Events & Opportunities
Click here to visit our conference and events page!
Click here to hear about a new portal for co-op research, the Canadian Co-operative Research Network
------
Quick reference on this page:
Upcoming Webinars
Past webinar materials
Funding Opportunities
Scholarship Opportunity
Opportunity to Review Books: ANSERJournal
------
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Benchmarking Co-operative Performance: The CoopMetrics Framework
May 22, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Register today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/407821985
Overview
This webinar will be lead by CoopMetrics, a Minnesota cooperative. This hybrid cooperative, whose members are workers as well as consumers, uses its cooperative structure to share innovation among benchmarking sectors. CoopMetrics provides benchmarking services and business analytics for US retail food cooperatives, independent food retailers, farm supply and marketing cooperatives, alternative nursing homes, ethanol plants, and affordable housing developers.
------
Quick reference on this page:
Upcoming Webinars
Past webinar materials
Funding Opportunities
Scholarship Opportunity
Opportunity to Review Books: ANSERJournal
------
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Benchmarking Co-operative Performance: The CoopMetrics Framework
May 22, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Register today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/407821985
Overview
This webinar will be lead by CoopMetrics, a Minnesota cooperative. This hybrid cooperative, whose members are workers as well as consumers, uses its cooperative structure to share innovation among benchmarking sectors. CoopMetrics provides benchmarking services and business analytics for US retail food cooperatives, independent food retailers, farm supply and marketing cooperatives, alternative nursing homes, ethanol plants, and affordable housing developers.
The session will provide an overview of their framework and tools, include sample reports and a discussion of user experiences with the program.
Presenters
Rosemary K. Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming chief executive officer of CoopMetrics, Rosemary worked as a consultant on international cooperative development projects and cooperative business development projects in the United States. She was a founding partner of MainStreet Cooperative Group, LLC., director of New Venture Development for Cooperative Solutions, LLC., executive director of Cooperative Development Services (CDS) and Regional Director for Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. At present, Rosemary serves on the boards of directors of the National Cooperative Business Association, National Cooperative Grocers Association, National Cooperative Grocers Association Development Cooperative, Thanexus, Inc., dotCooperative LLC, The Cooperative Foundation and NCB Capital Impact. Rosemary formerly served on the boards of directors of NCB (formerly known as the National Cooperative Bank), Cooperative Development Institute and CooperationWorks. Rosemary has received the Honored Cooperator Award.
Rosemary K. Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming chief executive officer of CoopMetrics, Rosemary worked as a consultant on international cooperative development projects and cooperative business development projects in the United States. She was a founding partner of MainStreet Cooperative Group, LLC., director of New Venture Development for Cooperative Solutions, LLC., executive director of Cooperative Development Services (CDS) and Regional Director for Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. At present, Rosemary serves on the boards of directors of the National Cooperative Business Association, National Cooperative Grocers Association, National Cooperative Grocers Association Development Cooperative, Thanexus, Inc., dotCooperative LLC, The Cooperative Foundation and NCB Capital Impact. Rosemary formerly served on the boards of directors of NCB (formerly known as the National Cooperative Bank), Cooperative Development Institute and CooperationWorks. Rosemary has received the Honored Cooperator Award.
Walden Swanson, Founder and Director of New Initiatives. Walden has significant management, banking, and board experience. He has been a "turnaround manager" and negotiated mergers and acquisitions. His banking experience includes graduating in the top quartile of the American Banker's Association Commercial Lending School and working with CEAG - an advisory firm in the Czech Republic associated with Salomon Brothers. Walden serves on the board of the National Cooperative Bank and NCB Capital Impact as well as many cooperative, non-profit, and for-profit boards. He has a BBA in the Honors Program from the University of Texas and is a Microsoft SQL Server Certified Professional. Walden has received the Cooperative Service Award, the Cooperative Innovation/Achievement Award, the Honored Cooperator Award, and was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2008.
MATERIALS FROM PAST WEBINARS
People-Power-Profit: The Emergence of Renewable Energy Co-operatives in Canada
Co-operative Accounting and Key Performance Indicators
Microfinance vs. Co-operative Finance: Is there a difference?
