Cooperatives (EMP/COOP)

Course

Managing your Agricultural Cooperative- My.Coop. First official online Training of Trainers course

This on-line training will give you additional pedagogical guidelines and advice on how to structure and how to facilitate the My.Coop contents from the general My.Coop training package. After successful completion of this course you will be trained on how to use the My.Coop training package in your own context.

Newsletter

ILO and Cooperatives - COOP NEWS No. 1, 2012 (Newsletter)

This issue provides information on the launch of International Year of Cooperatives 2012, in countries around the world. It also provides information on COOP activities including the roll out of My.COOP - Managing your agricultural cooperative, as well as on-going work in the implementation of ILO's Recommendation 193 on the Promotion of Cooperatives particularly in the areas of integrating the teaching of cooperatives in school curricula, promoting gender equality in cooperatives, and research based advocacy on cooperatives. Updates on CoopAFRICA and information on a new projects social enterprise project South Africa and technical input related to youth employment and cooperatives is also included.

Publication

Economic and other benefits of the entrepreneurs’ cooperative as a specific form of enterprise cluster

This book presents entrepreneurs’ cooperatives - cooperatives formed by groups of entrepreneurs, independently owned businesses, tradesmen, professionals, or by municipalities and other public bodies.

It shows that cooperatives have helped small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many countries to become and remain competitive. Although this form of business clustering is not wide spread, there are signs that its development and entrepreneurship effects are gradually being considered. This study analyses the set up and the economic, social and employment benefits of entrepreneurs‘ cooperatives as well as the reasons why their use has not spread. It further indicates those features which allow for replication of the model elsewhere and concludes with a number of recommendations.

Instructional material

Managing your agricultural cooperative, My.COOP

Managing your agricultural cooperative, My.COOP is a training package and programme on the management of agricultural cooperatives. The objective of this training material is to enable existing and potential managers of agricultural cooperatives to identify and address major challenges that are specific to cooperatives in market oriented agricultural development. It is based on the fact that proper management enables cooperatives to offer high quality, efficient and effective services to their members. Moreover, well managed agricultural cooperatives can also contribute to wider development issues such as food security, sustainable use of natural resources and inclusive employment creation.

My.COOP is a partnership initiative, initiated by ILO COOPAfrica and the Cooperative Branch.

See for more detail the My.COOP partners' launch meeting that took place on 26-27 January 2012 at ITC ILO

Article

Slideshow: "Kibera Then and Now – Youth Employment in the Slums"
Article: From the depths of an African shantytown, a nascent youth employment movement grows

Article

International Year of Cooperatives: In Kenya, working hand in hand with the ILO to create cooperatives and jobs

Cooperatives provide some 100 million jobs around the world. Many of these jobs provide for basic human needs, such as the dairy farms of Kenya. Today, some 13,000 cooperatives in Kenya have some 9 million members. As the United Nations launches its International Year of Cooperatives, Anne Holmes reports on how cooperatives are thriving, and the role of the ILO in their growth.

Instructional material

Project Design Manual, a step-by-step tool to Support the Development of Cooperatives and Other Forms of Self-Help Organizations

This step-by-step manual provides cooperatives and other types of self-help organizations with practical guidance to formulate project proposals that are economically, socially, politically and environmentally viable. It covers all the steps of project design: from the identification of the main problem to be addressed, to the planning of the project implementation, monitoring and evaluation.


 Spanish version.

Resilience of the Cooperative Business Model in Times of Crisis

The financial and ensuing economic crisis has had negative impacts on the majority of enterprises; however, cooperative enterprises around the world are showing resilience to the crisis. Financial cooperatives remain financially sound; consumer cooperatives are reporting increased turnover; worker cooperatives are seeing growth as people choose the cooperative form of enterprise to respond to new economic realities.  This report will provide historical evidence and current empirical evidence that proves that the cooperative model of enterprise survives crisis, but more importantly that it is a sustainable form of enterprise able to withstand crisis, maintaining the livelihoods of the communities in which they operate. It will further suggest ways in which the ILO can strengthen its activity in the promotion of cooperatives as a means to address the current crisis and avert future crisis

ILO hails UN proclamation of 2012 as International Year of Cooperatives

The International Labour Office (ILO) hailed the proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly of 2012 of the International Year of Cooperatives as an acknowledgement of the fundamental role of cooperatives in promoting the socio-economic development of hundreds of millions of people worldwide, especially in times of economic crisis.

Instructional Material

Handbook on Cooperatives for use by Workers' Organizations

This handbook lists the essential things to know about cooperatives for all those who are interested as members, future members, politicians or staff of national or international institutions in charge of the promotion and development of cooperatives. In simple, understandable language, the handbook deals in turn with the characteristic features of cooperatives, cooperative enterprise as a whole, the promotion of cooperatives and the close ties that exist between the ILO and cooperatives.

Let’s organize! : a SYNDICOOP handbook for trade unions and cooperatives about organizing workers in the informal economy

This SYNDICOOP Handbook is designed to help replicate the approach by serving as a resource for trade union and cooperative organizers and trainers. It was finalized by members of the International Steering Committee of the SYNDICOOP Programme, mainly comprising representatives from the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU now ITUC), the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and ILO together with National Steering Committee members from all four programme countries as well as project staff.

Guidelines for cooperative legislation, second revised edition

Provides guidance on how to draft cooperative law.