12:00 noon Eastern Time

This two-part, interactive series is designed for people who are working in a worker co-op.  They are most appropriate for those who have recently become members or who are thinking of applying to join their co-op, but anyone involved in a worker co-op is welcome to participate.  Part I will cover basic definitions, statistics on the movement,  and the co-op principles as applied to worker co-ops. Part II will cover governance and management principles in a worker co-op, and provide information about CWCF.

The webinars will be presented by Peter Hough. Peter has over 30 years of experience as a member, manager, and/or director of worker and consumer co-operatives. He has assisted with many co-operative start-ups, developing bylaws, conducting training programs, completing feasibility studies and business plans as well as providing post-start-up mentoring. He is a director of the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund which will invest in co-operative in all regions of Canada and a director of Sustainability Solutions Group Worker Co-op and CoopZone Developers’ Network. He was the lead developer and founding Course Director of the CoopZone Co-op Development online training programs, the Financial Officer of the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation, and the Fund Manager of “Tenacity Works” the CWCF’s revolving loan fund. 

Leading Effective Meetings Rick Proven: Part 1: June 5, 12:00 noon ET; Part 2: June 11, 12 noon ET.

Have you ever wondered why meetings can some times wander off in all directions?

Why discussions on important issues can just keep going in circles and never seem to get resolved?

This webinar will give you some insights into how we think and process information, then present some models that can be used to keep discussions on track and arrive at decisions that can be supported by the whole group.

In the first one hour session we will:

Have a discussion on human cognitive processes and how they affect our conversations and decision making,

Introduce a tool for planning focused questions to plan the conversations and have an opportunity to practice the model between sessions.

In the second session we will:

Discuss the use of the focus question planning tool which was practiced between sessions,

Introduce and practice the second tool called ORID, Objective, Reflective, Interpretive and Decisional. This tool allows us to take a deep dive into how to plan the conversation, which allows all participants the chance to be part of the discussion and decisions.

The webinar will be presented by Rick Proven. Rick is an adult educator and worker cooperative member. After 32 years in the federal public service Rick retired from Parks Canada in 2010. He held various positions such as human resource advisor, program manager, project coordinator, informal conflict management advisor and national trainer. Through continuous learning and application, Rick has become an effective facilitator and trainer.

Rick now works as a private consultant focusing on facilitation design and training. He also spends his time as a member of a worker cooperative, building energy efficient and net zero buildings.

Democracy at Work Institute Webinars

The Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) was created by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) to ensure that worker cooperative development in economically and socially marginalized communities is adequately supported, effective, and strategically directed. The School of Democratic Management, a program of DAWI’s, provides tools workplaces can use right away to build the culture they need.

A recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between DAWI and CWCF allows CWCF members to receive a 50 percent discount on School of Democratic Management webinars. Email Kaye Grant, Communications and Member Services Manager, at communications@canadianworker.coop to receive the discount code if you wish to attend an upcoming webinar. Here are some of the ones scheduled for the coming months.

1:00pm to 2:00pm

Most of us recognize the need for and importance of engaging the communities we serve. Working to uphold the slogan, “nothing about us without us”, we might try to engage communities as much as possible. But engagement is a two-way street, and people who work in institutions and organizations sometimes find that the communities they hope to engage are hesitant or even resistant to engage. This can often be true when the relationship between institutions and communities is damaged, or where there is a lack of trust in the organization’s ability to engage in an open and honest way. With that in mind, what might those of us who work in institutions and organizations do? 

Register for Bridging the Gap

Through this webinar Lisa Attygalle and Galen MacLusky, Tamarack’s Directors of Community Engagement and Community Innovation will explore our thoughts on this issue, drawing upon our experiences in supporting community engagement across North America. 

After this webinar, you will be able to: 

• Ask questions of yourself and others that help to understand why your community is hesitant to engage 
• Reflect on your own desire to engage and how that might be viewed by the community 
• Develop your own next steps to build equitable relationships with the communities your work impacts 

Hosts

In her role at Tamarack, Lisa Attygalle works with cities and organizations to improve the way they engage with their communities. Over the last five years her work has focused on creating authentic engagement strategies for municipalities and organizations, integrated communications planning, and the use of technology and creativity for engagement. Lisa constantly advocates for simplicity in infrastructure, frameworks and design and loves applying the principles of marketing, advertising, loyalty, and user experience to community initiatives. On the side, Lisa is one of ten owners of Seven Shores Community Café in Waterloo, ON, where she coordinates community events and monthly art exhibits. She is also a Trustee of the KW Awesome Foundation - a group that provides no-strings attached grants for "awesome" community-based projects.

Galen MacLusky is a Consulting Director of the Tamarack Institute’s Community Innovation Idea Area. He is passionate about working with community organizations to help build and scale new ideas that deepen their impact. An experienced design, innovation, and co-creation consultant, at the core of his work are approaches that help organizations engage with those who are impacted by their services and test new programs and services with minimal investment. Over the past five years, Galen has used these approaches to help Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations across North America reinvent the services and programs they provide. Galen is an experienced human-centred design coach and holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Design and Innovation from Northwestern University.

2:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern Time

As a community changemaker, have you ever stopped to wonder where the power lies in your project? What are you trying to achieve, and for whom? How does your place of power (as a creator and an individual) hinder your ability to relate to those you are trying to help? We often use power unknowingly in the work of change. But, when we recognize the influence of our training, politics, access, and privilege we allow ourselves to understand our clients, communities, and abilities more deeply. During this intimate conversation, George Aye of Greater Good Studio will help us understand the mechanics of power and how to wield it with care as we move forward in our community change efforts. 

Register for Overcoming Power and Privilege in Community Change

George Aye’s keynote presentation on Power and Privilege was the highlight of last-years Community Change Festival. By popular request, George is making that same experience available to those of you who weren’t able to attend. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from George on how to navigate issues of power and privilege in community change work!

Guest

George Aye co-founded Greater Good Studio with the belief that design can lead to positive behaviour change. Previously, he spent seven years at global innovation firm IDEO before being hired as the first human-centred designer at the Chicago Transit Authority. Since founding Greater Good, he has worked across multiple social issues including autism, criminal justice, education, public health and health care. George is an Adjunct Full Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With his co-founder, he was awarded the TED Prize City 2.0 (2012) and recognized in the Public Interest Design 100 list (2013). The studio’s work was featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (May 2018), LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation (published 2016) and Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook (published 2015). He is a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator. 

About Greater Good Studio:

Greater Good Studio gives mission-driven organizations new ways to solve problems, big and small. We’ve adapted the practice of human-centred design to the unique needs of the social sector. Our approach builds the capacity of clients and communities to solve old problems in new ways. It is grounded in the following principles:

• End users are the experts
• Innovation doesn’t have to be fancy.
• Less is more.
• Capacity is built through hands-on experience.
• Hard is not the same as impossible.

Host

galen_maclusky_headshot_square.jpg

Galen MacLusky is a Consulting Director of the Tamarack Institute’s Community Innovation Idea Area. He is passionate about working with community organizations to help build and scale new ideas that deepen their impact. An experienced design, innovation, and co-creation consultant, at the core of his work are approaches that help organizations engage with those who are impacted by their services and test new programs and services with minimal investment

1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern Time

Speaker: Jim Diers

Loneliness and polarization are two growing threats to our society. Although these problems are different from one another, Jim Diers believes that the common solution is to build inclusive community and that the best place to do that is where we live.

In this webinar, Jim will share some tips and stories about making our neighbourhoods places where everyone feels included and connected across the differences that tend to divide and isolate so many of us.

Register for How Do We Build Inclusive Communities?

Speaker

Jim Diers, Asset-Based Community Development Institute

Jim has a passion for getting people engaged with their communities and in the decisions that affect their lives. His work in the Seattle Department of Neighbourhoods was recognized with an Innovations Award from the Kennedy School of Government. He was appointed the first director of Seattle's Department of Neighbourhoods in 1988 where he served under three mayors over the next 14 years creating what some would say is a miracle of neighbours where he put his passion to work for a direct-action neighbourhood association, a community development corporation, a community foundation, and the nation's largest health care cooperative.

He teaches courses at the University of Washington and serves on the faculty of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute. Jim travels internationally to deliver speeches and present workshop on neighbours and neighbourhoods. His book, Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way, is available in both English and Chinese editions.

1:00pm to 2:00pm Eastern Time

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) emphasizes strengths, connections, citizen leadership and recognizes that individual gifts become powerful when they are connected together. 

Join John McKnight and Cormac Russell as they dive deep into ABCD. They will review the principles and practices of ABCD and discuss their latest paper on the four elements that make ABCD a distinctive process.

To prepare for the webinar please read:  The Four Essential Elements of ABCD Process

Register for Principles and Elements of Asset-Based Community Development

Speakers

John McKnight, Asset-Based Community Development Institute

John McKnight is a founder and co-director of Asset-Based Community Development Institute, whose graduates -- including both Michelle and Barack Obama -- continue to have impact strengthening communities and neighbourhoods around the world. In 2013, John was awarded an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo in recognition of his innovative work.

For three decades John has researched social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations and neighbourhood policy. He is the author of The Careless Society and co-author ofBuilding Communities from the Inside Out and The Abundant Community. John serves on the Boards of several national organizations that support neighbourhood development and he remains tireless in his recognition and championing of citizens -- and their capacity to care for one another -- as an essential resource in the work of building better communities and neighbourhoods. 

Cormac Russell, Nurture Development

Cormac Russell is a faculty member of the ABCD Institute and an internationally-renowned thought leader, trainer and Speaker. He has supported the establishment of more than 30 ABCD learning sites in Rwanda, South Sudan, Kenya, Canada, Sweden, Ireland and the UK. He is driven by a passionate belief in the importance of localism, economic and environmental sovereignty, and is a strong advocate for the protection of indigenous living and social justice. Cormac —a long-time friend and collaborator with Professor John McKnight has published extensively in professional journals on Asset-Based approaches to Probation, Health, Ageing Well, Community Housing, Community Development and Disability.

Learn more from John McKnight and Cormac Russell at the upcoming ABCD: Healthy Neighbourhoods, Healthy Cities workshop in Edmonton on May 28-30.