What / Who are our Minnesota Service Cooperatives?

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Written by Mike Jordahl, Sourcewell Education Consultant, MCTM Region 7 Director

As an education consultant at one of our MN service cooperatives, I am often approached with the below thoughts:

    • What is a service cooperative?  What do they do?
    • I wonder what service cooperative supports our area.

For a historical background of our Minnesota service cooperatives, click here.

The Minnesota Service Cooperatives (MSC) is a Joint Powers organization comprised of Minnesota’s individual regional Service Cooperatives. MSC, harnessing the collective effort and energy of all nine member organizations, is well positioned to convene and assemble strategic partnerships to solve problems and implement statewide initiatives. 

Our Minnesota Service Cooperatives serve our areas with several collective duties:

    • Identify and analyze service opportunities and needs for our members.
    • Provide advice to state policy makers on the needs, priorities, and system of accountability for local education programs and other governmental agencies.
    • Present and serve exclusively the participating Service Cooperatives and their members’ interests.
    • Facilitate interagency collaboration in the delivery of programs. Promote development of services and programs to children and members, among state and local education and general government agencies.
    • Develop policy to fit service needs and issues. Anticipate future trends in the needs of members and help develop policies and services to accommodate the needs and issues.  Bring staff expertise to bear on major issues and problems. 
    • Utilize the program and technical expertise of Service Cooperative personnel through collaboration and cooperation.
    • Continue the support and development of Regional Service Cooperative staff. Encourage internal staff development in recruitment, orientation, training, and in new techniques.
    • Provide support for the successful operations of each Service Cooperative through regional service delivery.
    • Encourage Program Delivery. Members may work together to provide collaborative programs or services to their members, in accordance with their enabling statue, M.S. 123A.21, subd. 7.
    • Act as a Liaison. Encourage, support and foster effective working relationships with national and state organizations including the Legislative, Executive and Administrative bodies.

These service cooperatives meet regularly in-person and virtually as a whole and connect often with each other to collaborate on how they can support us.  These collaborations include:

Here is more information on how to find your Minnesota service cooperative with contact information. Notice under Agency Leadership & Contact Information, each of our MSCs have their own website with specific information for your region.

Citation: Minnesota Service Cooperatives / Homepage (mnservcoop.org)