Cooperatives (Development Studies)

This article homes in on the recuperative and learning dimensions of Argentina’s empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores worker cooperatives (ERTs, worker-recuperated enterprises). Drawing on the author’s sociological, ethnographic, and political economic work with Argentina’s ERTs since 2005, the article theorizes autogestión – the collective self-management of associated labour – from its take up by ERT movement protagonists. The article explores and theorizes how ERT workers come to practice autogestión, what they actually take back in the process of occupying and controlling the formerly capitalist workplaces that had employed them, and how their projects of cooperative production are ensconced in a ‘language of autogestión’ – recuperating and (re)learning other economic notions and practices against and beyond capitalocentric discourses. Grounded in a class-struggle Marxist perspective, the paper ultimately proposes that ERT workers collectively recuperate three overarching dimensions of productive life from capital: (1) the self-valorization of living labour, (2) cooperation in the labour process, and (3) the socialization of surpluses and wealth. These recuperations of autogestión, the article concludes, (their ‘language of autogestión’) offer evocative suggestions for envisioning less-exploitative forms of work, more socially just and democratic workplaces, and for challenging and beginning to move beyond neoliberal logics.

Against the widespread assumption that data are the oil of the 21st century, this article offers an alternative conceptual framework, interpretation, and pathway around data and smart city nex-us to subvert surveillance capitalism in light of emerging and further promising practical cases. This article illustrates an open debate in data governance and the data justice field related to cur-rent trends and challenges in smart cities, resulting in a new approach advocated for and recently coined by the UN-Habitat programme ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’. Particularly, this feature article sheds light on two intertwined notions that articulate the technopolitical dimension of the ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’ approach: data co-operatives and data sovereignty. Data co-operatives are emerging as a way to share and own data through peer-to-peer (p2p) reposito-ries and data sovereignty is being claimed as a digital right for communities/citizens. Conse-quently, this feature article aims to open up new research avenues around ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’ approach: First, it elucidates how data co-operatives through data sovereignty could be articulated as long as co-developed with communities connected to the long history and analysis of the various forms of co-operatives (technopolitical dimension). Second, it prospectively antici-pates the city–regional dimension encompassing data colonialism and data devolution.

This article takes an innovation intermediary perspective to examine farmer cooperative’s (FC) roles in facilitating agricultural innovation and its positioning in the agricultural innovation system (AIS). The article draws experiences from the rapidly emerging FC field in China. Three cases are selected to cross check findings from them and innovation journey analysis is used within each case to understand FCs’ engagement in innovation processes. The findings show that FCs cover a wide range of knowledge intermediation and innovation intermediation functions identified by the literature. FCs recognize the importance to connect technical, social and economic dimensions of farming practice and provide corresponding services to link farmers to relevant actors, like extension agencies, research institutes and supermarkets. Though they mainly work through bilateral relationships as opposed to acting as a systemic intermediary, they could take the role of coordinator in the service system and bridge the gap between the research and policy system and everyday farming practice, especially in the absence
of a systemic coordinator. However, their legitimacy as intermediary might be challenged due to the potential conflicts with governments, market actors or their members, and their local position may provide insufficient clout for developing durable relationships with relevant actors.

This article examines the role of USAID's 1970 Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Guatemala in normalizing US military support for the Guatemalan government despite concerns about excessive state violence in the late 1960s. I argue that the RDP presented a depoliticized vision of Guatemala's agrarian problem and generated optimism that this problem could be resolved through market mechanisms and within the existing social order. Rather than promoting prosperity and stability, the RDP framed state terror as a temporary exception, and helped set the stage for genocide in the 1980s. This highlights complicities between discourses of development and political violence.

This paper argues that the predominant economic theories of the firm neglect the importance of cooperation based on trust and loyalty, and that as a result, their criticisms of worker cooperatives are incomplete. While competence-based theories tend to focus exclusively on coordination and thus fail to acknowledge that the development and application of productive knowledge also involves cooperation, contract-based theories cling to a rigid model of behaviour that does not account for the type of cooperation thus involved. Thus, although contract-based theories denigrate cooperatives for failing to achieve cooperation, cooperatives may in fact be more propitiously situated than conventional firms to achieve the cooperation involved in the development and application of productive knowledge. Meanwhile, although competence-based theories imply that cooperatives are incapable of achieving coordination, cooperatives may in fact be more propitiously situated than conventional firms to achieve coordination without incurring potentially adverse effects on cooperation. This ability, however, may be suppressed by a hostile institutional environment, which biases both the options available to individuals and the way they perceive those options against cooperatives. Although inter-cooperative associations can alleviate this institutional bias, they involve structural and cultural obstacles of their own.