Building a pan-Canadian co-operative research network
The environmental imperative: Do co-operatives have something unique to offer?Co-operative building pathways to peace
Co-operative enterprises: Their relevance now and in the future
International development and the co-operative model
The Co-operative Model: A durable and sustinable model -- Sussex Co-op (NB) 170 Year Anniversary
People-Power-Profit: The Emergence of Renewable Energy Co-operatives in Canada
March 14, 2012
This webinar toured the audience through renewable energy development across Canada, celebrating the successes and articulating the challenges of this exciting new co-op sector. The webinar also featured a few case studies in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The session also created space to discuss the following questions: What are the policy and regulatory contexts? And how do we build stronger cohesion across the country?
Featured presenters:
Judith Lipp is the Executive Director of the TREC Renewable Energy Co-operative, a position she has held since 2008. TREC is a a non-profit, co-operative that incubates, builds and administers renewable energy co-operatives in Ontario and educates the broader public about the importance of renewable energy, energy efficiency/conservation and the community power model. Judith has worked in the renewable energy sector since 1998 and has extensive related policy, research and project development experience.
Judith Lipp,Executive Director
TREC Renewable Energy Cooperative
Email: jlipp@trec.on.ca
Phone: 416 977 5093
www.trec.on.ca
Judith's Presentation - Opportunities & Realities of Renewable Energy Co-op Development
Paper - Renewable Energy Co-op Review: Scan of Models and Regulatory Issues, January 2012
Ontario Community Energy Partnership Program
J.J. McMurtry is an Associate Professor in the Business and Society Program at York University. Professor McMurtry's areas of specialization include co-operative theory and practice, alternative economics, the Social Economy, and social and political thought. He is one of the founders of Green Campus Co-ops and is on the National Research Cluster for the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network CURA.
J.J. McMurtry, Associate Professor
Business and Society Program, York University
Email: jmcmurtr@yorku.ca
Phone: 416 736 2100 ext. 77820
J.J.'s Presentation - So What is the Co-op Difference in Alternative Energy?
Wayne Groszko, Ph.D. is currently president of the Community Energy Co-operative (New Brunswick), an organization working at the community level to facilitate the transition to renewable energy. He has nine years experience in the field of renewable energy assessments, education, consulting and community-based social marketing. He teaches courses in environmental sciences at Dalhousie University and has published and presented several times regarding renewable energy.
Wayne Groszko, Community Energy Co-operativeEmail: wayne@communityenergynb.ca
Phone: 902 482 8817
Toll-free: 1 866 315 9201
Wayne's Presentation - Community Renewable Energy in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Community Feed-in Tariff Program
Nova Scotia COMFIT Guide
Co-operative Accounting and Key Performance Indicators
February 14, 2012
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Daphne Rixon is Assistant Professor of Accounting as well as the Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence for Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) at Saint Mary's University. Dr. Rixon's presentation addressed the question of whether co-operative principles are reflected in key performance Indicators, as illustrated in a case study of insurance co-operatives. The purpose of this presentation was examine whether the key performance indicators (KPI's) reported by co-operatives in the insurance sector reflect the seven principles of co-operatives.
Elizabeth Hicks is a Chartered Accountant, an Associate Professor in the Business and Tourism Department at Mount Saint Vincent University and a board member of the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives. Her current research interests include developing a tool to measure the co-operative difference for consumer co-operatives and examining external financial reporting by co-operatives to reflect the co-operative difference. The purpose of her presentation was to discuss the need for accounting standards that take into account the unique characteristics of co-operatives and to share some of the co-operative reporting practices recommended by the CEARC.
Elizabeth Hick's PresentationLink to the Centre of Excellence for Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives
Microfinance vs. Co-operative Finance: Is there a difference?
Dr. Milford Bateman, January 26
Featured Speaker: Dr. Milford Bateman - Independent consultant on local economic development policy, Visiting Professor of Economics at Juraj Dobrila Pula University in Croatia, and author of "Why Doesn't Microfinance Work? The Destructive Rise of Local Neoliberalism" published by Zed Books of London.
