Community and member-owned cooperatives, enterprises and governance models are a fundamental part of the shift to a more equitable and sustainable socio-economic paradigm. Cooperative also provide a tangible means for increasing community participation and development, intergenerational collaboration, and applying our collective capacity to address both local needs and opportunities, and the world’s most pandemic challenges from poverty to climate change to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
What is a Cooperative?
A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
A co-operative is a different way of doing business. As such, the co-op model can be used by many types of organizations, non-profit or for-profit. A key difference between a traditional structure and a co-op’s structure comes in the order of priorities which, for a co-op, are to first meet the needs of its membership in a productive, self-sufficient and socially responsible manner.
A growing number of people around the world are recognizing the benefits of doing business the co-op way. Some examples of the types of co-ops that exist and OII is working with:
1. Producer co-operatives: Some co-operatives process and market their members’ products and services directly while others may also sell the input necessary to their members’ economic activities.
Examples: Agriculture co-operatives, pooling of equipment, advisory services, etc.
2. Multi-stakeholder co-operatives: The membership of these co-operatives is made of different categories of members who share a common interest in the organization.
Examples: home care services, health services, community services, etc.
3, Worker co-operatives: The purpose of these co-operatives is to provide their members with work by operating an enterprise. The co-operatives are owned by their employee members.
Examples: forestry, leisure, production and manufacturing, tourism, communications and marketing, etc.
4. Worker-Shareholder co-operatives: These are incorporated co-operatives that hold partial ownership of the business in which the co-op’s members are employed. Because of its share capital, the co-operative may participate in the management of the business and the workers may influence work organization.
Examples: production and manufacturing, technology, etc.
5. Consumer co-operatives: They provide their members with goods and services for their personal use.
Examples: Food, credit unions, housing, insurance co-operatives, etc.
One Island Institute is consulting and collaborating with partners across the world to co-develop “Community Owned Cooperative” models, and the Community Cooperatives Network.