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The Democracy at Work Network (DAWN) is a network of certified peer advisors, all with strong social and professional ties, who cooperate in training themselves and providing technical assistance services to worker cooperatives. Our goals are to meet the demand for technical assistance and development advice with high-quality services, and increase worker cooperative technical assistance capacity from inside the movement.

These principles were initially derived by Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist by training, for groups that were attempting to manage common-pool resources. The fact that groups possessing these design features were capable of managing their own affairs was so new against the background of received economic wisdom that Ostrom was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2009. The design principles were later generalized by David Sloan Wilson, Ostrom, and Michael Cox in two respects. First, they follow from the basic evolutionary dynamics of cooperation in all species and our own evolutionary history as a highly cooperative species. Second, because of their theoretical generality, they apply to a much broader range of human groups than those attempting to manage common-pool resources. That is why they provide a practical framework for improving the efficacy groups, which is the objective of PROSOCIAL." (http://alanhonick.com/prosocial/)

Prosocial is a method for improving human welfare through creating more effective, harmonious, equitable and cooperative groups. Prosocial has been applied in situations as diverse as helping a school to enhance collaboration among teachers and students, a community to reduce the spread of Ebola and a network of environmental groups seeking to cooperate more effectively to achieve their common aims. Prosocial works best for groups, and networks of groups, that are interested in human welfare, not just economic outcomes.

What if each community had the vision and tools to directly restore and steward their watershed? We are a regional volunteer cooperative that works in communities to study, protect and restore ecosystems, cultivating social systems capable of stewardship.

Terran Collective is building Hylo, a platform for amplifying cooperation among people doing the important work of regenerating our communities and our planet. You're invited to join us on this epic mission as a founding stakeholder - we need your help!

While the roots of Social Solidarity Economy are ancient (they can be found in most communities in different forms of mutualistic cooperation, worker's unions, social economy, etc.), the term Solidarity Economy as a basis for today's SSE networked movement is fairly recent.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) provides essential legal tools -- education, research, advice, and advocacy -- to support a transition to localized, resilient economies. Our work focuses on practices that promote justice and sharing, including barter, local currencies, cooperatives, community enterprises, local investing, cohousing, urban agriculture, and other innovative economic stra...See More

BALLE believes in the power of local businesses to transform communities for the better by working cooperatively toward a shared vision. We imagine cities and towns of every size and political stripe engaged in shared learning to build community assets like sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy, community capital, zero-waste manufacturing and independent retail - what we call the building blocks of Living Economies. We envision a time when local economies not only generate community wealth, but also are catalysts for civic action, social diversity and ecological health -- for sustainable communities.

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organisation's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.

ABOUT THE KETTERING FOUNDATION The Kettering Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan research organization rooted in the American tradition of cooperative research. Everything Kettering researches relates to one central question: what does it take for democracy to work as it should? Or put another way: What does it take for citizens to shape their collective future?

The foundation explores ways that key political practices can be strengthened through innovations that emphasize active roles for citizens. Kettering's research is distinctive because it is conducted from the perspective of citizens and focuses on what people collectively can do to address problems affecting their lives, their community, and their nation.

Movement for the People provides a framework for trans-partisan cooperation among people and organizations who believe that corporate involvement with politics is drowning out the voices of ordinary Americans. We believe that so much money is pouring into our political system that it is no longer capable of serving or representing We the People. We wish to change this.

Our Vision: When we empower underrepresented populations to effectively tell their stories, we engage communities in dialogue and positive action. This process strengthens community cohesion and provides pathways for increased communication, cooperation, and respect. Our Mission: To challenge, strengthen, and connect our diverse communities through the transformative power of the individual voice. What We Believe: Stories make change possible. Stories open minds and inspire action. Stories create pathways. Since 2003, Hidden Voices has collaborated with underrepresented communities to create award-winning works that combine narrative, mapping, performance, music, digital media, animation, and interactive exhibits to engage audiences and participants in explorations of difficult issues.  Hidden Voices creates venues where stories from those rarely seen and heard by mainstream society take center stage.  These life-changing stories provide insight about identity, place, and access.  They help us understand the unrecognized, the unfamiliar, the displaced and forgotten within and among us.  A Hidden Voices project encourages deep listening; expansive dialogue, and inspired action.  Hidden Voices believes in the power of stories to transform our communities and our policies. Hidden Voices is a registered 501 (c) 3 non-profit, with more than 100 volunteers and contributing professionals developing two to three projects annually.

The concept of solidarity economy has diverse origins and varied meanings, all of which revolve around the effort to root economic activity in principles of solidarity, participation, cooperation, and reciprocity as opposed to the competitive individualism characteristic of mainstream capitalist paradigms.

Code for America hosted Nick Hanauer and Eric Liu for a discussion of their recent book, "Gardens of the Democracy." In it, they challenge Americans to approach the world not as a machinery that needs to be perfected but as a garden that needs constant attention, discretion, and periodic weeding. The book argues that since society and technology have fundamentally changed, so must our notions of citizenship and democracy: turning "the machine" into a garden. 

Citizen Network is a global non-profit cooperative movement, formed to create a world where everyone matters - where everyone can be an equal citizen. We work together - locally and globally - to create welcoming communities for everyone and to form a powerful movement for change all around the world.

Why Community Resilience? In the 21st century, we face a set of interconnected economic, energy, and environmental crises that require all the courage, creativity, and cooperation we can muster. These crises are forcing us to fundamentally rethink some of our most basic assumptions, like where our food and energy come from, and where we invest our savings.

We are technologists, community organizers, entrepreneurs, activists, and artists working for the greatest good of all beings. We amplify cooperation among people working to regenerate our communities and our planet. We do this by building systems and tools that foster trust and collaboration, starting in the Bay Area bioregion.