ICA Global Conference – Towards 2020 What will your co-operative look like?

The International Co-operative Alliance’s 2015 global conference is the platform for co-operators to stay on top of developments and take best practices home. Co-operatives need to continue to affirm and communicate their leadership as socially embedded and sustainable enterprises. Sustainability is one of the focal points of the conference, together with participation, identity, access to capital and legal frameworks. Read More

WCM | Exploring the co-operative economy – Report 2014

Quebec City, October 2014. The International Co-operative Alliance (the Alliance) - with the scientific and technical support of the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse) - launches the 2014 report of its global statistical project: The World Co-operative Monitor. Read More

Cooperation in Italy during the crisis years

Second Euricse report – executive summary by Carlo Borzaga As the economic crisis continues, it is becoming increasingly evident that in order to identify strategies to put Italy back on a path of economic growth it is necessary to carefully evaluate the potential contributions of every sector, every public and private institution, and from all types of enterprises including cooperatives and social enterprises. Recent census data from The National Institute for Statistics (Istat) shows a great diversification of enterprise forms in Italy over the decade from 2001 to 2011, with cooperative enterprises and, more generally, not-for-profit organizations growing at a faster rate than other types of businesses, either public or private. Consequently, understanding the existence and characteristics of cooperative enterprises should no longer be considered of interest solely to a limited number of scholars or representative organizations of the cooperative movement. Rather, this type of research now has broader implications and should be undertaken with renewed commitment. Read More

Quantifying cooperatives and social enterprises in Italy

The persisting economic crisis highlights the fact that in order to identify strategies for putting Italy back on the path of economic and occupational growth, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the potential contribution rendered from each sector, and in particular from various forms of enterprise. Read More

Database of legislation concerning cooperatives and social enterprises

This database began to be put together thanks to the participation of Euricse, in its role as leader of a consortium which was awarded a research contract with the European Commission to produce a study on the implementation of the European Cooperative Society (SCE) Regulation in the 30 countries where it was put into effect (27 EU member countries and 3 EEA countries). Read More

Database of cooperatives in Europe and worldwide

In collaboration with the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), Euricse is working to collect and integrate information about the economic and financial situation, employment and membership base of cooperatives operating in different countries around the world, starting with the largest. Read More

Database of cooperatives in Italy

Since 2010, Euricse has been working intensely on the gathering and organization of statistical information about Italian cooperative enterprises, with the aim of building an integrated database which will be regularly updated with information (including financial and economic data and employment figures) about Italian cooperatives and social enterprises formed in accordance with Italian Law 155/2006. Read More

Financing possibilities for cooperatives and social enterprises

The availability of financial resources is often held to be one of the fundamental conditions for launching a new season of development for cooperatives and social enterprises. Particularly in regards to the latter category, debate has increased greatly in recent years, thanks in part to documents like the European Commission’s Social Business Initiative (COM2011 682) and other policy initiatives that have led to an increase in the number of actors – mostly from the private sector – who seem interested in investing in initiatives “with a high social impact”. Read More