Argentina’s empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores (worker-recuperated enterprises, ERTs) are formerly investor- or privately-owned businesses in crisis ultimately taken over and re-opened by their employees, most commonly as worker cooperatives. Since 2002, the Programa Facultad Abierta (Open Faculty Program) of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature at the University of Buenos Aires has carried out a series of national studies of Argentina’s ERTs. The aim of this article is to present the conclusions of the fourth survey of Argentina’s ERTs carried out by the Facultad Abierta. This survey focused on ERTs that emerged between March 2010 and December 2013, providing the most complete and up-to-date database of the characteristics of Argentina’s ERTs, and showing evidence of a wave of new worker-recuperated enterprises emerging in the postcrisis years, especially since 2010. The key findings presented in this article include: the political economic reasons for the emergence of ERTs; the characteristics of the growing ERT movement today as compared to earlier ERTs; the nature of the conflicts and issues leading to the creation of Argentina’s new ERTs; a critical analysis of new legal frameworks for ERT firms, comparing and contrasting them to older legal outlets for their formation; and the involvement of unions with Argentina’s ERTs.

The SAGUAPAC cooperative in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Eastern Bolivia) is regularly presented as an example of cooperative successes regarding water supply and sanitation. Its efficiency, both economic and technical, is widely considered as the main reason for its reproduction. However, without denying its importance, we show, through a discourse analysis from and about SAGUAPAC in local media, that moral and non-instrumental factors are crucial in the reproduction of the cooperative. These factors create attachment and affection toward the cooperative, through a storytelling technique using a four-dimensional rhetoric (mythification, identification, emotionalisation and personification). This storytelling technique, internalized in the local media discourse and materializing the so-called new spirit of capitalism, exploits the affects and instrumentalises local myths and legends, as well as the ‘camba’ ethnic identity. In that, it tends to retain SAGUAPAC members and to canvass new ones, by providing them with recognition in their quality of local community members. However, the mobilisation of social norms and power hierarchies might end up reinforcing the social exclusion of Andean non-camba immigrants, inspite of an a priori inclusive and democratic organisation of the cooperative.

Research shows that some agricultural cooperatives implement development projects in their local communities. What remains to be explained is why certain cooperatives pursue local development while others do not. Through a comparison of coffee cooperatives in two regions of Peru, this study examines the implications of a regional cooperative for local development. The creation of a regional cooperative leads to a concentration of resources and a decrease in the need and ability of local cooperatives to pursue independent development projects. At the same time, it allows for more equal access to those resources and to the benefits of cooperative-led development projects. D'après les résultats de recherches, certaines coopératives agricoles mettent en oeuvre des projets de développement au sein de leurs communautés locales. Ce qu'il reste à expliquer, c'est pourquoi certaines coopératives se consacrent au développement local, et pas d'autres. En comparant des coopératives caféières dans deux régions du Pérou, cette étude examine les conséquences des activités d'une coopérative régionale pour le développement local. La création d'une coopérative régionale entraîne une concentration des ressources et une diminution du besoin et de l'aptitude des coopératives locales de se consacrer à des projets de développement indépendants. Dans le même temps, elle permet un accès plus égal à ces ressources et aux avantages des projets de développement menés par des coopératives. Según varias investigaciones, algunas cooperativas agrícolas impulsan proyectos de desarrollo en sus comunidades locales. Sin embargo, aún resta explicar las razones por las cuales algunas cooperativas promueven el desarrollo local mientras que otras no lo hacen. Realizando un análisis comparativo de cooperativas cafetaleras de Perú, el presente estudio examina las implicaciones que conlleva el establecimiento de una cooperativa regional para el desarrollo local. Si bien la presencia de una cooperativa regional favorece la concentración de recursos, disminuye la necesidad y la posibilidad de que las cooperativas locales impulsen sus propios proyectos de desarrollo de manera independiente. Paralelamente, facilita un acceso más equitativo a los recursos y a los beneficios derivados de los proyectos de desarrollo impulsados por las cooperativas.

