Research Projects
Cooperative Governance Research Initiative
Thanks to generous seed funding from CoBank and the Cooperative Development Foundation, UWCC launched the first national, cross-sector, mixed-methods study on the governance practices of U.S. cooperatives in 2021.

2021 Cooperative Governance Research Initiative: Ag Sector Findings
The 2021 CGRI survey yielded responses from 500 cooperatives. Of those 500 cooperatives, 67 serve agricultural producers and have boards comprised of producer-members. Our latest CGRI report is the first to focus on a subset of respondents: ag co-ops

Collective Action in Rural Communities
Funded by the Agriculture Food Research Initiative, the goal of the project is to enhance opportunities for rural cooperative entrepreneurship by providing decision-making tools and resources to cooperative and economic developers.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Survey
UWCC conducted a national survey on cooperatives' practices related to (D)emocratic governance and empowerment; (E)quity, diversity, and inclusion; and the (F)inancial security and advancement of workers. Findings will be published in October.

Latinx Cooperative Research
This research initiative aims to recognize and better understand the collective role of Latinx cooperatives in the broader co-op community. Read the full report here.

Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives
The first-ever census of U.S. cooperatives, this project describes and quantifies the magnitude of economic activity accounted for by cooperative businesses in the United States.