The last thirty years has seen the microfinance model rise to dominate the poverty reduction agenda in both developing and transition countries. This webinar examined the ways in which the microfinance model has actually set back the chances of sustainable local economic development and poverty reduction.
The contrast has been made between this poor performance and co-operative finance models, such as credit unions and financial cooperatives, which are unequivocally associated with sustainable economic and social development and growth, and thus also sustainable poverty reduction. The webinar focused on why microfinance institutions are both a poorer choice for personal borrowing, as well as for local enterprise development and expansion.
Presentation from Dr. Bateman "Microfinance and the Illusion of Development: from Hubris to Nemesis"
Documentary Film: The MicroDebt by Tom Heinemann
Respondent to Dr. Bateman, Anuj Jain:
Anuj Jain is a Senior Fellow of Microfinance and Development at the Coady Institute. Anuj joined the Institute in 2010. Prior to that, he worked for CARE International for 18 years, where he was engaged in global policy development and capacity building. At CARE, he specialized in the microfinance and livelihoods development fields - managing, designing, providing technical support and fund raising for a number of small and large scale programs, mostly in India, Asia and Africa. His achievements include creating a wholesale microfinance fund as well as in representing CARE among peer institutions and in global forums.
Microfinance programs at Coady Institute
Comparative Study of Member Owned Financial Institutions
Other resources:
Economist article: Helping the Poor to Save
Building a Canada-wide co-operative research network: Our tools, our resources, our plans
November 24, 2pm
This webinar offers an overview of the current tools and resources available to co-op researchers and practitioners through various research centres, networks and organizations as well as to introduce a new tool.
How do researchers connect-actually and virtually? Where can I find research that will be useful to my co-operative? How can researchers better communicate to produce research that is multi-disciplinary, collaborative, critical and useful to co-operative organizations? How do we link Anglophone and Francophone research networks. These questions and others will be addressed by a panel of co-op researchers and practitioners. Be there for the sneak peek of the new online co-op research network.
Co-operative Research Resources
Co-operative Research Project Website
Find materials below from past webinars (Spring 2011-Fall 2011):
The Environmental Imperative: Do Co-operative Have Something Unique to Offer?This webinar was organized in partnership with CCA's Member Services department and explored the dimensions of sustainability in the co-operative movement and reviewed whether co-operatives serve as leaders in environmental innovation and commitment.
Speakers:
Esther Speck, Director, Sustainability and Community with Mountain Equipment Co-op
Maureen Cureton, Community Investment with Vancity
Moderator:
Yuill Herbert, Director at Sustainability Solutions Group and Representative from the Canadian Co-operative Association's Board Environmental Committee
Environental Toolkit and Co-op Case Studies from CCA
Co-operatives Building Pathways to Peace (Ian MacPherson, Smita Ramnarain, Andrew McLeod)
September 21, 1pm Eastern
To celebrate the United Nation's International Day of Peace and to highlight the contribution of co-operatives to peace- building locally and globally, this webinar featured Ian MacPherson who is a professor Emeritus in History from the University of Victoria and a specialist in co-operative studies and Smita Ramnarain who is a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in gender and conflict.
Prof. MacPherson spoke on the theme of the general connections, historical, contemporary and future, between co-operatives and the pursuit of peace, concentrating on co-op thought and perspectives. Smita based her talk on research in Nepal regarding women's cooperatives and peace in post-conflict Nepal. She focused on the role women's cooperatives have played in peace building and conflict mediation in families, neighborhoods and local communities in the aftermath of Nepal's Maoist conflict, and the lessons that can be derived from the Nepal experience for other contexts of violence.
Andrew McLeod from the National Co-operative Business Association shared perspectives on the use of co-operatives in current conflict situations.
Link to book "Co-operatives and the Pusuit of Peace"
Report: Women's Co-operatives and Peace in India and Nepal
"Co-operatives Can Play a Role in Peacemaking", by Senator Georyge J. Mitchell (US) was published in the July/August issue of the Cooperative Business Journal, which is produced by the National Cooperative Business Association.
