Call for Papers – ICOOP 2015

The scientific program committee of the Joint International Conference on Agribusiness and Cooperatives is still accepting abstracts for presentation in the 7th International Conference on Agribusiness Economics and Management (ICAEM2015) and/or in the 2nd International Conference on Cooperatives (ICOOP2015). The conference will be held October 22nd-24th, 2015 in Davao City, Phillipines.

Deadline for abstract submission is on May 31, 2015.

Submit abstracts to: http://icaem-icoop.wix.com/2015#!submit-abstract/c5u6

2015 ACE Institute Request for Proposals – Due February 6, 2015

The ACE Institute planning committee is seeking presentation proposals for the 2015 ACE Institute, to be held July 12-15 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. Details for the categories and submission criteria are in the request for proposals.

The ACE Institute is an annual conference held by the Association of Cooperative Educators, a North American wide organization of cooperative researchers, educators, practitioners and developers with members predominately from the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The three-day event highlights innovations in cooperative education and development through lectures, workshops, roundtable discussions, and mobile learning sessions.

Proposals are due by Friday, February 6, 2015. Selection will be made and applicants notified by March 6, 2015.

If you have questions, please contact Sarah Pike at pike@ace.coop or 763.432.2032.

Call for Abstracts – Community Innovation and Social Enterprise Conference – March 15th Deadline

“ Community Innovation and Social Enterprise ” Conference

July 8-10, 2015
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Community Economic Development Institute of the Shannon School of Business is dedicated to advancing community capacity in economic development. Building on the popularity of our 2011 and 2013 conferences, where we had over 200 attendees, we are organizing another multidisciplinary conference focused on “Community Innovation & Social Enterprise”.

Community-based ventures are a strong part of the Canadian economy for more than a century and recent innovative practices have made the social enterprise sector a hot topic. The conference brings together practitioners, researchers, and community organizations, from home and afar, to discuss current practices, challenges, and innovations in advancing social entrepreneurship and improving community livelihoods.

The conference includes the following themes:

• Community-based development
• Social Enterprises and Innovation
• Co-operatives and sustainable business models
• Place-based business
• Sustainable Aboriginal economies
• Entrepreneurial Financing

Please mark your calendar and come to Cape Breton to connect in July.  We are keeping the conference cost low:  if you register by May 15, the cost of the conference is only $190+tax, and that includes our famous Surf & Turf dinner extravaganza (Cape Breton lobster & beef) by the Sydney harbour.

You are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation, panel, or roundtable discussion.  We also accept general proposals which may not fit the categories listed above.  There will be no formal conference proceedings published.

Please submit your proposal by March 15.  The proposal should include:
• Working title
• The theme it fits in
• 100-word abstract of the presentation, and a
• 50-word bio.

Please send abstracts to confer2015@cbu.ca and attach your proposal as a Word file.

New Publication: Co-operation, Learning, and Co-operative Values

Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group recently published a book edited by Tom Woodin on comtemporary issues in co-operative education. Here is the publisher’s description of the book:

“The rapidity of change in education has intensified in recent years. With the emergence of ‘co-operative schools’ and a new framework focusing heavily on co-operation, a direct challenge to ways of thinking about education, at both school and university level, has developed.

Co-operation, Learning and Co-operative Values addresses the urgent need to describe, analyse and assess the growth of co-operative education. The relationship between co-operation and education is a complex process and this book critically reflects on the tensions and obstacles facing this movement. It brings together the contributions of academics and practitioners from a range of backgrounds, and explores topics including:

• Theories and histories of co-operative values and principles
• Critical views of the practice of co-operative education
• Case studies of processes in action from both schools and higher education
• Co-operative education in a wider context

This book provides an essential introduction to a new and expanding area of research with chapters by many leading commentators in education. It will be of interest to researchers and educators interested in education and social policy.”

For more information about this publication and to purchase the book, follow this link.

Call for Papers for the European Research Committee’s Conference

First call for papers for the European Research Committee’s conference “Future of the Co-operative Model: Creativity, Innovation, & Research” to take place in Paris, France from 27-30 May 2015.

Conference aim

Crisis highlighted that innovation, creativity on products, production process, governance and financing are essential elements of the productive organization to face problems and grow up. Cooperatives and social economy organizations have been in many occasions creative and innovative to all functional stages for the benefit of the members and the socio economic environment that they are engaged. The broad interpretation of cooperative principles gives cooperatives flexibility in designing their governance and financial structures, which are extremely efficient in the pursuit of global strategies. In such activity (agriculture, finance, heath, education…), cooperatives and mutual successfully innovate to adapt the social and economic crisis. What are their advantages and weaknesses?

Proposals focusing on the innovation and creativity solutions of cooperatives would be particularly welcomed. General themes and specific sessions are proposed for selected papers and poster sessions.

Conference general themes

• Cooperatives and Rural-Urban
• Cooperatives and their business model specificities
• Global Competitiveness and Governance
• Cooperatives confronted with the employment crisis
• Law and specificities
• Cooperatives, taxation and finance
• Cooperatives and Social Responsibility

Guidelines for abstract / paper submissions

To be eligible for a Selected papers Session or a Poster Session:

• Select a general theme
• Submit an Abstract (min. 350-max. 400 words) including title, keywords (and) JEL codes
• Upload full paper (pdf format) – mandatory.

Deadline for submission is November 27th 2014

For more information including key dates, technical specifications for submission, and details about the general themes, consult the original call of papers here or contact the organizers of the event at icaparis2015@gmail.com
.

