\u00a9 CHF Canada, 2010. Members of CHF Canada may copy and use this guide.<\/p>\n
This article was published by CHF Canada in 2010. While it may be dated, it raises some interesting questions. It also influenced co-ops including Woodsworth to change their participation requirements.<\/em><\/p>\n BEYOND PARTICIPATION: <\/strong>Building a Foundation for Real Member Involvement<\/strong><\/p>\n PART 1<\/strong><\/p>\n The END of Participation<\/strong><\/p>\n Hands up if you think members in your co-op don\u2019t participate enough.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a complaint often heard in housing co-ops. But co-ops have been complaining about the same thing for almost 40 years. Why haven\u2019t we solved the problem?<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s time to ask whether our current model of member participation in housing co-ops is working. Maybe it\u2019s time to ask some hard questions about how much we expect from our members and whether we\u2019re getting the results we want.<\/p>\n What do we mean by participation?<\/strong> They think of participation as contributing to the daily operation of the co-op by doing chores, joining a committee, or doing some or all of the co-op\u2019s management.<\/p>\n They aren\u2019t talking about the governance role \u2013 attending meetings and making decisions. They also don\u2019t call it participation if you pay your housing charges on time, take care of your unit and are considerate of your neighbours.<\/p>\n In other words, being just the kind of person everyone wants to have living next door to them doesn\u2019t earn you any \u201cparticipation points\u201d.<\/p>\n In most cases, co-ops call their members who participate \u201cvolunteers\u201d. But it\u2019s usually not voluntary. these tasks are required by the co-op as a condition of membership. There\u2019s nothing voluntary about it.<\/p>\n Co-ops seem to think being a volunteer means not being paid.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n But look in any dictionary for the word \u201cvolunteer\u201d and you\u2019ll find that being unpaid isn\u2019t the main part of the definition. To \u201cvolunteer\u201d is to do something you choose to do \u2014 to do it \u201cvoluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n What co-ops call volunteering is really a system of unpaid management. And, if that\u2019s the case, we should ask ourselves whether we are getting the outcomes we need from that management system.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n DOES MEMBER ‘PARTICIPATION’ WORK?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a good question, but most co-ops have never asked it.<\/p>\n Many co-ops measure whether they have good or bad \u201cparticipation\u201d in their co-op by counting how many members are on a committee or doing chores. And lots of co-ops would say that getting enough members to participate in their co-op has been a huge struggle for as long as they can remember.<\/p>\n But we shouldn\u2019t be asking how many members are participating. Counting the number of hours people spend on co-op chores or how many members are on committees isn\u2019t a result. And when it comes to sound management, results and outcomes are what count.<\/p>\n Instead, we should be asking this question:<\/strong> Because that\u2019s all that counts.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Participation can\u2019t be the goal. It\u2019s not the objective we\u2019re trying to achieve. it\u2019s the means to an end. And that end is good, cost-effective management, sound governance, and healthy communities.<\/p>\n Housing co-ops have been complaining about participation for as long as we can remember. Maybe it\u2019s time to admit that we need to start over and think of a new way to get things done.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s put this long-accepted idea of participation\u2028to the test. if you\u2019re expecting that the unpaid contributions of your members are going to help you with the key jobs in running your co-op well, then there are two fundamental questions you need to ask yourself:<\/p>\n 1. Are your co-op\u2019s finances in order? 2. Are your buildings well maintained? It\u2019s a rare co-op that can check off the whole list. As a result, the co-op housing sector has a huge problem of deferred maintenance. Many buildings need a massive re-investment from replacement reserve funds that, in many cases, don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n We might not want to admit it, but maybe we underestimate how much skill and experience it takes to tackle the sophisticated property management challenge of our co-op buildings.<\/p>\n New homes can absorb a lot of deferred maintenance, but the results of years of neglect are now all too obvious in many co-ops.<\/p>\n We may say that we can\u2019t afford the cost of a reliable maintenance service and a capital plan. But in fact we can\u2019t afford not to have them.<\/p>\n Co-op housing was not meant to be disposable housing. We made promises to the government\u2014 and to our members\u2014that we would provide affordable housing for the long term. Expecting the members to maintain our buildings has not helped us keep that promise.<\/p>\n Why do we make members participate? A co-op is a co-op because the members make decisions together, not because they do everything.