This article focuses on assessing whether the main conditions required for smallholders' agricultural cooperatives to successfully develop are currently met in Colombia. The main objective is to formulate policy implications on how the State may contribute to facilitate that these organizations constitute vehicles for rural development. The article argues that the conditions that facilitate the development of agricultural cooperatives are not adequately achieved in Colombia. Furthermore, it suggests that the State and other external agents may have an important role to play in advancing these conditions. In short, it proposes the formulation of policies that allow the State to exert a facilitating role that aims to " midwife " the formation and development of self-reliant grassroots organizations. This " facilitatory " role would represent a third-way between two previous approaches that have failed in Colombia in the past: the " top-down " interventions on farmer enterprises devised by the State in the 1960s and 1970s and the “hands-off” approach that was indifferent toward the development of smallholder organizations in the 1990s and 2000s.
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El artículo se centra en evaluar si las principales condiciones requeridas para que las cooperativas agrícolas de pequeños productores se desarrollen de manera exitosa se cumplen actualmente en Colombia. El objetivo es formular implicaciones de políticas públicas sobre cómo el Estado puede contribuir para que estas organizaciones se constituyan en vehículos de desarrollo rural. El artículo argumenta que las condiciones que facilitan el desarrollo de las cooperativas agrícolas no son alcanzadas adecuadamente en Colombia. Además, sugiere que el Estado y otros agentes externos pueden desempeñar una función importante para alcanzar estas condiciones. En resumen, propone que la formulación de políticas públicas que le permitan al Estado ejercer un papel facilitador para la formación y desarrollo de asociaciones de pequeños productores agrícolas que sean autosostenibles. Este papel "facilitador" representaría una tercera vía entre dos aproximaciones que han fallado en Colombia en el pasado: las intervenciones "de arriba para abajo" de empresas campesinas que realizó el Estado en las décadas de 1960 y 1970, y la aproximación de "no intervención" que fue indiferente al desarrollo de organizaciones de pequeños productores en las décadas de 1990 y 2000.

Análisis del nueva normativa comunitaria que aprueba la Sociedad Cooperativa Europea (de un lado, el Reglamento `[CE] nº 1435/2003 de 22 de julio de 2003, del Consejo relativo al estatuto de la sociedad cooperativa europea; de otro, la Directiva 2003/72/CE del Consejo, de 22 julio de 2003, por la que se completa el estatuto de la sociedad cooperativa europea en lo que respecta a la implicación de los trabajadores.).

En  España  la  crisis  económica  ha  tenido  un  correlato  directo  en  el  sector  periodísticoy conducidoal cierre de medios de referencia y al aumento de los despidos y la precarización del sector. En  este  contexto  adverso,  las  cooperativas  de  medios  se  han  convertido  en  una  vía  de  salida  para muchos  profesionales  por  cuanto  ofrecen  la  posibilidad  de construir un  periodismo  autónomo  e identificado  con  el  interés  de  los  propios  trabajadores  y  de  la  ciudadanía.  Este  artículo  esboza  una cartografía  de  las  cooperativas  periodísticas  en  España  durante  el  período  de  crisis  económica  que arranca en 2008. Se intenta caracterizar cuál es el origen e ideario de estos proyectos, y cuáles son sus principales  modelos  de  organización  y  sostenibilidad  a  fin  de  garantizar  una  agenda  informativa alternativa e independiente.
Abstract:  The Spanish economic crisis had a direct correlate in the journalistic sector leading to the closure of reference media and the consequent increase in layoffs and precariousness. Within this adverse context, media cooperatives have become a way out for many professionals since they offer the possibility of developing an autonomous journalism identified with the interest of workers themselves and citizens. This article draws up a cartography of Spanish journalistic coops along the
period of the economic crisis that started in 2008. It attempts to characterize the origin and ideology of these projects, as well as their organization and sustainability models aiming at guaranteeing an alternative and independent information agenda

Cuba’s still-emergent economic reforms promise to open the way for an expanded ‘non-agricultural’ cooperative movement to flourish on the island. But Cuba is still at a crossroads. While an expanded cooperative economy has the potential to both protect the gains of Cuba’s Revolution and reimagine its socialism as a more inclusive and participatory one, there are also pressures to privatize its economy. Alongside cooperatives and state-run enterprises, the economic reforms also promote foreign direct investments and permit private businesses using wage-labour. This means that some form of competitive market economy will bring tensions to Cuban socialism and its new cooperative sector, hastened by foreign capitalist interests encouraged by the end of the US embargo in 2014-2015 and the expansion of Cuba–US trade.
In this chapter I explore the possibilities and challenges of Cuba’s economic reforms with a focus on its new cooperatives. I consider what Cuba can draw from the radical roots and historical evolution of cooperatives and, most pertinently, what its emergent cooperative movement can learn from new forms of cooperative organizing in Latin America that contest neoliberalism and, at the same time, move beyond it.

"The article presents the results of participatory monitoring and evaluation of projects which aimed to aid the establishment and development of 24 modern rural cooperatives in Shandan County, Gansu Province, China. The evaluation was designed to assess the economic and community development outcomes of the cooperatives after three years of operation. The data were collected from four cooperatives using surveys, group work, and semi-structured interviews of stakeholders. The evaluations showed that within two years of inception cooperatives were improving social and economic outcomes for members and communities. Improvements for establishing and sustainably operating rural cooperatives are suggested.

