Inaugural Executive Education Program on May 11, 2027
Sharing Power & Building the Future of Social Enterprise
What if the future of business depends not on concentrating power, but on sharing it?
Across industries and communities, cooperatives and other innovative enterprises are reimagining how organizations are owned, governed, financed, and led. By placing collaboration, shared decision-making, and stakeholder engagement at the center of their business models, these organizations are opening new pathways to innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth.
But collaborative governance requires more than a commitment to shared ownership. It demands effective leadership, innovative legal and financial structures, and the ability to navigate complex relationships among members, boards, managers, investors, and communities.
Join us to explore the ideas, tools, and relationships shaping the next generation of enterprise.
The Initiative for Cooperatives and Civic Innovation, in collaboration with the Center for Business Law and Society at UC Davis School of Law, presents an inaugural, one-day executive education program on collaborative governance, leadership, and innovation in cooperative and hybrid enterprises.
Why UC Davis?
As a public land-grant research university, UC Davis has a longstanding commitment to connecting scholarship with real-world challenges. Faculty across law, business, communication, and cooperative development bring deep expertise in how organizations share power, make collective decisions, and govern themselves.
Drawing on their research, publications, and teaching, this program offers participants a rare opportunity to engage directly with scholars who study collaborative governance and practitioners who put it into action. Through case studies, practical exercises, and discussion, participants will explore approaches they can apply within their own organizations.
What You'll Gain
- Stronger leadership and governance: Build skills in shared decision-making, board effectiveness, and member engagement.
- Legal and financial strategies: Explore governance structures and financing approaches suited to cooperative and hybrid enterprises.
- Meaningful participation: Identify ways to measure and strengthen member involvement and organizational accountability.
- Innovation and growth: Examine strategies for innovation, organizational change, and communicating cooperative value.
- A lasting professional network: Join the inaugural 2027 cohort and help shape future programming and cross-sector collaboration.
Program Details
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2027
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: UC Davis School of Law (King Hall), Room 2303, Davis, California
Cost: $1,600 per participant. Register by Jan. 31 for early bird pricing: $1,400.
Program Agenda
Welcome Breakfast & Introductions
The Hidden Economy: Cooperatives and the Future of Enterprise
Explore the scale, significance, and potential of cooperative and hybrid business models.
Leading Together: Cooperative Leadership & Member Engagement
Examine the challenges of shared leadership, collective decision-making, and meaningful member participation.
Networking Lunch
Designing for Shared Power: Cooperative Law, Governance & Finance
Explore legal structures, fiduciary responsibilities, and strategies for accessing capital while preserving cooperative purpose.
Innovating Together: Cooperative Strategy, Marketing & Organizational Change
Learn how cooperative enterprises foster innovation, communicate their distinctive value, and navigate organizational change.
Closing Discussion & Evening Reception
Connect with faculty and peers, share lessons, and explore opportunities for continued collaboration.
Faculty & Experts
The program brings together UC Davis faculty whose scholarship and teaching span corporate governance, cooperative development, collective decision-making, and organizational innovation:
Kimberly Elsbach, UC Davis Graduate School of Management — Organizational leadership, identity, and innovation
Rich Morris, Cooperative Executive & Founder of The Business of Cooperatives — Cooperative leadership and practice
Who Should Attend?
Executives, managers, board members, and emerging leaders of cooperatives, employee-owned businesses, and other social enterprises, as well as professionals interested in collaborative approaches to organizational governance.
Join the Inaugural 2027 Cohort
Connect with leaders across sectors, gain practical insights grounded in UC Davis research, and help shape the future of this executive education program.
Participants who complete the program will earn a certificate.
Register now!
Register before January 31, 2027, and receive early bird pricing: $1,400.
Standard registration on or after February 1, 2027: $1,600.
Contact Keith Taylor for group discounts on three or more registrations: [email protected].