Re: state EO programs

[John Logue <jlogue@kent.edu>]

Don -

you are awfully generous in your comments

if I could add one thing to our program in Ohio, it would be an venture
fund with a preference for employee ownership, especially as an exit
strategy

J.

At 12:10 PM 11/01/2001, you wrote:

Sara --
 
     I'm surprise no one has yet answered your latest question (maybe they have privately).  The model program is the Ohio Employee Ownership Center.  The only thing I'd add to the elements of their program (see their website) would be a revolving loan fund to facilitate employee ownership deals.
 
Don Jamison (at the nascent Vermont Employee Ownership Center -- modelled, largely, on the Ohio Center)

-----Original Message-----
From: Sara Lawrence <sara@cfed.org>
To: 'EOsubnat@cog.kent.edu' <EOsubnat@cog.kent.edu>
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2001 3:30 PM
Subject: RE: state EO programs

One more question:
Which state(s) has/have the best EO program?  The program that most closely matches a model program.  Which 'best practice' elements does the actual program have and which elements are missing?

-----Original Message-----

From: John Logue [mailto:jlogue@kent.edu]

Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 8:05 PM

To: EOsubnat@cog.kent.edu

Subject: Re: state EO programs

I think that Jim's point is key.  There has to be a point person who really knows what to do for any state program to be successful.  Even though MI hasn't had earmarked funding for employee ownership for several years, the state still has a working program because they have a guy who plays that role very successfully.

In our original state legislation study, we interviewed one guy in one state (which will appropriately remain unnamed for the obvious reason) who we had been referred to as responsible for implementing the program.

"Really?? We have an employee ownership program?  Well, that is a good thing to have.  I should find out more about it.  Can you give me the legislative citation please?"

At 07:38 AM 10/29/2001, you wrote:

Sara-

I think the criteria you note plus those John Logue added would be excellent guidelines for a 'quality' state program.   I might add that the identification of at least one individual who has expertise in this area in state government would be a good idea.  There are various pieces of state legislation around which have never materialized because no one has ever been given the specific authority and support to implement a specific employee ownership program.

Michigan has met all of those criteria since its program inception in 1979.

Regards,   Jim Houck

>>> sara@cfed.org 10/23/01 10:27AM >>>

Hello,

I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the following:

We are working on a project at the Corporation for Enterprise Development

(CFED) benchmarking outcomes and policies at the state level that are

promoting asset building and asset protection for state residents.  Within

this "Assets Report Card" we are including state policies that promote

business capital as one set of asset building strategies.  Within business

capital, one of our measures evaluates  employee ownership programs at the

state level.

In this measure, we want to make sure that the program meets a certain

threshold, so that we aren't praising a state that has an EO program that

isn't good, or effective.

From reading John Logue's recent article, I picked these out as requirements

for a quality EO state program:

-disseminates info

-provides assistance with succession planning

-encourages employee participation

Do you think this is a decent standard, or do you have any suggestions on

what we should or should not consider in determining a threshold for a

quality EO program?  The difficulty here is that we want to define a

standard for a quality program, yet we don't want to overwhelm

state policymakers with requirements that seem impossible for state

officials to consider. 

The end result of our project will be a set of criteria, where we can

"check" or give credit to a state for having these elements in their EO

program.

Suggestions on what you consider essential for an effective EO program at

the state level would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Sara Lawrence

Sara Lawrence

Corporation for Enterprise Development

123 West Main Street, 3rd Floor

Durham NC 27701

919.688.6444

http://www.cfed.org