Establissement de cooperatives en vue d’un developement efficace des communautes en Chine rurale
Cet article presente les resultats du suivi et de l’evaluation participatifs de projets dont le but etait de favoriser l’etablissement et le developpement de 24 cooperatives rurales modernes dans le Comte de Shandan, province de Gansu, en Chine. Cet exercice a ete concu pour evaluer les resultats en matiere de developpement economique et communautaire des cooperatives au bout de trois ans de fonctionnement. Les donne esont ete recueillies aupres de quatre cooperatives a l’aide d’enquetes, de travail en groupes et d’entretiens semi-structures de parties prenantes. Les evaluations ont montre que, moins de deux ans apres leur lancement, les cooperatives avaient deja ameliore les resultats sociaux et economiques pour leurs membres et les communautes. Des ameliorations sont suggerees pour etablir et assurer le fonctionnement durable de cooperatives rurales.

Estabelecendo cooperativas para um desenvolvimento comunitario efetivo na zona rural da China
Este artigo apresenta os resultados do monitoramento e avaliacao participativos de projetos que visaram auxiliar a criacao e desenvolvimento de 24 cooperativas rurais modernas em Shandan County, na Provýncia de Gansu, na China. A avaliacao foi destinada a examinar os resultados do desenvolvimento economico e da comunidade em decorrencia das cooperativas apos tres anos de operacao. Os dados foram coletados de quatro cooperativas utilizando pesquisas, trabalho em grupo e entrevistas semi-estruturadas com as partes envolvidas. As avaliacoes mostraram que apos dois anos do inýcio das operacoes, as cooperativas estavam melhorando os resultados sociais e economicos para seus membros e comunidades. Avancos para a criacao e atuacao sustenta´vel de cooperativas rurais sao sugeridos.

Cooperativas para un desarrollo comunitario efectivo en zonas rurales de China
Este ensayo presenta los resultados del monitoreo y la evaluacion participativa de varios proyectos cuyo objetivo era ayudar a crear y desarrollar 24 cooperativas modernas en el area rural del condado de Shandan, provincia de Gansu, en China. La evaluacion fue concebida para analizar los resultados, tanto economicos como de desarrollo comunitario, otras tres anos de funcionamiento de las cooperativas. Los datos de cuatro cooperativas se recopilaron mediante encuestas, trabajo en equipo y entrevistas semiestructuradas a los actores locales. Las evaluaciones mostraron que, a dos anos de su formacion, las cooperativas habýan mejorado la situacion social y economica tanto de los socios como de las comunidades. El ensayo propone metodos para mejorar la formacion y la operacion sostenible de las cooperativas rurales.

KEY WORDS: Civil society; Labour and livelihoods; Aid; East Asia
David Bromwich and Max Saunders"

Successful small agro-enterprises (SAEs) play a vital role in the economy of an agrarian country like Bhutan. Although entrepreneurial factors, amongst others, affect the success of SAEs, there is a dearth of empirical studies on this topic in Bhutan. Such studies will help entrepreneurs and agribusiness promoters understand entrepreneurial factors affecting the success of SAEs. Therefore, we studied the relationship between entrepreneurial factors and the success of SAEs in Bhutan. Using multistage quota sampling, we selected four districts (1), eight sub-districts (2), 32 chiwogs (3), and 320 entrepreneurs of SAEs (4) for the study. We interviewed 320 entrepreneurs using structured questionnaire and analyzed data using IBM SPSS version 23. We found a significant and positive relationship between the success of SAEs and entrepreneurs' motivation (r = .44, P = .000) and personal entrepreneurial competencies (PECs) (r = .39, P = .000). However, there was no statistically significant relationship between entrepreneurs' age and success of SAEs (r = .02, P = .707). Overall, entrepreneurs' motivation and PECs contributed 20.7% to the success of SAEs in Bhutan. We recommend relevant authorities to continue supporting entrepreneurship education and training programs to motivate and build entrepreneurial competencies.

This paper utilises an analytical framework to explore and  critically examine issues and challenges of offering Shari’ah-compliant mortgage financing by financial cooperatives in Malaysia. Concepts from five distinct theories (Theory of Credit Cooperative, Transaction Costs Theory, Agency Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and Theory of Credit Rationing) are modified and integrated to form a hybrid, layered framework. This is then used as a ‘lens’ to highlight the issues pertaining to business models and strategies, good governance, regulation and supervision, risk
management, human resource management, which may influence the success of mortgage financing. This analytical
framework is useful for relevant stakeholders on how to manage the issues, challenges, and harnessing the prospects
of Shari’ah-compliant mortgage financing products

To avoid ‘co-op whitewashing,’ experiments with data co-ops should be co-developed with communities connected to the long history and analysis of the various forms of cooperatives.

To cite this article: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Data Cooperatives for Pandemic Times. Public Seminar journal. Retrieved from: https://publicseminar.org/essays/data-cooperatives-for-pandemic-times/ DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.12320.51200/1.

