Please provide a brief update on your progress toward your proposed CWB goals in the last reporting period:
During the month of September, we received our budget revision approval and made our final preparations for the executives Early Warning Network training. Final preparations included creating a pre-survey, finalizing the training syllabus (attached later in this report), and formally accepting individuals to participate in the training. 9 executives were initially accepted, 7 confirmed and 2 have opted to participate in the organizational staff training. The Early Warning Network manual was officially released as a confidential draft to participants. There are still ongoing edits being made and we have asked the pilot participants for their feedback and suggestions, but we have made significant progress toward our goal of developing and revising the manual. We will soon have formatting and editing done by a Media and Communications person as well and are aiming to do a public release of the manual in the upcoming months. Most notably in the month of September, we are thrilled to share that we've met our goal of beginning implementation of training sessions for the participants - training commenced on September 18 with the launch of the online training course in Thinkific. We then successfully held our first in-person training day on Saturday, September 21 at Kelair Products in Bellwood, IL for a total of four hours with two sessions. Session 1 titled “Introduction to Early Warning and The History and Current State of Chicagoland Manufacturing” included a presentation by Manufacturing Renaissance’s Dan Swinney followed by a presentation by Dr. Matt Wilson from the Great Cities Institute. Session 2 titled “Manufacturing Business 101” was led by Jim Piper, President of Matot/Kelair Products and included a tour of the shop. The exit ticket results from Day 1 consisted of all 4s and 5s for rating engagement, informativeness, and relevance to participant’s current work. We’ve shared a collage of photos from Day 1 later in this report as well as on social media channels. In between training days, participants completed asynchronous work and engaged in a discussion in the online learning course for a total of four hours. Day 2 of training was held via Zoom on Tuesday, September 24 for a total of two hours. This was our first virtual session of the training. The session titled “Building the Network” included a presentation by guest speaker Val Free, Founder/CEO of The Neighborhood Network Alliance in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. The exit ticket results indicated that our participants wanted more time together and that they preferred meeting in-person. As of today, we have 20 individuals accepted with 4 pending for our Organizational Staff Training which will be Days 3-5. We’ve attached the syllabus later in this report which includes a breakdown of the training days and objectives.
What constraints or limitations, if any, did you experience in the last reporting period?
Without having a Media and Communications person identified yet, we have had to postpone our polishing and copyediting of the Early Warning Manual for publishing. We hope to have some identified in October and plan to complete and publicly release the manual in November.
What opportunities, if any, did you take advantage of in the last reporting period?
Thank you for the opportunity to present to the CCWBE working group on Wednesday, September 4th. Our project was well received, and interest was generated in the work we are doing. Two working group members were accepted into the executives training, and we look forward to making more connections and collaborations as the project progresses. David Robinson also took advantage of the opportunity to attend the hearing at City Hall with ILCEO. He thought the coop testimony and presentation by Nneka were both well done. We would like to continue participating in the resolution advocacy work and hope that language reflecting our Early Warning model can be included in future drafts of the resolution, where applicable.
Did you establish new CWB relationships/partnerships in the last reporting period?
Yes
Please describe the relationships you established pertaining to your CWB work.
We've established relationships with Dante Hamilton from Corner Store Co-op and Roux Nolan from Co-op.Partners. Both Dante and Roux are participating in our training. We hope to receive their feedback and suggestions on the training and the Early Warning Manual.
Did you collaborate with other TA providers in the last reporting period?
No
Which TA provider(s) did you work with?
Please share on behalf of whom / which projects you collaborated with the TA providers above:
Did you attend the Working Group meeting last month?
Yes
How would you rate the usefulness of the working group to your project last month? (on a scale of 1-5)
5 extremely useful
Optional Space
Community Area(s) (select all that apply)
| Community Area | Participants Served in this Community Area |
|---|---|
| Chicago Lawn | 1 |
| Lake View | 1 |
| Auburn Gresham | 1 |
| West Town | 1 |
| Hermosa | 1 |
| Near West Side | 1 |
| Austin | 1 |
Race / Ethnicity of Participants (select all that apply)
Other Race/Ethnicity (please specify)
American Indian, Alaska native or First Nations
Gender identity of Participants (select all that apply)
Age Range of Participants (select all that apply)
How many sessions of one-on-one consulting to Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. one group or individual with one training provider)?
0
How many group workshops for Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. convenings, workshops, events, etc.)
2
How many hours of support to CWB Pre-Development Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you provide this reporting period?
0
How many hours of support to existing Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you provide this reporting period?
10
How many co-op businesses did you develop last reporting period? (It's okay if the answer is 0)
0
How many jobs were created overall last reporting period? (It's okay if the answer is 0)
0
Please list the Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers Organizations you worked with this reporting period.
What type(s) of Technical Assistance did you provide to Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers this reporting period? Select all that apply.
Did you provide education to any Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers this reporting period?
Yes
How many hours of cohort education/training did you provide last month?
10
How many hours of popular education/outreach did you provide last month?
0
Number of curriculum material(s) created last month
3
How did you market your services and conduct outreach in the last reporting period? Select all that apply.
Please enter, How did you market your services and conduct outreach in the last reporting period?
We held two virtual information sessions via Zoom.
What are the greatest needs that your WC clients/partners expressed in this reporting period?
N/A
What are the greatest gaps in service or resources in Chicago's CWB ecosystem?
N/A
Please share any direct testimonials from Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers clients or storytelling about the impact of your work this period:
Please upload media (document with testimonials, photos, or video links) from WC workshops or events held.
Did your organization provide any additional TA support this reporting period that was NOT covered in the previous tabs?
No
Please describe the type(s) of organizations you supported (i.e. nonprofits, business service orgs, etc.)
How many total organizations or entities did you support (that were not covered in the previous tabs)?
How many total hours of support did you provide to these organizations?
Please share any other relevant details about the support you provided these organizations:
