Policy Shaping and Making
Weekend Newsletter • Vol 109
Welcome Back! One Fun Thing:
Dr. Hand’s latest published paper, on steward ownership, is out!
Co-authored with Luca Manellia, Simon Pek, Marya Besharov and others, the paper explores how the emergence of steward ownership will impact business and management research
💥 In This Issue
Top Shelf News
Events + Opportunities
Analysis + Opinion
On employee stock ownership plans
On worker cooperatives
On employee/purpose trusts + steward ownership
On the ownership economy
Academic News + Opportunities
In Case You Missed It
🥃 Top Shelf News
Project Equity’s new employee ownership policy database is live; the press release, with a quote from Dr. Hand, is here
The Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) welcomed to its Board of Directors Lisa Gomez, former U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security
The Senate Appropriations Committee has allotted $2 million in funding for the Employee Ownership Initiative in the fiscal year 2026
Michigan announced a pilot program with $500,000 designated for expanding access to employee ownership across the state
Remember that anti-private equity article from Katie Boland? Roody Senatus wrote it up this week for ImpactAlpha; Katie Boland responds
In another high-traction LinkedIn post, Matthew Epperson argues that we need to decolonize the historical narrative on cooperatives
🌇 Events + Opportunities
August 20: The ICA Group’s MassHire Business Resource Seminar in Lawrence, MA
August 26: The Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University’s A Tax Advantageous Ownership Transition Strategy for Family Business (virtual)
August 24-26: The ESOP Association’s Annual CEO Summit in Jackson Hole, WY
August 27: NCEO’s EOT One-Day Workshop on employee ownership trusts in Philadelphia
August 30: The 3rd annual Rutgers-Oxford Employee Ownership Research Symposium in Oxford, UK
🆕 | Sep 11-12: The National Employee-Owner Summit in Downers Grove, IL
The Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership is hiring a part time executive director
For a full list of upcoming ownership economy events, see this page.
🔍 Analysis + Opinion
On employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
Atlantic Farms, a cannabis firm in Maine, is now employee-owned. Congrats!
See NCEO’s report on the Senate HELP Committee hearing from last week
A Texas man went from unemployed to creating family wealth through an ESOP
Employee-Owned S Corporations of America published a new Q&A with long-time employee ownership advocate Senator Chuck Grassley
The Owners at Work podcast features Todd Leverette and Kyle Chin-How of Apis & Heritage. They discuss how A&H is closing the capital gap in employee ownership transitions, having already created 450+ worker-owners and raised $85M for their second fund
Project Equity debunks some myths about employee ownership
On worker cooperatives
Esteban Kelly argues that co-operatives play a vital role in supporting a thriving democracy
In the UK, Peter Hunt asks and answers what it would take to double the number of cooperatives
On employee/purpose trusts + steward ownership
Antony Bugg-Levine asks whether private equity’s involvement in the employee ownership movement represents a relative good or hinders greater growth
Miren Oca appeared on the first episode of the Georgia Center for Employee Ownership’s podcast to discuss the benefits of employee ownership for workers, businesses, and communities
On the ownership economy
The Baker Project for Employee Ownership has released an AI bot designed to answer employee ownership questions. Check it out and let us know your thoughts!
Pete Stavros shared that Ownership Works has distributed $1 billion to workers, with another $8 billion projected. The coalition now has over 100 partners, marking major growth and impact
In The Spirit of Wealth Preservation, Ken Polk challenges traditional methods and values of wealth preservation (h/t: Natalie R)
John Abrams shares his experience leading a worker-owned company in this Truth To Power interview
Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center published a webinar covering the different forms of employee ownership
The Democracy at Work Institute’s School for Democratic Management has launched their online learning platform, with free courses available online in multiple languages
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program has selected 106 Fellows for its Workforce Leadership Academies in six regions to strengthen local workforce systems
The Roosevelt Institute’s Restoring Economic Democracy lays out an progressive industrial policy, including a piece by Osita Nwanevu calling for more economic democracy
In NPQ, Monica Cadena and Ciara Segura highlights that owning space—whether for housing, business, or agriculture—is essential for community stability and control over local development
Jack Moriarty and Jim Sorenson want lawmakers to incorporate employee ownership into the International Development Finance Corporation’s statutory mandate
📚 Academic News
Claassen Casper Hendrik et al. published a new paper, Intersecting Identities, on the perspectives of workers in South Korean social cooperatives
Shelley Poole completed her dissertation, Hearing the Employee Owner's Voice, on voice and involvement in employee owned businesses in the UK. Congrats Shelley!
Benedek Homola completed a master’s thesis on the motivations behind entrepreneurs’ adoption of steward ownership models
⏮️ ICYMI
Nigel Watson has published a step-by-step guide to setting up an employee ownership trust. It’s UK-focused, but minus the language around tax incentives and beneficiaries, a useful guide for US business, too (h/t David S and thanks to Susan G for the clarification)
Our partners at The Aspen Institute have a newsletter as well - take a look at their latest edition highlighting small businesses and local ownership
Missed the Oxford Symposium? Andy Farquharson has you covered with highlights and snippets from Day 2
Jason Wiener invites you to check out JWPC's July Newsletter where they spotlight CoLab Cooperative as our July Coop of the Month