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When we say \u201cparticipation is what makes it a co-op\u201d, what we really mean is \u201cthat\u2019s what makes it a housing co-op in Canada.\u201d When was the last time you were expected to take a shift behind the counter at your local credit union? Or stock shelves at Mountain equipment co-op? Or do the oil changes at your local car co-op?<\/p>\n Or help out as a nurse in your community health clinic? These are co-ops too, but they hire staff to take care of the management and other tasks. Why should housing co-ops be any different?<\/p>\n We need members to get more involved in the governance of our co-ops\u2014by voting for the board of directors, attending general meetings, and making good use of the co-op\u2019s services.<\/p>\n A co-op is a co-op because the members own it and make decisions together about how it should be governed and managed, not because they do everything themselves. a co-op is also a co-op because people support each other and care about making their community work.<\/p>\n Which of the seven co-op principles requires volunteers to run the co-op? can\u2019t think of it right away? That\u2019s because the answer is: none of them.<\/p>\n in fact, participation as we\u2019ve defined it doesn\u2019t make a co-op a co-op. it\u2019s the management model Canadian housing co-ops developed in the early days of our movement, and some co-ops have never considered anything else.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why it\u2019s fair to ask, \u201cIs it working?\u201d Because a management model can be kept or not, depending on how well it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n 2. Reason we make members participate Or is it? think about why you do the things you do in your co-op\u2014or anywhere else, for that matter. is it because you have to? or is it because you enjoy huge rewards from being active in your co-op: rewards like influence, learning new skills, personal growth, a social life, and the chance to make a difference in the community?<\/p>\n When you volunteer for something\u2013truly volunteer because you want to, rather than just obeying participation rules\u2013you usually get back much more than you put in. So why do we need to make other members feel ashamed for not doing as much as we do?<\/p>\n Before you stand up at the next meeting to complain about the members who don\u2019t do their fair share, ask yourself if you really need to have more people participating and what it will get you. Will a dysfunctional committee have better meetings with more people?<\/p>\n In fact, we\u2019re alienating good members with our endless speeches about how they\u2019re not measuring up to our standards.<\/p>\n Imagine a member whose only contribution to the co-op is paying her housing charge on time every month, coming to meetings and social events, helping her neighbours, keeping her unit in mint condition and never disturbing other members. Sound perfect? We think so too. But some co-ops would try to punish this model co-op member for not joining a committee. And that just doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n 3. Reason we make members participate Most co-ops have committees because they think they\u2019re supposed to have them or because it\u2019s a way to get members to participate. That\u2019s called arguing in a circle: co-ops need members to participate to fill committees that they created so that members can participate!<\/p>\n The question they should be asking themselves is: what\u2019s the best way to get the job done? if the answer really is a committee, fine. But if you\u2019re not getting the results you need, it\u2019s time to look at other approaches.<\/p>\n in fact most co-ops don\u2019t need a lot of committees to manage their business well. there are exceptions, of course, but you can find housing co-ops with no committees that run just as well or better than co-ops with committees.<\/p>\n In our experience, working with co-ops in difficulty: Some kinds of committees can support good governance and help build community. These include the nominating committee, education committee, policy review committee, social or welcome committee. Other committees add little or no value because they get in the way of the co-op\u2019s management or they\u2019re make-work bodies that feed the participation myth.<\/p>\n 4. Reason we make members participate<\/strong><\/p>\n Because if we don\u2019t make them, they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n This just proves that we don\u2019t understand what makes people tick. try this quick survey in any roomful of people: \u201cHands up if the best way to get you to do something is to tell you that you have to do it.\u201d if you see more than one hand in the air, you\u2019re in a room full of people we\u2019ve never met.<\/p>\n How many people do you know who get involved in their co-ops because they have to? How about you? We didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n Should we really be trying to force other members to get involved? Or does that just make them resentful and less willing to help?<\/p>\n Requiring \u201cparticipation\u201d means that people get involved in their co-ops for all the wrong reasons. Why not try motivating people to get involved for the right reasons? Everyone will be much happier, and much more productive.