Blog

I became a worker-owner of The Improve Group Cooperative in April. Although I had to wait until I had been at IG for 6 months before I was eligible to join the co-op, my journey to becoming a member started right when I joined The Improve Group (IG).

In mid-March, I logged into a virtual meeting on a Monday afternoon. In some ways, this meeting felt like an ordinary all-staff meeting—a well-planned agenda, breakout room activities, a brief visit from a colleague’s adorable baby, and the thoughtful discussion I’ve come to expect from my team at IG. This was not an ordinary staff meeting, however. This was the first general assembly of The Improve Group worker-owned cooperative.

We all know families with young children. In addition to all the joys of raising a child, families are facing more and more difficulties finding accessible, affordable, and high-quality child care—an issue many Improve Group clients have been working to address. We pair our growing knowledge of this topic with the creative, tailored approach we take in every project to support clients working to improve the quality and accessibility of child care across Minnesota. Here are a few lessons we have learned from our work reaching and engaging with various stakeholders.

St. Paul – The Improve Group, a St. Paul-based evaluation firm, became a worker-owned cooperative over the summer, worker-owners announced today.

The Improve Group is an evaluation, research, and strategic planning consulting firm based in St. Paul. As a co-op, the organization’s 21 employees have the opportunity to own the company. Becoming a co-op continues The Improve Group’s work toward its long-time vision that mission-driven organizations will effectively develop more resilient, equitable, and thriving communities.