Community Bike Shops and academic research.
Community Bike folk, I'm trying to settle on a topic for a masters thesis and I'm interested in doing research into the organizational, legal and funding structures of community bike shops. I know that at bikebike minneapolis there was a session called "Plan Voltron" about creating a "cooperative of cooperatives" and some of the folks from our bike shop that made it to toronto mentioned this was also a topic of conversation this year. My first thought is that a qualitative and quantitative overview or survey of community bike shops would give a solid base for further work on this idea by identifying needs, wants, strengths, characteristics, etc. that would be useful to organizing linkages between shops. My main focus of study so far has been the "worker centers" movement, which seem to parallel community bike shops in some interesting ways, such as being relatively new, decentralized, and fast growing. I think this ( http://smlr.rutgers.edu/Unions/FineWorker.pdf) study that was done of workercenters would serve as a good model for one of community bike shops since it's central aim is to be useful for further movement building. So, now to the questions:
- Does anyone know of any research done on community bike shops, academic
or otherwise? 2. Would you see this as potentially useful information? Useful enough to participate in a survey of your shop? 3. If so, what kinds of things would you like to see research on?
I would be doing this using both traditional research methods as well as more "strategic investigation" techniques, meaning that perspective would be from within the movement as a participant and their would be a specific strategic "usefulness" for the end result.
Wish I could have been at bikebike to pitch this idea personally, but I know sara talked to a few folks about it.
Thanks, Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
Thethinktank mailing listThethinktank@bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
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In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets, etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM, veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
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One thing I see is the necessity for grantors and grantees to "match scale." Many grantors don't want to talk about a need for a few thousand dollars. To give such a small sum away and manage the grant afterwards to verify that it was applied correctly isn't worth their time. At the same time, many bicycle collectives don't want to go after the "big money" because of the strings attached. An umbrella organization could help the two see eye to eye.
Doug Franz President Coatesville Community Bike works
-----Original Message----- From: thethinktank-bounces@bikecollectives.org [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Morrison Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 5:31 PM To: The Think Tank Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Community Bike Shops and academic research.
In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets,
etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM, veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of
this
list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also
be
game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and
projects
that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships,
archiving,
history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want
to
be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org
To manage your subscription, plase visit:
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Creating a large registered organization was something that we briefly talked about at one of the workshops at Bike!Bike!, the main reason was to help give small cooperatives power to order from a centralized distributer. Although the idea of creating an umbrella organization to gain access to greater funding for many is likely on the table and should be discussed throughly, I didn't get the impression that this was the sole intent.
The idea of a collective!collective! could be as simple as increasing communication and resource sharing between our organizations. Also, it sounds like Ainsley was interested first in creating a mission statement for Bike!Bike! itself, whether or not it became more than a yearly conference.
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 3:31 PM, Jonathan Morrison wrote:
In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets, etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM,veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwingoodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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I'd love to be included in discussions/planning related to a larger, loosely coupled collective of community bike projects.
re: veganjosh's spreadsheet... I think it's a googledoc that can be set up sop others can get access....let me know if josh don't have the time to share it; I think I still have access...
Boson Au 2818 st paul st. apt 1F Baltimore, MD 21218 443-286-8494
http://velocipedebikeproject.org 4 W. Lanvale St. Baltimore, MD
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:39 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Creating a large registered organization was something that we briefly talked about at one of the workshops at Bike!Bike!, the main reason was to help give small cooperatives power to order from a centralized distributer. Although the idea of creating an umbrella organization to gain access to greater funding for many is likely on the table and should be discussed throughly, I didn't get the impression that this was the sole intent.
The idea of a collective!collective! could be as simple as increasing communication and resource sharing between our organizations. Also, it sounds like Ainsley was interested first in creating a mission statement for Bike!Bike! itself, whether or not it became more than a yearly conference.
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 3:31 PM, Jonathan Morrison wrote:
In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets,
etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM,veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwingoodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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i have time. i know that it started last year with about 30 or 40 people from this list and bike!bike! in Mpls, who were talking about a larger organization, and it's since grown to include over 200 organizations, as i integrated a few different lists into it.
since it started as a relatively small group, i know that there's some personal phone numbers and email addresses in there. from a privacy and security standpoint, it's probably best that these be left out of some document that's moving forward.
On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Boson Au instructions@gmail.com wrote:
I'd love to be included in discussions/planning related to a larger, loosely coupled collective of community bike projects.
re: veganjosh's spreadsheet... I think it's a googledoc that can be set up sop others can get access....let me know if josh don't have the time to share it; I think I still have access...
Boson Au 2818 st paul st. apt 1F Baltimore, MD 21218 443-286-8494
http://velocipedebikeproject.org 4 W. Lanvale St. Baltimore, MD
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:39 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Creating a large registered organization was something that we briefly talked about at one of the workshops at Bike!Bike!, the main reason was to help give small cooperatives power to order from a centralized distributer. Although the idea of creating an umbrella organization to gain access to greater funding for many is likely on the table and should be discussed throughly, I didn't get the impression that this was the sole intent.
The idea of a collective!collective! could be as simple as increasing communication and resource sharing between our organizations. Also, it sounds like Ainsley was interested first in creating a mission statement for Bike!Bike! itself, whether or not it became more than a yearly conference.