"Co-ops & Peace", by Andrew McLeod was published in the July/August issue of the Cooperative Business Journal, which is produced by the National Cooperative Business Association.
Visit the Cooperative Business Journal online today
Smita Ramnarain's portion of the webinar below (others to be posted soon):
Co-operative Enterprises: Their Relevance Now and in the Future (Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson and John Restakis)
Presentation of Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson
A PDF of the report, The Resilience of Co-operative Business Models in Times of Crisis can be found here under "featured Publications "
Click here if you would like to learn more or purchase John's book, Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the age of capital
International Development and the Co-operative Model (Jo-anne Ferguson and Henk van Oosterhout)
Presentation of Jo-anne Ferguson
*Henk's presentation on credit unions in Ghana is being made into a report brief and will be available soon*
View CCA's international development work through videos available through the online CCA Cinema
The Co-operative Model: A Durable and Sustainable Enterprise - Sussex Co-op at 170 Years (Prof. Ian MacPherson and David Bent)
Presentation of Ian MacPherson
Learn more about the book publication about the Sussex Co-op
The Institute for Nonprofit Studies, Mount Royal University, is pleased to extend an invitation for letters of intent to its applied research program. In this call, due April 13th, 2012, there will one open applied research award and one dedicated applied research award. Full research proposals will be due on May 14, 2012. A profile of a one-page letter of intent is on the Institute web site under applied research. The open applied research award, up to a maximum of $7,500, may address any topic broadly defined as governance, sustainability, or policy and must have practical implications for the nonprofit sector. Previous award recipients: www.mtroyal.ca/nonprofitinstitute
The dedicated applied research award, to a maximum of $7,500, is to conduct a literature review of the personal, community, and economic impact of community human services. Details concerning this call for proposals are in the attached document. Letters of intent are due on April 13, 2012.
Any questions on the above may be directed to Peter R. Elson, PhD, Senior Research Associate, Institute for Nonprofit Studies, Mount Royal University pelson@mtroyal.ca
Scholarship Opportunity
The Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation Scholarships provide funds both to undergraduate and graduate students. The deadline for applications is March 31. More details on how to apply available here: www.coopscanada.coop/en/orphan/CASC-Scholarships
The Association for Non-Profit and Social Economy Research Journal is currently seeking reviewers for the following books:
• "Toward Contemporary Co-operative Studies: Perspectives from Japan's Consumer Co-ops" by the Consumer Co-operative Institute of Japan
• "Beveridge and Voluntary Action in Britain and the Wider British World" Melanie Oppenheimer, Nicholas Deakin
• "The Social Economy: Working Alternatives in a Globalizing Era" by Hasmet M. Uluorta
The Association has also issued an open call for interested parties to contact the journal with suggestions of books you would like to review and deem important to the journal. Please contact editor@anserj.ca to indicate your interest. ANSERJ, the Canadian journal of nonprofit and social economy research has published its latest issue at http://www.anserj.ca/index.php/cjnser
National Conferences
In 2012 and 2014, the Network will be hosting national conferences to share the research findings of the network and invite other researchers to share their co-operative research as well. More information will be available on this website and through the Network newsletters closer to the dates.
Our 2012 conference is a joint conference with several other research organizations. Mark June 25-27 on your calendar. If you are an active member of our Network, also mark June 24 for our meeting day.
Co-operating for Change in the International Year of Co-operatives
June 24-27, 2012, University of Quebec at Montreal
This Network, together with the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation, the ICA Research Committee, The Association for Co-operative Educators, the Quebec Co-op CURA and others are organizing a major integrated co-op research conference held right before the CCA and CCCM AGMs and joint Congress. Registration coming soon.
Regional Meetings
If you are interested in being involved in one of the regional Clusters or being updated on their events, please click on the Cluster tabs at the top, right of this page.
Students
If you are a student who would like to become more involved in the network (either as a research assistant or would like to be invited to Network events), please contact Erin Hancock.