<\/p>\n 5. Reason we make members participate<\/strong><\/p>\n We make people participate because that\u2019s how you build a community. Participation is the single most divisive issue we\u2019ve seen in our years of living and working in co-ops. it pits member against member, neighbour against neighbour. instead of bringing people together, it can drive them apart and create a bitter, \u201cus against them\u201d atmosphere. it\u2019s bad enough that our model of participation isn\u2019t achieving the management results we\u2019re looking for; it\u2019s even worse that it has made some co-ops a miserable place for people to live.<\/p>\n And it reinforces the idea of participation for participation\u2019s sake. People start to count the hours they\u2019ve put in and don\u2019t look at what they\u2019re trying to accomplish or what might make it a better co-op.<\/p>\n 6. Reason we make members participate<\/strong> This may be the biggest myth of all. it\u2019s hardly ever true. Very often, hiring a professional bookkeeper or accountant actually saves a co-op money.<\/p>\n if you have units that sit vacant for a month or more while volunteer committees try to find the time to paint, clean carpets, and interview prospective new members, the co-op is actually losing more money than it would cost to hire someone to do this work.<\/p>\n Some co-ops are proud of the money they save because they spend so little on maintenance and instead rely on the unskilled free labour of the members. This is a false economy. the result is usually deferred maintenance that will leave the co-op in poor condition and end up costing a lot more money down the road.<\/p>\n Housing co-ops are meant to provide affordable housing for their members by operating at cost. But \u201cat cost\u201d doesn\u2019t mean \u201cas cheap as we can possibly make it\u201d or \u201cwhatever we feel like paying today.\u201d Operating at \u201cbreak even\u201d or \u201cat cost\u201d means spending what it takes to offer a good standard of housing and take care of a valuable real estate asset, now and over the life of our co-ops.<\/p>\n And we owe it to our members. Co-op members deserve a level of service that\u2019s at least as good as the best the private sector rental market has to offer. Instead, many have to resign themselves to second-class housing because \u201cit\u2019s a co-op\u201d and \u201cafter all, we\u2019re only volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n We say we provide co-op housing as a long-term legacy \u2013 providing affordable housing for generations of members. Instead, we\u2019re often treating our co-ops as if they are disposable housing by leaving the upkeep of them to chance.<\/p>\n PART 2: Is it so hard to think that maybe it\u2019s time we took a fresh look at how we do things? And we would argue that our model is broken and does need fixing. We\u2019ve shown that hardly any co-ops are getting the level of participation they want. And we are not getting the outcomes we want from that model.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s review what those outcomes should be.<\/strong><\/p>\n CHF Canada\u2019s guides to Getting Governance Right and Getting Management Right outline the goals of good governance, principled leadership, and sound management in housing co-ops.<\/p>\n Those issues are covered in detail in the guides but here\u2019s a summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n Good governance<\/strong><\/p>\n Governance is concerned with the overall direction of the co-op \u2013 setting policies, adopting budgets and other plans, supervising management and generally seeing to the well-being of the co-op. Governance is the job of the directors and the members who elect them.<\/p>\n Governance is how directors, and the members who elect them, set and control the overall direction of the co-op to ensure its success as a viable business and a co-operative community. In a co-op with good governance, the board<\/p>\n Aside from meeting the basic requirements of membership, the members support good governance by<\/p>\n Sound management<\/strong><\/p>\n Managing is the day-to-day work of running the co-op \u2013 taking care of the business according to the overall direction set by the board.<\/p>\n CHF Canada developed a list of core management standards in 2004. These standards are outlined in Getting Management Right. \u2028\u2028The core Management Standards help co-ops measure and improve the quality of their management.<\/p>\n The guide sets out in detail the results that good management brings. They are divided into five key areas:<\/p>\n A 2020 Co-op CHF Canada has launched 2020 Vision, a program to help co-ops prepare for a strong future. 2020 Vision sets out the five characteristics of a co-op that is well- positioned to tackle the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n A 2020 co-op has Now think about your co-op. Ask yourself a couple of key questions: Where have we accomplished the most?<\/em><\/strong> We think it\u2019s fair to say that co-op members, as volunteers, achieve the best results when they focus their efforts on good governance and community building.<\/p>\n In fact, we think that the most important contribution members can make to their co-op is their role in the co-op\u2019s good governance, which includes building a strong community.