One day EDAC accredited course
A 1-day EDAC accredited course on the co-op model designed for economic development professionals.
Targeted at leaders interested in how the co-operative business model can be used to capture opportunities, this course is focused and practical.
The course examines the co-op business model from a practitioner’s perspective. By working on real-life applications, participants gain a better understanding of the model, where it works best, and how to organize a group to start one.
Accredited by the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC), economic development professionals participating in the workshop earn 2 points towards the Ec.D certification.
What the course covers
Gain practical insight into how to explore an opportunity for co-op business development. Plus, get a better understanding of how to work with groups interested in structuring their business as a co-operative.
Explore real-life case studies to achieve a deeper understanding of the business model. Just as importantly, get a clear understanding of where the model fits as a problem-solving tool.
Do you want to …
- Help build better and more businesses in your community.
- Capitalize on local opportunities for business, economic and community development in your community.
- Explore a different, and sometimes better, way of doing business.
If you said ‘yes’ to any of these, this course is for you.
This course benefits
- Economic developers who support business and community development.
- Economic developers who want 2 points towards an Ec.D certification.
- Elected officials connecting their community with new opportunities.
- Business consultants with diverse clients and projects.
- Business leaders boosting their local business environment or creating capacity-building partnerships.
- Community leaders (all of the above and more) growing communities and developing new businesses.
What you can learn from the course
- Ins and outs of the co-op model (shareholder structure, legal parameters, financial options, tax treatment, etc.)
- High-level and noinky details of the business model
- A better understanding of the existing co-ops at work in your community
- Insight into the co-op sector in your region and Canada
- Better understanding of the different types of co-operatives
- Engagement with different applications of co-operatives and their impacts on local markets and communities
- An overview of the steps taken to develop a co-operative
- A better understanding of how co-ops are different than other business models
What others are saying about Creating Connections
“Going to your seminar expanded my view of how businesses can be run beyond the typical business models. I feel like more people, especially students, could benefit a lot from your workshop because it showed me that there are countless opportunities to do meaningful work partnered with the passion and skills that I have. I enjoyed the workshop and came out of it seeing how my potential could increase the overall potential of a bigger community.”
-Ambrose University Student
“Great to see more champions and resources in community economic development, helping with the creation and development of co-operatives! Kyle put on a fantastic workshop at Ambrose University that was informative, useful and practical. His facilitation was organic, engaging and relevant. Excited to see what other workshops they put on in the future!”
-Non-profit employee
“Kyle and Co-operatives First came in to help with Mountain CoLab our growing coworking coop of over 100 members. We wished we would have had this instruction years ago as we started. Very valuable for your working board but also your members to firmly take the coop mission to heart and the next level.”
-Entrepreneur
You may also be interested in our Good Governance Matters online governance course.