International Summit of Cooperatives: The Outcomes

We invite you to read the latest Newsletter from the International Cooperative Summit, whcih amas held last week in Quebec city. The event was successful with over 3000 participants from 93 countries. Through social medias, this international exposition reached over 4 millions people. For more informations about the outcomes of the conference, follow this link

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Sommet International des Coopératives: Compte Rendu

Nous vous invitons à lire l’infolettre du Sommet International des Coopératives qui c’est conclut la semaine dernière dans la ville de Québec. Avec plus de 3 000 participants en provenance de 93 pays, l’évènement connu un vif succès. Cette exposition internationale eu une portée dans les médias sociaux atteingnant près de quatre millions de personnes. Pour plus d”informations, suivez ce lien.

CEARC Research Grants: Call for Proposals

The Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) has made a research fund available for research in accounting and reporting for co-operatives and credit unions. There is only one call for proposals per year. A total of $20,000 is available for this call. These funds may be awarded to more than one recipient.

Purpose
The main purpose of this fund is to encourage researchers in Canada as well as internationally to undertake projects of relevance to accounting and financial reporting in the co-operative and credit union sectors. The research project may be of interest to either/both academics and practitioners. While not a specific requirement, ideally the research will lead to a broad dissemination of its results through conference presentations and journal publication.

Funding Criteria
The main funding criteria are that the work be relevant to academic and/or practitioner accountants in the co-operative and credit union sectors. The project must be completed on a timely basis and be of satisfactory quality. The timeliness criterion should be demonstrated through the applicant’s detailed timeline in the proposal. The timeline should show the expected dates for production of reports or working papers. The maximum time allowed to complete the report or paper is 24 months. The CEARC Research Committee will evaluate proposals and recommend to the CEARC Board of Directors which proposal(s) should be approved and the amount of funding.

Guidelines
Grant applicants are required to submit their proposal outlining the following:

• Description/purpose of research project
• Target audience
• Practitioner, academic, both
• Method of communication to target audience
• Methodology
• Experience/interest in co-operative/credit union research
• List of publications and/or conference presentations in the last 4 years
• Timeline for completion of the project
• Budget

The deadline for applicants to submit proposals
is December 15th, 2014.

Fore more details about submission, consult the original call for proposals here.

You may also want to consult the CEARC website at http://www.coopaccounting.coop/

Preliminary program of the Summit’s Research Symposium

The International Summit of Co-operatives is approaching! Enclosed is the preliminary program of the international research symposium on co-operative to be held on October 5th 2014. To register to events, follow this link.

Symposium Preliminary Program

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Horaire Préliminaire du Symposium de Recherche du Sommet

Le Sommet International des Coopératives approche à grands pas! Vous trouverez co-joint l’horaire préliminaire du symposium international de recherche sur les coopératives. Pour vous inscrire aux évènements, suivez ce lien.

Horaire préliminaire du symposium

ILO Academy on social and solidarity economy

The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) organized the “ILO Academy on the Social and Solidarity Economy: towards inclusive and sustainable development”, in Campinas, Brazil, from 28 July to 1 August 2014. The main objective of the conference was to generate a better understanding of the concept of SSE and its possible contribution to inclusive and sustainable development.

It was hoped that participants would:

• Have a better understanding of the areas in which the Social and Solidarity Economy can be applied and implemented successfully such as employment creation and preservation, social protection, social dialogue, green jobs, legal and policy frameworks, informal economy and local economic development.
• Have been acquainted with a multitude of social and solidarity experiences, strategies and tools from around the world, with a particular emphasis on South-South and triangular cooperation.

Stay posted for the forthcoming conference proceedings.

To learn more about the event, click here.

English brochure of the event, click here.

New Research Piece on NPB Role in Stakeholder Relations

Cain, Edgar and Munroe from the Institute on Governance produced a new piece of research entitled: The Not for Profit Board’s Role in Stakeholder Relations: Survey Results and Analysis. This research explores the approaches and practices related to stakeholder relations in a governance context.

Research questions:
• How are the boards of NFP and related organizations currently identifying and engaging stakeholders?
• What governance models for stakeholder relations exist or can be created to help boards fulfill this role?
• What roles should should boards play distinct from staff.

Key Concepts:
Key concepts that are explored: moral ownership, Stakeholder Identification and Analysis , as well as Stakeholder engagement.

Methodology:
IOG used a 34 question bilingual survey targeting one board member and one senior executive from each respondent organization. A total of 217 individuals finished the survey.

Summary of Findings:
• Some stakeholders matter more than others regardless of organizational type
• The data that supports the significance of staff as a stakeholder contrasts with Carverʼs theory of moral ownership.
• There is a broadly supported foundation of stakeholder tools and techniques.
• Stakeholder analysis is most consistently used for program design and determining strategy.
• There has not been a widespread adoption of performance measurement for stakeholder relations.
• Chief executives and boards have diverging views on the boardʼs role in stakeholder relations.
• Type of governance model can indicate the scope of stakeholder relations and its role in activities of the organization.
• Approaches to stakeholder relations have some dependence on the primary revenue source of an organization.
• Co-operatives demonstrate leadership in member-based stakeholder relations and direct engagement of stakeholders.
• Charities demonstrate leadership in engaging stakeholders to improve programs.
• Direct representation of interests on a board can lead to conflicts of obligations, particularly for mid-sized operations.
• Boards elected by members are more responsive to stakeholders.

Click here to access to the complete survey results and analysis.