<\/p>\n STRATEGIES FOR REAL MEMBER INVOLVEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cParticipation\u201d and real member involvement aren\u2019t the same thing. The role of members should be active and voluntary involvement in the governance of the co-op.<\/p>\n If the most important contribution members can make is their role in good governance and community building, shouldn\u2019t that be where we focus our strategies for member involvement? The mark of any successful company, association, or co-op is that it plays to people\u2019s strengths\u2014it asks their best people to do what they do best.<\/p>\n Member involvement that promotes a co-operative community means respecting diversity and differences in abilities, and encouraging social involvement without insisting on it.<\/p>\n Remember our definition: governance is how directors, and the members who elect them, set and control the overall direction of the co-op to ensure its success as a viable business and a co-operative community.<\/p>\n A BETTER ROLE FOR MEMBERS<\/strong><\/p>\n When we talk about governance, we often focus on the role of the Board. But there\u2019s a critical role for members to play.<\/p>\n Member involvement that makes the co-op a viable business means:<\/strong><\/p>\n Member involvement that promotes a co-operative community means:<\/strong><\/p>\n supporting open and inclusive membership This isn\u2019t \u201cmake work\u201d, it\u2019s real work! And it matters how well we do. In fact, isn\u2019t it what makes us different from other forms of affordable housing?<\/p>\n A WORD ABOUT COMMITTEES<\/strong><\/p>\n As we\u2019ve said earlier, some committees add little or no value because they get in the way of the co-op\u2019s management, or they are make-work bodies that feed the participation myths.<\/p>\n But other committees can play a key role in supporting governance and building communities. And remember, committees don\u2019t have to be permanent fixtures in the co-op\u2019s governance structure. Sometimes the best way to get something done is with an ad hoc committee or a task force\u2014a group of volunteers who get a job done and then wrap up. After all, the point is the task and the outcome, not the structure.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/p>\n In 2007, CHF Canada began asking if our model of member participation works. today, we\u2019re looking at things that members can do that will have the greatest impact on their co-op\u2019s governance. \u2022 making sure that the co-op runs according to the co-op principles Forced member \u201cparticipation\u201d never built a community. If you put people in a situation where they are having fun, making friends and learning something new, it will do more to build a co-op community than all the \u201cparticipation\u201d policies in the world.<\/p>\n Good governance and strong communities are important and challenging goals. Our traditional preoccupation with participation has gotten in the way of these goals. It\u2019s time to rethink what we ask from members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a9 CHF Canada, 2010. Members of CHF Canada may copy and use this guide. This article was published by CHF Canada in 2010. While it may be dated, it raises some interesting questions. It also influenced co-ops including Woodsworth to change their participation requirements. BEYOND PARTICIPATION: Building a Foundation for Real Member Involvement PART 1 … Continue reading “Beyond Participation: building a foundation for real member involvement”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"0","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[589],"tags":[591],"class_list":["post-19645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-participation","tag-chfc"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woodsworthcoop.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWhen co-ops talk about participation, they usually mean the obligation to do some kind of work in running the co-op.<\/p>\n
\nHas our model of participation led to cost-effective, well-managed, well governed housing co-ops that are also good places to live?<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nYour model isn\u2019t working if:
\n\u2022 housing charges aren\u2019t collected on time, from everyone, every month
\n\u2022 bills aren\u2019t paid on time
\n\u2022 arrears aren\u2019t followed up on
\n\u2022 there are directors in arrears
\n\u2022 the co-op has vacancy losses because the membership committee is not able to fill the units quickly
\n\u2022 the co-op\u2019s investments are poorly handled so that the co-op doesn\u2019t have the money it needs for the long term.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nYou can\u2019t maintain a multi-million dollar housing development with an annual clean-up day. \u2028Your model isn\u2019t working if you don\u2019t have:
\n\u2022 a regular system of routine, preventive maintenance
\n\u2022 a quick response to repair need
\n\u2022 skilled responsible people to do the jobs that need doing
\n\u2022 reliable emergency response,
\n\u2022 \u00a0and\u00a0a capital plan, with funded reserves.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nWhen we ask co-ops to explain why members should have to \u201cparticipate\u201d in their co-op, there are plenty of answers. But do those answers stand up under closer examination? Let\u2019s look at the six most common arguments.<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a co-op, and co-ops depend on member participation.
