Working groups

We appreciate your help! Every hour that you can and want to invest in the development of MILA brings us one step closer to the opening of our participatory supermarket! There are many ways to support us right now. There are already several working groups that meet more or less regularly, distribute tasks internally and work together as a team. Members are welcome to support the following working groups according to their personal possibilities and time availability, just write to us at mitmachen@mila.wien.

Finance working group

MILA’s finance group is developing the business model for the future MILA join-in supermarket. In co-operation with the other working groups, the finance group supports MILA in the areas of finance, fundraising and funding acquisition. No specific prior knowledge is required to participate, but an interest in familiarising yourself with the topic is.

AG Public Relations

The public relations group looks after the external image of our supermarket. We look after the website and our social media channels, liaise with the media, write articles for member news and newsletters and design posters and flyers.

AG Assortment

In the product range working group, we are taking the first steps towards developing MILA’s future product range. MILA will offer a full range of products, which means that we will offer almost all everyday items from toothpaste to paprika powder. To do this, we need to identify producers and intermediaries and compare their offers and prices. But we also need to come up with initial concepts for packaging materials and waste avoidance.

AG DIGIT (IT and digital infrastructure)

In the DIGIT working group, we manage and develop our digital infrastructure. This includes communication with IT partners, strategic decisions on the selection of software solutions, IT support within the cooperative, support for our ERP and cash register system and the further development and maintenance of our Collectivo member platform.

AG Location

AG Standort deals with the planning and remodelling of the location of our participatory supermarket. This also includes the spatial conception and external appearance on site, as well as the furniture construction for the checkout, vegetable island, etc.

AG Cooperative

How do we organise our cooperative? What roles with what tasks and what say should and must there be? What does it take to run the business? Our role models Park Slope Food Coop and La Louve show how it can be done – what do we want to do differently or do we need to adapt to Austrian conditions?

AG Minimarket

The minimarket is the foretaste of the operation of the MILA participatory supermarket: Here we gain initial experience in purchasing and working together in smaller and larger teams. We test processes together in order to be prepared for the supermarket with several thousand items. Receiving goods, pricing and pricing, or operating the checkout – we rehearse all these activities on a small scale for the big picture. We work in a self-organised way with a shift plan and thus keep the business running together. All our experiences and learnings from the mini-market form an important building block for the establishment of our supermarket and are documented and well communicated (current and future processes, checklists, etc.).

AG Events and information talks

A participatory supermarket should of course also encourage people to join in and be lively for its members! The working group therefore organises activities and events for MILA members. In addition, the working group also works to actively recruit new members and takes care of MILA’s external appearances at festivals, conferences etc., with the MILA information stand. In addition, the working group organises regular information talks in the Minimarkt where we explain our concept to interested parties, and we organise information evenings at other associations and organisations to make MILA even better known.

Diversity working group

This working group deals with the topic of diversity: Who is MILA anyway? Who are our members? Who receives access to good food and who not? And what barriers do they encounter? In order to make MILA accessible to (future) diverse members, we want to actively address the needs in the diversity working group, break down existing barriers, and think about this from the outset when setting up the cooperative supermarket.

Member recruitment working group

The number and commitment of members is key to the success of our supermarket. The working group has come together through practical attempts to find new ways to attract members. Through its composition, it pools ideas and resources from the areas of public relations, minimarket, events and the board. The goal of gaining 1000 members by the time the supermarket opens can be achieved with your help. We welcome every new member who would like to support us on this journey.

Some faces behind MILA

A few of our members introduce themselves and their motivation to join MILA here! Join MILA and become a co-operative member!