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Argentinian Federation of Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Worker Cooperatives
About Us
I am Nicolás
- Founding member of Fiqus, a software development cooperative in Argentina
- Developer, currently coordinating projects and attending commercial opportunities
- FIT coordinator and a member of FACTTIC board
- Founded in 2011
- 12 members spread over 2 Locations
- Python (Django), Elixir, Javascript (NodeJS, VueJS)
- Weekly trainings: Functional programming and machine learning
I am Neto
- Founding member of Camba, a cooperative of software development and educational projects in technology
- A clown, currently I’m coordinating projects and attending commercial opportunities
- FIT coordinator and also a member of FACTTIC board
- Located in CABA (The City of Buenos Aires)
- 20 members
- Python (Django), Javascript (NodeJS, VueJS)
- Creative Technologies Laboratory: Technology education services, workshops and trainings
- Founded in 2011
- 16 software development cooperatives
- Distributed in different regions of the country, so we interact mostly in virtual way
Note: The federation arises from the need to organize and group together to develop joint strategies that allow us to strengthen our cooperatives through training in new technologies, organizational processes and business management.
How we interact
- We share a mailing list
- Daily basis communication: Mattermost
- Virtual board meeting once a month (open to all members)
- Face-to-face meetings twice a year
Note: As our colleagues of the tech workers coalition say: “Show up! Because we value all forms of participation, but the most important way to participate is through in-person participation. We get things done by people showing up.”
Special areas in the federation
FIC
- Technology training for specific projects
- Technology update in most used technologies in the market
FIC Case study
- Client asks for more developers for his project
- There were no developers in the federation for that specific technology
- We managed to build a relationship of trust with the client
- They financed a course to train new cooperative developers
FIT
Space to share projects
Some basic rules
- If you want to participate, you have to be a member of the federation
- You can be a FACTTIC member and not participate in FIT
Note: If you are not yet a formal co-operative, we allow the participation of pre-cooperatives with the goal of helping them to strengthen as they are formally constituted. the strategy of encouraging the development of new cooperatives aims to increase the number of workers who take over their livelihoods.
How we interact
- We have a monthly virtual meeting
- We share a special Mattermost channel
Workflow introduction
- Cooperation instead of competition
- Many cases are possible
- Constantly improving this workflow
Workflow
CASE 1: “WORKFLOW FOR EXPANSION”
A project demands more developers than the cooperative wants or can assign to the project
“WORKFLOW FOR EXPANSION”
- One client asks for more developers on the team
- Our cooperative cannot satisfy that need
- We communicate the request to the FIT to find the developers needed
Note: Perhaps because of a strategic issue or because of a specific technology
“WORKFLOW FOR EXPANSION”
- If there are interested cooperatives, the candidates are evaluated
- If they qualify for the project and the client agrees, they can join the development team
- We explain to the client what intercooperation is and how we work in that way
Note: We explain to the client that the developer is from another cooperative
“WORKFLOW FOR EXPANSION”
- The commercial agreement and the coordination is carried out by only one cooperative
Note: Although several cooperatives could be working on the project, broadly speaking only one cooperative coordinates the project.
CASE 2: “WORKFLOW TO DELEGATE A PROJECT”
A potential client requires development and for some reason we decide not to take it
“WORKFLOW TO DELEGATE A PROJECT”
- A job opportunity appears
- We decide we wont take the project
- We communicate it to FIT, specifying the request received
Note: Perhaps because of a strategic issue or because of a specific technology. We wait to see if there are co-operatives interested and available to take it
“WORKFLOW TO DELEGATE A PROJECT”
- If there is NO INTERESTED cooperative, then it means we don’t have the availability to take it
- If there is one or more interested co-operatives, then the workflow is PUT INTO ACTION
“WORKFLOW TO DELEGATE A PROJECT”
One interested party
- The contact is passed and they can continue with the client directly
“WORKFLOW TO DELEGATE A PROJECT”
More than one interested party
- If the project requires JUST ONE developer, it’s given to the cooperative who needs it most
- If the project requires MORE THAN ONE developer, the interested co-operatives manage the project as a team
FIT Case studies
Case studies
- Client from Canada (CASE 1)
- Website for selling bus tickets and tickets to events
- 5 years of development
- Technologies: MongoDB, NodeJS, VueJS and Elixir
- 35 developers from 7 different cooperatives participate in the project
Case studies
- Client from Canada (CASE 1)
- Website that shows real-time psychological insights of staff
- 2 years of development
- Technologies: PostrgeSQL, ReactJS and Django
- 3 developers from 2 different cooperatives participate in the project
Case studies
- Client from Chile (CASE 2)
- Mobile application to show mall services
- 1 years of development
- Technologies: React Native, PostrgeSQL, Flask
- 4 developers from 3 different cooperatives participated in the project
Case studies
- Client from Argentina (CASE 2)
- Web system specialized in displaying vulnerability alerts on servers
- 2 years of development
- Technologies: BackboneJS, PostrgeSQL, Flask
- 4 developers from 2 different cooperatives participated in the project
Next challenge
How do we manage to build a similar model globally?
Note: Tech co-ops global network maybe?
The following is the answer to this question, which will solve all the problems of the co-operative movement
Note: This model is based in trusted relationships between the cooperatives involved.