully in every sector of the economy. Businesses using the model bring utilities, like power, water…

For newcomers, barriers to well-being can be bigger and more complex than for much of the Canadian-born population. Newcomers often experience isolation when they arrive…

In this episode, Kyle, Dan, and Aasa discuss the different definitions of co-operatives, the seven co-operative principles, and the ways co-ops are different from other…