Field Guide: Practicing the Habits of a Healthy Cooperative Democracy

Michael Healy | September 24, 2025

The CBLD Policy Template includes the suggestion that a board of directors should “practice the habits of a successful democracy,” and should “practice, protect, promote and perpetuate a healthy democracy for our Cooperative.” This seems like a tall order, and boards might get stumped trying to figure out how to translate aspirational goals like these into concrete actions. This Field Guide will outline some of the key ingredients of democracy as practiced within the context of a cooperatively owned business. As you read, you may want to reflect on your own board’s habits. Which things do you do well and regularly? In which areas would you like to develop better habits?

With all that in mind, here is a set of questions to spark your own thinking about what a healthy democracy might look like for your board. Within each section you will find suggestions for other resources that can provide further guidance. (The list is not comprehensive; browse the Columinate library for other resources.)

Bylaws. Begin with your co-op’s bylaws as a foundation for all that follows. Do they clearly define the rights and responsibilities of your co-op’s member-owners, and the board’s role?

Related resources: Fresh Start Bylaws, Bylaws basics

Elections. Democratic Member Control is one of the cooperative principles defined in the ICA “Statement on the Cooperative Identity.” The board has a role in bringing this principle to life, ensuring that member-owners have easy and effective ways to elect their leaders and to vote on other items that are within the member-owners’ purview. Do you have contested elections for the board? Do you pay attention to how your co-op’s voting processes encourage and support wide participation? Do you provide easily accessible educational materials that explain the choices members are asked to make?

Related resources: Elections, Ensuring Meaningful Elections

Board perpetuation and continuity. The board should take responsibility for ensuring that the co-op always has a functional board. Consider that the board is made up of both the people who serve as directors and the systems and structures that help the board function. Within a healthy cooperative democracy, the board will regularly attend to both aspects—the people as well as the systems and structures that help those people do their best work. So… Do you regularly recruit qualified candidates for elections and appointments? Do you have a robust orientation for new directors? Do you intentionally and carefully nurture current directors’ potential for taking on board leadership roles? And… Do you have written policies and/or agreements that define the board’s role? Do you have and follow an annual planning calendar? Do you have written charters that carefully define committees’ roles?

Board meetings and decisions. Much, maybe most, of the board’s work happens in meetings. Do you have good meeting habits? Do all directors prepare for and fully participate in those meetings? Do you have processes that help you hear a full range of perspectives on important matters? Do you incorporate relevant data into your deliberations? Do you have a clear decision-making rule? Do you have a way to control for the possibility of directors’ conflicts of interest? Do you have a shared understanding of the distinction between board meetings (where members can observe) and other types of meetings where members participate?

Training and education. The 5th Cooperative Principle highlights the importance of ongoing training and education for the co-op’s elected leaders (and others). This is important not just for the individuals, but also for the board as a whole and for the co-op itself. Do you regularly invest resources to support board education? Do you encourage, and maybe even require, directors to get training that helps them do their job well?

Member participation. This Field Guide is written primarily for co-ops that have an elected board that is charged with taking care of the co-op on behalf of the member-owners. These boards need to develop and maintain habits that support and encourage appropriate member participation. Especially as co-ops grow, much of this work will be carried out at an operational level. Has your board authorized and empowered management to engage members in the life of the co-op? Do you have methods for considering member values, balancing what you hear from the few who may voice opinions with what you can discern about the many who may not have much to say? Do you track and work to discern the meaning of data about member participation in various aspects of the life of your co-op (economic activity, social events, voting, etc.)? Do you have reasonable communication mechanisms for including your members in the ongoing conversation about your co-op’s direction?

Cooperative Governance. The Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance model was designed to help us see the fullness of what it takes to steer a cooperatively owned enterprise toward success, meeting member-owners’ common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. We can learn and practice useful habits within each of the pillars, and this Field Guide is intended to encourage you and your board to develop and maintain habits that sustain a healthy democracy through regular attention. Which aspects of your practice might you want to celebrate? Which aspects might you want to improve? Our co-ops and our communities will benefit when the co-op’s leaders keep an eye on that north star: a healthy, successful democracy.