New ILO report highlights the main advantages of energy co-operatives

A new report published by the International Labour Organization’s Enterprise Department presents a collection of case studies on co-operatives in energy production, distribution and consumption, showing their contribution to the on-going search for ways in which the goal of Sustainable Energy for All.

According to the United Nations, 22 per cent of the world’s population do not have access to modern energy services. The report highlights the main advantages of energy co-operatives, such as low cost goals, good value for money, inspiring people, foster renewable energy and providing reliable services.

(From the International Co-operative Alliance)

Marcelo Vieta interviewed about research on worker-recuperated enterprises in Italy

The European Research Institute on Co-operative and Social Enterprises interviewed Marcelo Vieta about his research Recuperating enterprises, reviving community: The conversion of investor-owned businesses into worker-run firms.

Marcelo Vieta is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow and lecturer at the Social Economy Centre, University of Toronto. He is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) and the International Secretariat for Human Development (ISHD) (both also at York University), an associate member of the Applied Communication Laboratory (ACTLab)at Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication, a co-organizer and member of the Toronto School of Creativity & Inquiry (TSCI), and serves on the board of the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC) and the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER).

Read the full interview here: http://www.euricse.eu/en/news/interview-marcelo-vieta-his-research-worker-recuperated-enterprises

Call for papers – International gathering of “the workers’ economy”

IV INTERNATIONAL GATHERING OF “THE WORKERS’ ECONOMY”
Self-management and Work as Alternatives to the Global Economic Crisis
July 9-12, 2013
João Pessoa, Brazil

History of the International Gathering of “The Workers’ Economy”
The International Gathering of “The Workers’ Economy” had is its first encuentro in Buenos Aires in July 2007 under the theme “Self-management and the Distribution of Wealth.” It was organized by the Open Faculty Program of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Buenos Aires, in conjunction with other academic institutions, social organizations, and workers from Argentina and around the world. The International Gatherings have emerged into a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences between academics, activists, and workers. These ideas center on the possibilities and challenges of self-management; the regeneration of a political, economic, and social project by the working class and social movements; as well as critical discussion and analyses of the practices of academic research focusing on self-management and the workers’ economy.

For more information on the International Gathering of “The Workers’ Economy” (including previous encuentros in 2007, 2009, and 2011):

www.recuperadasdoc.com.ar
https://sites.google.com/site/estudiosdeltrabajouamx//

Key Dates and Submission Guidelines
Abstract submission deadline for papers: April 22, 2013
Notification of approved presentations: May 2, 2013
Final papers submission deadline: June 30, 2013 

Please send abstracts for presentations (of around 250 words) to:

marcelo@vieta.ca – Marcelo Vieta (Research Associate, Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, Toronto, Canada)

Call for papers for special journal: Worker Cooperatives as an Organizational Alternative

Worker Cooperatives as an Organizational Alternative: Challenges, Achievements and Promise in Organizational Governance and Ownership

Ana Maria Peredo from the Gustavson School of Business, Centre for Co-operative and Community Based Economy and University of Victoria would like to invite papers for this special journal edition of the journal Organization.

Examples of key themes for investigation allowing for further international comparisons include:

1. The organizational resources, structures, and dynamics allowing for social as well as economic resilience in worker cooperatives;

2. The changing roles of leadership in worker cooperatives: considering for example the interplay of various forms of leadership from charismatic to collaborative or group-based;

3. The capacity of and obstacles to the reinvention of democracy within cooperatives, including means to manage and solve conflicts between different goals, sectors, and constituencies (for example, concerning the relationship between worker-member-owners and temporary workers);

4. The relationships between cooperatives and organized labour, the state, the community, and the larger financial system;

5. Maintaining cooperative values while facing crises of participation, identity, and shared ownership and decision making within a system undergoing international expansion.

Papers should be no more than 8,000 words, excluding references, and will be blind reviewed following the journal’s standard procedures.  Manuscripts should be prepared according to the guidelines published in Organization and on the journal’s website

For more information, contact Ana Maria Peredo aperedo@uvic.ca

 

 

Agricultural Adaptation: A Co-operative Approach

Strengthening agricultural and agri-food co-operatives and exploring new co-operative models – to improve the economic prospects of farmer producers and rural communities across Canada.
November 2001

Co-operative Health Provision

Opportunities for Co-operative Health Provision in Rural, Remote and Northern Aboriginal Communities
November 2003

Child Care Co-operatives

Child Care Co-operatives – A Research Report
March 2007

Prepared for the Co-operatives Secretariat and Human Resources and Social Development Canada.

Child Care Co-operatives in Canada 2007 examines the situation of co-operative child care in Canada. Through research based on qualitative methods, including interviews with child care co-operative spokespersons and government officials, as well as the latest statistical data available, the report paints a complete portrait of co-op child care and provides an analysis of the enabling environment and possibilities for future development. The situation of co-operative child care in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States is also examined and lessons drawn for possible application in Canada.

Agricultural Co-operative Networks in Canada

Agricultural Co-operative Networks in Canada: Research and Consultation
March 2009

This report provides the observations and recommendations of a research and consultation project commissioned by the Agricultural Co-operative Development Initiative (Ag-CDI), which is financially supported by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and is co-managed by the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and le Conseil canadien de coopération et de la mutualité (CCCM).

Car Sharing Co-operatives in Canada

Car Sharing Co-operatives in Canada
May 2009

This report, which is part of a project funded by the federal government under the Co-operative Development Initiative, takes a look at the status of car sharing in Canada, with a particular emphasis on car sharing co-operatives.

The Lay of the Land: Local Food Initiatives in Canada

The Lay of the Land: Local Food Initiatives in Canada
June 2009

As its name implies, The Lay of the Land: Local Food Initiatives in Canada is a scan of local food initiatives in Canada. It charts the geographical distribution and specific types of activities that make up Canada’s local food movement; it aims to help a broad audience better understand the nation’s renewed interest in where food is grown. The Canadian Co-operative Association conducted this research to determine the overall breadth of the local food movement, the number of co-operatives involved in local food, and the umbrella organizations that work to assist these initiatives.