We are building a bank of case studies of worker co-operatives to inspire more people to start or convert to a worker co-op. This is a quick guide on how to write a case study for us.

TLDR: Just fill in this form

Why a structured case study

We think providing a libary of structured case studies will make it easy both for individuals to write one if they have never done it before. But also following a set structure will make it easer for people reading them to compare and contrast between the different case studies.

How to write a case study for workers.coop

We created a form here to make it easy for both you to fill in the info but also for us to convert it into a resource. We’ve done an example case study on worker.coop, I’m sure you can do something better!

First the Quick facts

Before you submit make sure you have some basic info to hand these will appear in a quickfacts table

  • Name of co-op
  • Email contact – this will not be published but to check details and request a photo/image
  • Website
  • When was your co-op founded
  • Industry – there is a drop down list, just go with the closest match
  • Turnover – no need to be specific, the aim is to give people a sense of your size
  • Number or workers – include everyone you deem a worker, whether they are employees, self-employed of volunteers
  • Number of members
  • Who are your members – drop down list, just pick the closest match
  • Governance
    • Collective – All members are Directors
    • Elected Directors – Traditional Membership Electing a Board / Management Committee
    • Sociocracy – Although you may have a Board of Directors they are within a sociocratic structure
    • Other – please do explain!
  • Pay
    • Equal pay – All members on the same hourly rate
    • Variable pay – typical market based pay
    • It’s complicated – Variable pay but not typical market based pay
  • Legal form
    • Company
    • Co-operatives Society
    • Limited Liabillity Partnership

Tell us a story

The rest of the case study is set-out in paragraph form so give as much or as little detail as you want. You can always come back to this case study in the future and update it with us

  • Who are we? – Give us a quick intro into your co-op, where are you based
  • What do we do? – What products and services do you sell, why people should do business with you etc.
  • How do we operate? – Expand on the quick facts, do you have a Board, how are they elected, do you have managers, or how do you make decisions etc
  • Where did we come from? – What’s your origin or founding story, why did you start, how did you start.
  • Why are we a co-op? – Share something that makes you different, achievements or impacts you have made, why you are proud to be a co-op
  • Lessons learned – Share something you did badly that you have learnt from, or something you would do differently if doing again, or a top tip for someone just starting out on their journey

That’s it!

Just submit the form and we will be in touch.

Other Content:

Alongside the case study if you are willing to provide anything else just email us: solidarity@

  • Your logo
  • A photo of your shop/office/members
  • Do you have any guides, how-to, internal policies you’re willing to share?