Materials relating to the Co-op Index for Worker Co-operatives project, including a discussion of the tool’s reliability for co-operative development (original) (raw)

2015

Abstract

This entry contains various materials related to the Co-op Index project, which focused on the development and testing of the Co-op Index Diagonstic Tool for Worker Co-operatives. The Co-op Index is a values-based assessment tool designed specifically for worker co-operatives. The Co-op Index measures a co-operative’s organizational effectiveness based on the following: - The degree to which its members/employees feel involved and empowered in the management of the organization; - The degree to which the co-op adheres to universally recognized co-op principles and values; - The degree to which the co-op adheres to its own mission and values. The overview document describes the Co-op Index tool in some detail, and provides a number of sample questions as well as extracts from a sample diagnostic report and descriptions of the various indices. The slide presentation is from CASC 2015 and the presentation abstract is as follows: The Co-op Index was meant to be a handy diagnostic tool for the organizational development of worker co-ops. Although many papers and book chapters have described its functions and diagnostic model (Stocki, Prokopowicz, Novkovic, 2012; Novkovic, Prokopowicz, Stocki, 2012; Hough & Novkovic, 2012; Stocki, & Łapot, 2014), no empirical data collected from co-ops using the tool has yet been presented. This is the first presentation of all empirical data gathered so far from Canadian and American co-operatives who have used the tool. First, we plan to present psychometric features of the tool, including correlations between questions and scales, as well as reliability of all 30 subscales of the questionnaire. Second, we will present the first mean characteristics of the co-operatives diagnosed so far, which may serve as benchmarks for future users of the tool. We will conclude the presentation with a list of changes in the tool which will allow for the development of a leaner and more reliable 2.0 version. The smu.ca link leads to a journal article published in the Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Reporting that follows up on the CASC presentation above, by discussing some detail the preliminary analysis of results. Abstract of the paper has been included in this record. The video (youtube) link leads to a webinar entitled "Tools to Measure your Co-op's Forward Motion". The first presenter, starting at 00:01:20, is Eric Tusz-King, who reflects on his co-operative's experience using the Co-op Index tool (EnerGreen Worker Co-op).

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