Creating Jobs through Cooperative Development

This study highlights economic development cooperatives in California in an attempt to analyze the factors most influential in creating and sustaining ventures that are both economically viable and member-governed. It documents the goals of the founders and the members of California cooperatives in the service sector, and determines the extent to whcih the goals have been realized. It identifies particular organizing strategies and other factors which influenced the success of these ventures and offers recommendations and case studies regarding the incubation and operation of cooperatives in order to assist the work of practitioners as well as funders committed to increasing job opportunities in low-income communities.