Call for Collaborators: Offers & Needs Market (OANM) Facilitator Network
WHAT: For our next economic pilot, the Kola Nut Collaborative is embarking on the development of an Offers and Needs Market (OANM) Facilitator Network. OANM has been a key part of our orientation and facilitation toolkit since 2019. Since that time, we have had the opportunity to host Offers and Needs Markets during the Chicago Food Policy Summit, the Co-op Power Climate Justice Summit, and several smaller gatherings in between. The OANM Facilitator Network would expand the number of facilitators of this process within Chicago towards the goal of embedding a culture and practice of skill and resource sharing within these communities.
Our Purpose
- Develop a cohort of 20 experienced OANM practitioners embedded in local community organizations
- Build stronger relationships among this cohort personally and organizationally by sharing skills and resources
- Expand the use and impact of timebanking practice within Chicago communities
- Ground ourselves in community building which centers equity, reciprocity, & self-determination (solidarity economy)
Our Outcomes
- A network of connected practitioners who can make the Offers and Needs Market (OANM) process more available across in Chicago
- Stronger general facilitation practice for Chicago organizations
- A culture and practice of skill and resource sharing which transforms communities
Our Timeline & Process
Our cohort will be meeting bi-weekly for the duration of the project culminating in a series of Offers and Needs Markets hosted by members of the cohort in their respective organizations and communities. The bi-weekly meeting date and time will be scheduled once the cohort is fully formed.
Funding will also be available throughout the program to support project implementation for members of the cohort in their respective communities. This funding can address technology, technical support, accessibility, or other project related needs as they arise when building out the OANM process or expanding the opportunities to practice facilitation for the cohort.
Application Process
- This program is only for those based in Chicago. We look forward to evaluating this pilot and sharing our learnings with other cities seeking to develop a similar offering.
- This program is only available to those who have an established relationship to home organization or collective where they will be developing their practice. We hope to build the infrastructure and capacity of communities by skill building the people already deeply involved in organizing within their community. This is also why there is a cost attached to the application. We expect this cost to be held by the community which is invested in supporting the skill building of these cohort members.
- Application Deadline is March 1st