V6A Labs
WORK WITH US
Cooperative Network Ecosystems — Applied Researchers | Part-Time (Contract)STATUS: March 27th, 2024 — Hiring Completed | Project in Progress
Co-operatives offer the potential for truly democratic models of governance, finance and management of resources. An intriguing and under-observed aspect of cooperativism is the degree of synergy and collaboration between individual efforts that occur in geographically-bound (e.g. cities, neigbourhoods) and/or digitally-enabled spaces. This applied research into Networked Cooperative Ecosystems (NCEs) aims to shed light on the state of various cooperative ecosystems, explore the intricacies of their interplay, and better understand the nature of and prerequisites for collaborative efforts that can create a more self-supporting economic flywheel.
V6A is seeking part-time researchers to conduct an initial (global) ecosystem scan and survey of existing cooperative networks at the neighbourhood and city-level, as well as those networks adopting digital means for more global coordination, communication and resource exchange. This pilot project will serve as a foundation for the development of an NCE protocol and possibly future work opportunities.
We’re looking for independent thinkers who can bridge between fields and pull from their own expertise to contribute to the work. Given our focus on operating in complex problem spaces, we take a “branch” based approach to probem-solving, which often looks like a lot of muddling, synthesizing, and experimentation. As such, we’re looking for people who enjoy working in ambiguity, but bring with them skills and an approach that is biased towards muddling through, not around.
For this project specifically, here are a few skills and topics that could be useful to have/know about, though certainly not exhaustive:
- Research ↔ Digital Prototyping
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Knowledge Graphs & Synthesis
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Text Embeddings
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Historical/Web-based Research
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Interviewing Experience
- Bridging Systems
- Protocol-thinking
Compensation & Timeline
$25 - $40 CAD/hour
1.5 - 2 months (30 - 70 hours per person) starting late March
We are not looking for formal qualifications or applications to be considered for this role, but rather a demonstrated interest in the topics at hand. If this is a problem space that resonates with you, please get in touch at rithikha@v6acolab.org .