The Co-op Index enables worker co-ops to:
- Evaluate the degree to which the co-op’s purpose, values and principles are embedded in the business, and applied in a practical fashion in daily operations.
- Help the co-op align its actions, and those of its individual members, with the co-op’s shared values.
- Diagnose areas for improvement and lay out a course of action. (The tool may be used repeatedly for continuous improvement)
- Get a concrete measure of its cooperative identity and co-operative distinctiveness, and as such:
- Better position the co-op as a business that makes a difference in the community, in terms of social, economic and environmental impacts.