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Open Call for Applications for the 2024-2025 ICDE Fellowship Program

By ICDE
Photo credit Victor Barcellos

Are you a Ph.D. student or junior academic engaged in research related to cooperative principles within the digital economy? If so, the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy at The New School welcomes you to apply for our 2024/2025 Fellows cohort.

Fellowship Highlights

The non-residential Fellowship starts on March 18, 2024, and lasts for a year. The first highlight is the June 9th symposium in person at The New School in NYC to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy, with the goal of convening a gathering of all 43 research fellows, encompassing both past and present participants, in NYC. The second highlight is the PCC conference in Kenya scheduled for early November 2024. In addition to the annual highlights, Fellows participating in the program meet monthly, providing regular opportunities for collaboration and discussion throughout the year. For Fellows, all PCC programming, including ICDE’s mini-courses and upcoming events focusing on LLC worker co-ops, failed tech-enabled collectives, and “solidarity platformization,” is provided at no cost.

About

The Platform Cooperativism Consortium (PCC)
PCC is a collaborative hub fostering global growth in the cooperative digital ecosystem through movement-building, policy analysis, education, and resource sharing. Explore our Resource Library on the cooperative digital economy. Discover active projects in our Directory. To understand our principles better, watch a short talk where we elaborate on our work. The Consortium maintains an extensive network of scholars, partners, and sister organizations and convenes an annual conference that has previously been held in Thiruvananthapuram, Rio de Janeiro, New York City, Hong Kong, and Berlin.

The Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy (ICDE)
The ICDE has contributed to a wide range of discussions, including in Cooperative, Organizational, and Labor Studies, Industrial Organization, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Democracy at Work. The institute has also played a key role in helping establish the academic subfield of SolidarityTech through the research reportsand sprints conducted by our Fellows spanning from 2019 to 2023. Our work has had a notable influence on the policy thinking and vision of major political parties in several countries. A policy paper showcases our approach to municipal policy. Our current Fellows, Affiliated Researchers, Faculty, and members of the PCC Council of Advisors bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the ICDE, enriching the intellectual life of the institute. More information about the ongoing work of our Fellows can be found on our blog.

The Institute is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive global community. We actively welcome applications from individuals representing diverse backgrounds, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, race, weight, caste, national origin, disability, religion, economic backgrounds, and social classes, as well as diverse experiences to strengthen our intellectual community.

Program Details and Responsibilities

Fellows receive a one-time $2,000 for travel expenses to the next conference in Kenya; however, visa costs are not covered, and they are responsible for reporting and paying taxes on stipends.

  • Fellows commit to engage in various activities within our intellectual community and must contribute to the November 2024 conference in Kenya in person.
  • Access resources and connections, including faculty at The New School and our extensive network of over 900 researchers, former and current Fellows, the PCC Council of Advisors, and experts in SolidarityTech.
  • Fellows undertake the responsibility of producing academic reports, typically comprising approximately 10,000 words.

Topics of Interest (2024-2025)

  • Platform Cooperatives in Global Contexts
    Researching the rise and impact of platform cooperatives around the world, particularly in the Global South, focusing on their effects on local economies and communities.
  • Governance, Worker Rights, and Ecosystems in Digital Cooperatives
    Studying governance innovations in platform cooperatives, their effect on member engagement, and the protection of workers’ rights, as well as understanding the ecosystems required for the sustainable operation of digital cooperatives. 
  • Reimagining the Digital Cooperative Economy in the Climate Change Era
    Rethinking current discussions about the digital cooperative economy in the context of addressing climate change by drawing on the work of historical figures and theorists, including Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, and W.E.B. DuBois.
  •  Challenges and Development
     Analyzing platform co-ops, their relationship with digital commons and peer-to-peer technologies, and examining critiques for further improvement.
  • Integration of Cooperative Principles in the Digital Economy
    Examining the adoption of cooperative business structures, legal forms, and software development within the digital economy, and assessing their impacts.
  • Exploring the Integration of Technology Advancements into Traditional Cooperative Models
    This research investigates the disparities in technological skills and investment capacity, alongside exploring the potential synergy between legacy co-ops, drawing on their experience, and emerging platform co-ops. Additionally, it assesses the contributions that emerging platforms can offer to legacy co-ops.
  • Researching the Integration of FairWork Principles and Solidarity Economics in Platform Cooperatives
    This research investigates how the incorporation of FairWork principles and solidarity economics within platform cooperatives can drive the development of more equitable and sustainable business models.

Application Timeline

Applications Open: December 20th, 2023

Deadline: January 21, 2024, at 11:59 pm ET

Review Period: January 21 – February 10, 2024

Interviews: February 16 – 28, 2024

Offer Notifications: March 4, 2024

Acceptance and Onboarding: March 6, 2024

Submission

After thoroughly reviewing the entire application, please proceed to submit here.