Database of cooperatives in Europe and worldwide

Project status: on-going

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.

Objectives

The initial objective is to construct a robust database containing basic quantitative information that can be used to study cooperatives in different geographic areas. The activity is focused on collecting and integrating data about first-level cooperatives, second-level cooperatives (consortia, cooperative groups and cooperative networks), mutual societies and non-cooperative businesses controlled by cooperatives.

The creation of the database involves collecting, cleaning up and integrating regional and national databases developed by federations and research centres as part of specific projects, as well as the collection of data directly from the cooperatives involved through the administration of an online questionnaire available in six languages (see the website www.monitor.coop).

Main results

The research group carried out the collecting, verifying and integrating of the data about the largest cooperatives and mutuals at international level. Currently the database collects economic and financials data of more than 2000 cooperatives from different geographic areas for the period 2010-2012.

 

In recent years, scientific debate has focused on the issue of measuring data quality, and by now it is widely accepted that a non-systematic evaluation of data quality can lead to a loss of control over statistical processes like gathering, modifying and analysing data. Evaluating data quality is therefore one of the fundamental steps in the integration process.

Euricse is working on identifying, gathering together and integrating administrative and statistical archives containing identifying information, economic and financial data and employment figures for cooperatives at both a national and international level.

Given this, Euricse’s activities are divided into two levels:

Database of social cooperatives in Italy
Database of cooperatives in Europe and worldwide

 

Partner

International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)

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