Welcome!


Thank you for visiting the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network website!

 

Led by the Canadian Co-operative Association in partnership with four Canadian universities (St. Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Victoria), the Network is funded for a five-year term by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as a Community-University Research Alliance. The Network is committed to conducting research on the social, economic and environmental impact of co-operatives on Canadians and their communities.

Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson Spoke for "Big Thinking" Series

 

Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson spoke for Big Thinking Series on Parliament Hill on December 8: "Building resilient communities: The economic impact of Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires in Canada". Presentation available here. Video of presentation now available!

                        

News and Events

 

-Conference hosted by members of the Atlantic Cluster:
Managing the Co-operative Difference, Moncton NB February 29-April 2
More details

-In acknowledgement of the International Year of Co-operatives, the Progressive Economics Forum is organizing a session on cooperatives at the Canadian Economics Association meetings in Calgary from June 8th to June 10th. If anyone is interested in presenting, please send a brief abstract to Ian Hudson, Department of Economics, University of Manitoba, at hudsoni@ms.umanitoba.ca

- Special lecture with MILFORD BATEMAN now available online! 
MICROFINANCE & THE ILLUSION OF DEVELOPMENT: FROM HUBRIS TO NEMESIS
Lecture delivered at St. Mary's University in January 2012. View lecture video.

Webinars

 

UPCOMING WEBINAR:

People-Power-Profits: The Emergence of Renewable Energy Co-operatives

in Canada, March 14, 2: 00 p.m. Eastern

Featured speakers: Judith Lipp, J.J. McMurtry, Wayne Groszko

REGISTER TODAY

 

Past webinar materials:

Co-operative Accounting and Key Performance Indicators

Building a Canada-wide co-operative research network: Our tools, our resources, our plans

Materials and links available here

View the Latest Newsletter

 

View the latest edition (Fall/Winter 2011) of the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network newsletter and find out all about the Network's activities over the fall.  

Co-operating for Change: Major Research Conference in 2012

 

The Network will feature a number of completed projects and also initial findings from projects still in progress from June 24-27, 2012 at the University of Quebec in Montreal. with the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation, the ICA Research Committee, The Association for Co-operative Education, the Quebec Co-op CURA and others will be organizing a major integrated co-op research conference series (a Co-op Learneds!) held right before the CCA and CCCM AGMs and joint Congress.

More details coming soon
Call for proposals

New Stats on Top 50 Non-Financial Co-ops

 

Top 50 non-financial co-ops grow in assets, members and revenue in 2010


•"Top 50" revenues grew 3.4% over the last year, to $24.8 billion in 2010.
•"Top 50" assets grew 6.6% over the last year, to $11 billion in 2010.
•The "Top 50" were co-owned by 4.9 million members in 2010, up 6.7% from 2009.
•Together, the "Top 50" employ 38,700 people, 81% of which are full-time.
•"Top 50" co-operatives returned $640 million to their members in "patronage refunds" in 2010.