Women headed households suffer by a number of internal and external factors. The investigation of women empowerment through RUSACCOs has great importance both for policy makers and local government organs as well as whole community. Therefore, the concern of this study was to assess the major socioeconomic and institutional factors that affect women empowerment through rural saving and credit cooperatives in Kola-Temben Woreda. In the course of this study, primary data were collected from 80 women members and 40 women non-members sample households. A survey was conducted using structured and semi-structured interview scheduale to collect primary data. Moreover, secondary data were also used to supplemented the primary data. Binary Logit model was used to identify the factors influencing women empowerment through rural saving and credit cooperatives in the study area. The result showed that there were 6 variables having a positive relationships with women empowerment and the rest shows negative relationship factors in explaining the dependent variable-women empowerment through RUSACCOs. The result revealed that 66.2% of women members and 35% of non-members were empowered through rural saving and credit cooperatives. Through providing women food, farmers' easy access to credit, adequate training and installing in them the importance of saving, microfinance programmes enable women to engage in income-generating activities. Empowering women to be key change agents is an essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty, increase incomes and invest in their families and communities Women involvement in the rural saving and credit cooperative is equally important for economic development in Kola-Temben Destrict in particular and Ethiopia in general.

This article traces how contemporary funerary practices – foodways, prayer and burial co-operative participation – configure a Christianised public culture in Swaziland that draws from ordinary citizens’ religious, ritual and political work and membership in diverse Christian churches. This kind of grassroots ecumenism importantly challenges the potency of orthodox institutional ecumenical projects of religious elites in the kingdom. These projects include attempts to legislate Christianity as an official religion and the building of a national interdenominational church, both of which have failed to materialise. Exploring this emergent tension between religious institutions’ ideological goals versus communities’ practical engagement on pressing social problems invites a rethinking of how citizens produce public cultures. Research is based on intermittent fieldwork at funerals, burial co-operatives, family ceremonies and churches, interviews with local church leaders and theologians, and document research in Swaziland between 2008 and 2015.

Resumen El presente texto analiza las diferentes experiencias de la comunidad cucapá de Baja California en la economía social " moderna " , esto desde la historia ambiental. Desde este enfoque se puede vislumbrar cómo las transformaciones ambientales del socioecosistema del delta del Río Colorado, en Baja California llevaron a que la comunidad cucapá buscase nuevas formas de subsistencia, ya que las tradicionales se habían agotado a raíz de la creación de distritos de riego en los otrora humedales. El trabajo establece tres etapas de economía social: la ejidal, la comunal/primera generación de cooperativistas pesqueros y la cooperativista dentro del régimen neoliberal. Palabras clave: Cucapás-historia ambiental-neoliberalismo-cooperativismo pesquero Abstract This paper analyzes from environmental history, the different experiences of Baja California cucapá community in the " modern " social economy. From this point I pretend to glimpse how environmental socioecosystem transformations in Colorado River Delta led to the Cocopah community seek new livelihoods, as traditional were exhausted following the creation of irrigation districts the former wetlands. The work establishes three stages of social economy: ejido, communal / first generation of fishing cooperatives and cooperative within the neoliberal regime.

This report sets out to review the experiences, innovations and challenges of new non-financial co-operatives in Canada. The research questions guiding this research are the following:

1) How have non-financial co-operatives in recent years from across Canada’s provinces and territories and in different economic sectors, sought to meet their members’ or communities’ social/cultural/economic/environmental needs via the co-operative model?

2) Why is the co-operative model chosen over other business types?

3) What are the challenges faced in starting-up or further developing a non-financial co-operative and why and how do non-financial co-operatives succeed or fail to overcome these challenges?

4) What innovations have new non-financial co-operatives forged in order to offer both members and surrounding communities new or better ways of provisioning for their social/economic/cultural/environmental needs?

To answer these questions, we have tapped into an illustrative sample of new and emerging co-operatives that were involved with the Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI) from 2009-2013. To gather and analyze our data, a mixed-methods, and grounded theory methodology was used, including survey, interviews and focus groups.

On the whole, we found a predominance of socially focused motivators and needs driving the startup of new co-operatives in Canada from our research sample. Collectively across Canada, for instance, social care and social services, alternative health care, alternative and organic food, alternative and renewable energy, community economic development (CED) and offering employment for marginalized communities made up a total of 62.2% of interests and motivators for the creation of new co-ops in our sample. These are what co-operative founders and members saw as lacking in their communities and what drove their co-operative business.

When we filtered the motivations for starting a co-operative through the goods and services produced or delivered, we again explicitly found a strong, outward, socially focused direction to new co-operative development in our sample, again suggesting that many of Canada’s new co-ops are created to deliver socially useful goods and services rather than being only motivated to meeting member needs or business interests. Many of the new co-operatives in our sample were thus also social enterprises—that is firms that rely on some market activity but with strong social missions aimed to deliver particular goods and services to communities. Since there is no formal legislation or broadly agreed upon nomenclature for conceptualizing these types of co-operatives in Canada, we call them for this report Canada’s “social mission-driven co-operatives.”

