"The Economics Department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives (VAWC) are working to create an applied research program in worker cooperatives.  Over the past ten months a unique educational opportunity geared towards introducing undergraduate college students to cooperative economic enterprises has been in the works. It is a joint project of the Economics Department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and the Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives (VAWC). Both are located in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. VAWC is the regional organization of worker cooperatives.  The program will be focusing on worker-owned cooperatives as one kind of economic firm, the field of cooperative enterprises in general, the history of the movement, and its sharing in the building of a solidarity economy."

"The Economics Department proposes an Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Economic Research that will provide undergraduates with new opportunities for practical, field-based research while also promoting local economic development."