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 3:31 PM, Jonathan Morrison wrote:
In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets,
etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM,veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwingoodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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SRAM was interested in supporting collectives, but didn't necessarily want to deal with individual applications, so for any of us to get that funding a larger organization would be necessary intermediary.
This is the person to talk to: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/randy-neufeld/5/83/85a
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 9:15 AM, veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
i have time. i know that it started last year with about 30 or 40 people from this list and bike!bike! in Mpls, who were talking about a larger organization, and it's since grown to include over 200 organizations, as i integrated a few different lists into it.
since it started as a relatively small group, i know that there's some personal phone numbers and email addresses in there. from a privacy and security standpoint, it's probably best that these be left out of some document that's moving forward.
On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Boson Au instructions@gmail.com wrote:
I'd love to be included in discussions/planning related to a larger, loosely coupled collective of community bike projects.
re: veganjosh's spreadsheet... I think it's a googledoc that can be set up sop others can get access....let me know if josh don't have the time to share it; I think I still have access...
Boson Au 2818 st paul st. apt 1F Baltimore, MD 21218 443-286-8494
http://velocipedebikeproject.org 4 W. Lanvale St. Baltimore, MD
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:39 PM, Godwin goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Creating a large registered organization was something that we briefly talked about at one of the workshops at Bike!Bike!, the main reason was to help give small cooperatives power to order from a centralized distributer. Although the idea of creating an umbrella organization to gain access to greater funding for many is likely on the table and should be discussed throughly, I didn't get the impression that this was the sole intent.
The idea of a collective!collective! could be as simple as increasing communication and resource sharing between our organizations. Also, it sounds like Ainsley was interested first in creating a mission statement for Bike!Bike! itself, whether or not it became more than a yearly conference.
-godwin
On 22/08/2010 3:31 PM, Jonathan Morrison wrote:
In the not so distant past (mostly at Interbikes) I have been approached by larger funding entities sincerely interested in creating a formal "Bikes Belong" / "Alliance for Walking and Biking" for community bike organizations. Where large sums of money could be given to the formal larger organization, and then filtered down to the smaller community bike orgs. Even start up grants and packages for new orgs. On many levels it would be very empowering and give our community a clear voice. However...
While there were a few orgs that would be interested, there wasn't enough to create the critical mass of membership that representatives in the bike industry were looking for. Even if the membership was adequate, it would require adding business structure and accountability to a lot of organizations that were working just fine without those things.
So while I did think about it a lot, I have to be honest, I don't think it appropriate or even worth it for *this* group.
Our organizations are decentralized, autonomous, and internally motivated. While at the same time we have voluntary channels for information sharing and communication through the Bike Collective Network tools, Bike!Bike!, and others. There is redundant work, overlap, and lessons re-learned -- but to an acceptable degree. Frankly, what we have is simple, low overhead, functional but not elaborate.
I think this is the challenge with sustainability. Everyone always wants to see and feel growth. Orgs reach the mission and stabilize -- but either those involved or the community still wants more. At which point they break something that worked just for the sake of fixing it again, often out of scope with the mission.
So the question in my mind becomes... What more would a "cooperative of cooperatives" yield to the community bike projects that wouldn't be possible with our currently decentralized structure? Furthermore, would the existing and future community bike projects be willing to conform elements of their current structure in order to reap some of those benefits?
In my mind benefits would be things like:
- Centralized/single contact point for [inter]national media.
- Career creation for staff at an [inter]national headquarters.
- Group buying power (printing, graphic design, tools, parts, helmets,
etc.,..).
- Retainer services (legal, cpa, grant writing, etc.,...)
- A dirty word, but effectively a franchise package for rapid startup
and growth.
- Foundation like attributes such as grants.
- Accept and disperse large in-kind donations from the bike industry
Again, while some of those sound really great, we are all doing them locally in one way or another already.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM,veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
Godwin, I'm guessing the small group of people involved in software development all have access to email? Can we take the discussion off of this list (with anyone who's interested being welcome to join and receive/contribute, of course) with the goal of more focused and rapid discussion that doesn't distract from the purpose of this group?
I'm no longer a paid employee at Community Cylces, but I am still here and interested and passionate about bikes being the way of the future. This project specifically is something I'm interested in contributing to.
josh.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Godwingoodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
I would most definitely like to be a part of this. At Bike!Bike! we put together a small group to work on software development but I would also be game for some brainstorming and decision making.
Did you want to take lead on getting this off the ground Ainsley?
-godwin On 22/08/2010 12:12 PM, Ainsley Naylor wrote:
sounds great. the *collective of collectives* is going to be a main-focus for me within this community for the coming year. lots of ideas and projects that need to be hatched and hashed out.
talk to VeganJosh about the spreadsheet he has started whcih has a very large collection of data on 150+ bike collectives.
also somewhat related: what about a Bike!Bike! collective that helps facilitate work from year to year? website, money, scholarships, archiving, history-writing? We realized last week that B!B! needs to have a mission statement and an anti-oppression policy, among other things. anyone want to be a part of this work?
bike love, ainsley.
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participants (7)
-
Ainsley Naylor -
andrew bushaw -
Boson Au -
Doug Franz -
Godwin -
Jonathan Morrison -
veganboyjosh＠gmail.com