While many of the new co-operatives in our sample from across Canada are motivated by and are actually delivering socially focused goods and services of benefit to multiple community stakeholders beyond just the co-op’s members, new Canadian co-ops are also experiencing a common set of challenges. These include: (1) lack of knowledge by co-op founders of the specifics of the co-operative model; (2) lack of resources for, or knowledge of where to access start-up funds and funds for ongoing business consolidation and growth; (3) human resources issues (i.e., possible volunteer burnout, membership and staffing engagement, division of labour issues, retention and motivation, etc.); and (4) organizational issues related to governance.

Moreover, we noticed four major “paradoxes” emerging with new Canadian co-operatives in our sample, suggestive of the tensions present with developing and consolidating new co-operative initiatives today:

1) the paradox of external funding: the need to pursue supportive and external sources of funding to supplement revenues and start or sustain new projects vs. the time it takes to pursue it, possibly taking a co-op away from the daily tasks of running the business while not guaranteeing returns;

2) the paradox of participative decision-making and governance: decision-making and governance viewed as a distinguishing feature and strength of co-ops vs. the competitive disadvantages democratic governance brings at times when quick and decisive decisions are needed, especially in competitive markets;

3) the paradox of member engagement and diversity: the importance placed on maximizing member engagement and diversity vs. issues affecting fluid governance, decision-making, and business actions brought on by conflicting member interests, needs, or ideas; and

4) the paradox of volunteering: the recognition that much of the work that happens in co-ops is volunteer labour vs. the burn-out and difficulties that emerge from the fact that a core and often small group of members do most of the volunteering.

For overcoming some of these difficulties and tensions and for assisting in getting new co-operatives off the ground, the new co-ops in our sample relied much on the expertise and guidance of co-operative developers. Over 54% of new co-op projects from our survey sample tapped into the expertise of a co-operative developer at some point. Moreover, almost all co-ops from our sample that did use co-op developers said that the developer completed their tasks successfully and were happy with the support they had received from them.

Besides co-op developers, other major supports for new co-ops in our sample from across Canada included: community economic development initiatives, other co-operatives, financial institutions such as credit unions (particularly in the founding stages, but not as much when the co-operative is operational), and perhaps most tellingly, individuals such as visionary leaders or groups of leaders who often become the co-op’s founders. The latter points to a strong presence of “collective entrepreneurialism” across Canada’s new co-ops and, again, to the importance of co-operative developers.

This study also found evidence for the strong role of learning in the new co-operatives in our sample. This learning is mostly informal and “learning-by-doing,” underscoring the inherent “associative intelligence” that the co-operative form fosters for acquiring the skills, values, and practices needed to run a co-operative, work with others collaboratively, and engage with their social missions and the community. Again, co-operative developers also play a strong educational role regards members’ take up of co-operative values, principles, governance, and in how to deal with business issues. However, the use of formal learning via courses and at the college level remains very minimal with new Canadian co-operators, our data evidenced.

Emerging from the findings of this research, this report concludes with seven major recommendations for the co-operative movement, social economy organizations and policy makers to best help support new co-operative development in Canada:

1) Design a comprehensive strategic plan and approach to support new co-operatives in Canada, which has input and buy-in of all key stakeholders (co-operatives, support organizations and different levels of government).

2) Develop a national clearinghouse for co-operative development, including appropriate legislation, funding sources, networks and networking opportunities, and useful community linkages.

3) Create specific capacity building strategies to be delivered by key co-operative stakeholders, from start-up through the early stages of co-operative development, and focussing on associative skills, leadership, business management, financial capacity, and partnerships/networking.

4) Co-ordinate and build-up the activities of key supportive co-operative organisations in order to nurture skills, to provide sustained support, and to raise awareness of the needs of new co-operatives.

5) Provide further supports to co-operative developers to network, share and work together in order to keep their knowledge and skills current and up-to-date.

6) Design and implement program support that is specific to the reality and needs of new co-operatives in Canada.

7) Support the creation of more formal education outlets and co-operative knowledge mobilization initiatives in all provinces for co-operative members, managers, volunteers, other stakeholders, and the general public and policymakers.

Anthropology of Development isa branch of anthropology that studies development as a scientific object from a critical perspective.These anthropologists mainlyattempt to adjustment the economic, technical, political, or social life of a particular place, especially in slums and colonies.Unlike Development anthropology, this branch of anthropology does not neglect the impact of colonialism on backwardness. This branch moves in one direction of postcolonial studies with the critique of colonialism.

This is a translated article published in Public Seminar journal.

