People choose to come together and start a co-op when they want to solve shared problems or address a need. One of the most important partnerships they can form when creating a co-op that benefits their community is with their municipality.

Municipalities hold local influence, create strategies and policies, and have resources at their disposal, which makes them a powerful ally to groups of residents who want to start co-ops. And if these groups are creating co-ops that address a local infrastructure or service gap – like housing, childcare, food insecurity, broadband, renewable energy, etc. – their support is especially vital. The municipality benefits from the work of dedicated people making their community more attractive and resilient, giving them even more reason to support co-op initiatives.

Here are four ways municipalities can step up and support co-op start-ups:

  1. Create the Right Conditions

Municipalities don’t run co-ops. Instead, they create the conditions for communities to develop and implement their own solutions.

Municipal rules and policies can make or break a co-op project. Zoning, land use, licensing, and other regulations can either help or hinder development. Flexible zoning allows for the creation of housing co-ops, childcare co-ops, food hubs, and other community spaces. When policies treat co-ops as real businesses, it sends a message of support to staff, residents, and funders.

Adding co-ops to community economic development plans helps make them a regular part of local business. And municipalities can further support groups by allowing them to use municipal spaces like meeting rooms or halls helps them plan and organize, and using their networks and channels to promote the work the group is doing.

  1. Provide Early Support

Co-ops face their biggest challenges before they even open. Organizing a co-op takes time, money, and experience, often before any income or major grants are available. Municipalities can help by providing small grants, seed funding, or support for feasibility studies. Even a simple letter of support can make a big difference when groups are seeking funding.

Lowering fees, simplifying permits, and allowing flexible rules can help projects succeed. Creating policies that emphasize local procurement could prioritize co-operatives. Because they are owned by local people and distribute their profits back to members, co-ops can make a great case for being the municipality’s chosen supplier of goods and services.

  1. Support Economic Development Officers

Economic Development Officers (EDOs), are often the first to hear about new co-op ideas or local service needs. In their work for the municipality, EDOs are tasked with finding opportunities for local business growth. If they are encouraged to get involved in local co-op projects, it can take some of the pressure off volunteers and provide additional resources to help make the co-op successful.

EDOs can help set up committees, connect groups with developers, funders, and partners, and guide projects through municipal processes. They also share market research, funding ideas, and advice on what is possible.

Providing EDOs with training and resources – like our free, online Co-op Advisors course – builds local skills. The more they know about co-ops, the better the outcomes for projects and the community.

  1. Be Open to Alternative Solutions

When co-ops succeed, they solve problems in housing, childcare, workforce development, and business succession. They help keep jobs, services, and money in the community. Co-ops can ease the pressure on municipal services by providing steady, local solutions. Over time, they strengthen the economy, help communities recover, and encourage more people to get involved.

All the municipality needs to do to enjoy these benefits is to be open to co-ops as a solution they might not otherwise have considered. Keeping an open mind and finding ways to support co-op projects that emerge can have long-term benefits for the co-op and the community.

When municipalities create the right conditions, offer support, help EDOs, and recognize the value of co-ops, communities can turn their ideas into lasting, local, member-owned co-ops.