A lot has changed since 2018.
When the CFAES Center for Cooperatives launched the online learning platform Co-op Mastery: Beyond Cooperatives 101 in 2018, our goal was the create a resource for cooperative stakeholders where they could learn about the unique business model through accessible learning materials. We used infographics, videos with co-op experts, recorded presentations, and brief articles. We shared the platform and associated workbook with stakeholders, including people exploring new cooperative ideas.
But in the early part of 2023, we recognized that our team and others in the cooperative community had generated a lot of knowledge and learning resources since 2018. Often, we were referring people to these updated resources, so we launched a refresh of Co-op Mastery to reflect new knowledge and incorporate new learning materials.
Visit Co-op Mastery: Beyond Cooperatives 101 at go.osu.edu/coopmastery.
Refreshed Co-op Mastery Highlights
In the refreshed Co-op Mastery, you will find some of the original materials developed for Co-op Mastery, but you will also find references to new knowledge and materials.
You will find links to recent webinars about housing cooperatives, video tours of Ohio cooperatives, and new data about worker cooperatives in the refreshed Cooperatives in the Community page.
Some of these materials come from the 13 recordings of online learning sessions about the cooperative business model that were part of the Center-led Appalachia Cooperates Initiative from 2020-2023. From a webinar about “Selling to Your Workers” in September 2023 to a dive into “Legal Frameworks for Cooperatives in West Virginia” in 2022, and more, the recordings are available to the public at: go.osu.edu/appalachiacooperates.
In Co-op Mastery’s Cooperative Benefits and Principles you can explore a real-world example of the international cooperative principles by watching a webinar featuring leaders of an emerging Ohio cooperative working to grow new farmers.
Learn about the key roles of directors and members through new research from the University Wisconsin’s Cooperative Governance Research Initiative and links to recent resources like the guide Navigating Your Legal Duties: A Guide for Agricultural Cooperative Directors, published by the National Agricultural Law Center in 2021 and co-authored by CFAES Center for Cooperatives Program Director, Hannah Scott.
Explore the legal foundations of cooperatives in the refreshed Cooperative Frameworks section of Co-op Mastery that includes a video interview with a cooperative attorney and links to new resources like a National Agricultural Law Center compilation of state statutes that govern the formation of agricultural cooperatives as of 2022 and a “State-by-State Co-op Law” resource focused on worker cooperatives from the Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Co-opLaw.org.
Our team continues to refresh content related to building a new cooperative, so we encourage you to check back on the growing learning resource!