To cite this present version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Datu-kooperatibak pandemia sasoian, Tu Lankide. May 2021. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.32598.16967/1.

To cite the previous version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Data Cooperatives for Pandemic Times. Public Seminar journal. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.12320.51200/1.

As atividades econômicas desenvolvidas pelas cooperativas brasileiras durante décadas têm despertado a atuação do Conselho Administrativo
de Defesa Econômica (CADE), tendo em vista que a garantia constitucional de não intervenção estatal (art. 5.º, XVIII) não pressupõe imunidade à aplicação da legislação antitruste. Diante deste enfoque, a pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar algumas das decisões do CADE sobre as sociedades cooperativas, bem como estabelecer a necessidade de reflexão sobre as características e peculiaridades distintivas das sociedades cooperativas que justificam a coordenação de
agentes no mercado.

The economic activities developed by Brazilian cooperatives for
decades have awakened the work of the Administrative Council for Economic
Defense (CADE), considering that the constitutional guarantee of non-state intervention (art. 5, XVIII) does not presuppose immunity to the application of
antitrust legislation. Given this focus, the research aimed to analyze some of
CADE’s decisions on cooperative societies, as well as establishing the need for
reflection on the characteristics and peculiarities distinctive of cooperative societies that justify the coordination of agents in the market

Fast growing regions in the United States and around the world frequently experience water resource management crises.  Whatever allows populations to grow, water crises occur for the same underlying reasons, which include water shortages from increased domestic use and industrial, commercial, and agricultural development.  This paper presents a comparative case study of the water systems of two regions: the Tampa Bay region of west central Florida, and the Middle Eastern counties of Israel and Jordan, the the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza District.  Although these cases differ dramatically in environmental, social, cultural, political, and religious factors, the underlying  water resource issues are similar.  These issues include a limited natural supply of water and disputes over it.  The evolution of the water management institution in Tampa Bay through clearly definable steps to its present, optimal stage can be used as a model for analyzing the situation in the Middle East and a guide to resolving water resource management issues there.

This conversation will focus on the ways in which cooperatives create worker power in the US and Europe

To cite this talk:
Scholz, T., O’Brien, D., Spicer, J., Lurie, R., & Calzada, I. (2021), Can Co-operatives Build Worker Power? Platform Co-operativism Consortium RadFest, The New School. 6th April.

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar um estudo realizado junto a 12 complexos cooperativos brasileiros, dos segmentos de agricultura/ agroindústria, pesca/ maricultura, artesanato, têxtil e metalúrgico. A presente pesquisa caracteriza-se como uma investigação de caráter exploratório, apoiada no método do estudo de casos múltiplos, sendo composta por: pesquisa documental, análise das características mais relevantes das diversas cadeias produtivas, pesquisa de campo nos complexos cooperativos, análise comparativa de tais empreendimentos. O estudo é baseado nos conceitos de externalidades, ações conjuntas e grau de cooperação interorganizacional. Palavras-Chave: Complexos cooperativos, Estruturas de governança, Cooperação interorganizacional, Desenvolvimento local. 1. INTRODUÇÃO O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar e discutir o conceito de complexos cooperativos, que congrega um conjunto de empreendimentos autogestionários, sob a égide da economia solidária. Posteriormente o estudo centra-se na análise de 12 complexos cooperativos brasileiros nas áreas de agricultura, agroindústria, artesanato, indústria, maricultura, reciclagem e vestuário, detectando suas principais características em relação ao sistema operacional, aos aspectos mercadológicos e de comercialização, aspectos financeiros e, também, ao posicionamento dos empreendimentos nas diversas cadeias produtivas. Buscou-se identificar, também, as diferentes estruturas de governança de tais cadeias. De fato, o que se pretende neste artigo é identificar as principais carências e oportunidades, tanto no nível microeconômico dos empreendimentos, como no nível meso, ou seja, o das relações interorganizacionais dos arranjos produtivos existentes. Finalmente, a partir deste diagnóstico da situação atual dos complexos e empreendimentos, a investigação aponta, em linhas gerais, alguns dos possíveis caminhos para o desenvolvimento auto-sustentável desses complexos.

This study assessed the nexus between agricultural cooperative and rural poverty reduction in Anambra State. The study utilised primary data, which were extracted from the questionnaire distributed to 213 rural farmers in Anambra State. Descriptive statistics were used to present and discuss data, while inferential statistics such as Paired sample T-Test were employed to test hypothesis at the 5% level. The results study reveal that cooperative credit, cooperative farm inputs, cooperative farm extension services and agricultural cooperative marketing have significant positive relationships with rural poverty reduction among farmers in Anambra State at 5% level of significance.
The study recommends among others, that government should complement the efforts of cooperatives by evolving a favourable credit policy which would lead to entrepreneurial development in the rural areas; and that government at the three levels and all stake holders should endeavour to assist in providing adequate farm input supplies, crop varieties, good storage facilities among others because of their multiplier effects on poverty reduction, food security, job and wealth creation.