\nBut do they?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\nBecause that\u2019s not how housing co-ops operate in other countries. And that\u2019s not how other types of Canadian co-ops operate.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nWe do it, so why shouldn\u2019t they? Besides, we all signed an agreement when we moved in, and in that agreement we promised to participate.
\nIt\u2019s just not fair!<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nBecause without it, we won\u2019t have enough people to run our committees.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\n\u2022 the biggest obstacle to effective co-op maintenance is often maintenance committees
\n\u2022 the biggest obstacle to sound financial management is often finance committees
\n\u2022 and the biggest obstacle to keeping units full of good members is often membership committees.<\/p>\n
\nin fact it\u2019s proven to be a community wrecker.<\/p>\n
\nCo-op housing is affordable housing, and member participation is the best way to keep costs down.<\/p>\n
\nA co-op may think that it can\u2019t afford a professional bookkeeper. But often the result is much higher audit fees when the financial records kept by volunteers aren\u2019t up to professional standards.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nReal member involvement \u2028\u2028Housing co-ops in Canada have been around for more than 40 years.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThink about it: What company or organization can you name that is successful today and has used the same business model for the last 40 years?
\nYou might say, \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d Quite a lot of well-known brand names have said that in the past. Now those brands are gone.<\/p>\n
\nKey governance activities include:
\n\u2022 identifying goals, setting priorities, and planning
\n\u2022 establishing rules and policies
\n\u2022 selecting, supervising, and evaluating management, and
\nevaluating outcomes.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\u2022 a mission statement and a vision for its future
\n\u2022 good governance and principled leadership
\n\u2022 sound management
\n\u2022 a long term plan, and
\n\u2022 a commitment to environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n
\nIf the five 2020 standards are the outcomes co-ops need to be successful, where have our members, as volunteers, had the most impact?<\/p>\n
\nThen ask:
\nWhere have our members, as volunteers, struggled to achieve the outcomes we need to be successful?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n
\nwelcoming new arrivals to the co-op
\nrespecting diversity and differences in abilities
\nencouraging social involvement without insisting on it
\ncaring for the health and safety of others
\nmodelling co-operative behaviour<\/p>\n
\nHere are some examples:
\n\u2022 nominating committee
\n\u2022 education committee
\n\u2022 policy review committee
\n\u2022 social event committee
\n\u2022 \u201cwelcome wagon\u201d committee<\/p>\n
\nGood governance and strong communities are the members\u2019 jobs. They are important and challenging goals.
\nRather than doing everyday chores and taking on work that should be done by paid professionals, member involvement in governance means:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 meeting all the responsibilities of membership \u2013 the \u201cethical contract\u201d with the co-op
\n\u2022 supporting good governance, principled leadership and sound management
\n\u2022 attending and contributing to membership meetings
\n\u2022 seeking out opportunities for education and training
\n\u2022 sharing leadership duties
\n\u2022 contributing to a rich community life in the co-op through welcoming and orienting new members, and planning social events.<\/p>\n