As sociedades cooperativas distribuem sobras diferentemente das demais sociedades, proporcional à produção/serviços prestados aos associados. Assim, há diferença de tratamento quando não atualiza monetariamente seu capital social, transferindo patrimônio de um para outro sócio. Para elimina-la, a Contabilidade deve adotar procedimentos alternativos que propomos neste trabalho, que não é definitivo, mas o tiro de partida.

The paper examined the performance of cooperative management committee in Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. The lack of clear rules and credit rationing is appears to characterize the administration of many cooperatives. Hence, governance problems become crucial as there is excessive and improper manipulation of credit granting procedures by managerial committees. Survey design was adopted and a sample size of 308 was generated out of 1,339 population. Questionnaire and secondary sources were utilized in data collection. Data were analysed using table of descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages, through the aid of SPSS on a threshold of 5-point Likert-scales. The result revealed amongst others that management committee of the cooperatives supervise or control the affairs of the cooperatives, conducts elections, makes donations for the social welbeing of its members and association etc. It was also found amongst others that inadequate funds, poor managerial or leadership skills, lack of well defined operational guidelines and unaccountability of offices were challenges militating against the smooth performance of the cooperatives. Therefore the paper recommended amongst others that management committee of cooperative societies should continue to conduct elections and imbibe the culture of accountability at the end of every tenure. Cooperatives should have and enforce punishment on every leadership that does not work in line with the operational guidelines.

In many riverine areas, fish farming is not a new venture, but the challenge is to meet the fish demand for people. The study examined profitability of fish production among members of cooperative societies in Okrika Local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Two hypotheses that were formulated in line with the study specific objectives and research questions guided the study. The theoretical anchor of the study is on collaboration theory. The descriptive survey design guided the study and questionnaire was the major instrument of data collection. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive analytical tools like frequency tables, averages, percentages, scale analysis. The findings revealed that there was a weak but significant correlation (r=0.219; significant @ .001) between years of cooperative membership and fishing investments. Again, there was a modest correlation (r=0.513; significant @ .001) between fish revenue and net returns. The study concluded that there is a significant relationship between years of cooperative membership and investments in fishing years by fishers, as well as between fish revenue and net returns. Therefore, the study recommends amongst others, that cooperatives should assist members in the marketing and/or disposal of the fish caught so as to obtain competitive bargains from fish consumers, especially in the urban centres.

This study investigated the effect of agricultural cooperative societies on rural development in Anambra state. The specific objectives include to ascertain the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of agricultural cooperative members on rural development in the study area and to compare rural development indicators (output, income and value of productive assets) of cooperative members before and after joining cooperative. Two hypotheses were formulated to buttress the objectives of the study. The study was anchored on the theory of the Cobb-Douglas production function. A descriptive survey design guided the study and questionnaires were administered as the instrument for data collection. The study revealed that there was a significant difference in the annual output, annual farm income and value of productive assets of farmers before and after joining cooperatives. All the indicators were significant at 0.05 level of significance with F-value of 6.5888.The estimates of R 2 and Adj. R 2 suggested that all the variables in the model collectively accounted for more than 81% of the variations in farm income. The F ratio value of 8.774 was significant at 5% level. Therefore, the following recommendations were made; rural poor should be encouraged to join cooperatives and there should be stronger collaboration between cooperatives and the Ministry of Agriculture so that they will understand each others' viewpoints and challenges.

The study evaluated the determinants of farmers’ inclination towards membership of cooperative societies in Anambra State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study determined the influence of farmer socio-economic background; the influence of farmer awareness of agricultural cooperative benefits; and influence of farm input, credit, and marketed farm produce on cooperative membership inclination. Primary data were obtained from a sample of 368 farmers from four communities in the four agricultural zones of Anambra State. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, percentages, mean and standard deviation were employed to present data. Multiple regression analysis was adopted in the analysts and tests of three formulated hypotheses. The study outcome revealed that: farmer’s socio-economic background had a significant influence on cooperative membership inclination (F ratio of 28.502 was Significant@ 0.000); farmer’s awareness of benefits of
agricultural cooperatives constitutes significant influence on cooperative
membership inclination (F ratio of 900.231 was Significant@ 0.000); quantum of farm input, credit, and marketed farm crops by farmer constitutes significant influence on cooperative membership inclination (F ratio of 5.354 was Significant @ 0.001). The study recommends, among others, that government can improve the awareness about the benefits of agricultural cooperatives in the area region by giving more focus to knowledge- and awareness-based instruments like education, information center, rural associations, communication services and roads.