Robb on Cooperation

Continuing professional development

Posted by Alan Robb on 29 September 2009 | 0 Comments

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As professionals, cooperative managers and directors have a responsibility to keep themselves up to date with developments in the sector. This has never been easier than today. The internet allows easy and quick access to cooperative publications around the world.

If you are not a regular reader of any of the following publications which are freely available I would urge you to take the time to see if they help you keep your professional skills up to date.

ICA Publications
The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) – to which our Association belongs – is an independent, non-governmental organisation which unites, represents and serves cooperatives worldwide.

It is the largest non-governmental organisation in the world. Currently, the ICA has 220 member organisations from 85 countries, representing more than 800 million individuals worldwide.

Two of the regular publications of the ICA are very informative. They are the ICA Digest and the Review of International Co-operation.

The Digest is issued each month and reports on the activities that ICA undertakes on behalf of its members, highlights important events taking place in cooperative movements around the world, and facilitates contacts between cooperatives for the sharing of knowledge and information.

The Review is the official journal of the ICA. Published one or twice a year, it presents in-depth discussion of issues that affect cooperatives around the world.

Both the Digest and the Review can be accessed on the ICA web page http://www.ica.coop under the publications tab.

You can also have the Digest emailed to you automatically.

The ICA offers a very comprehensive service which will alert you to information about your particular sector.

Canadian Cooperative Publications
The Canadian Cooperative Association issue a fortnightly newsletter Newsbriefs which is available electronically. For more details visit their web page http://www.coopscanada.coop/ and look under the publications tab.

Both the Canadian and ICA publications provide material that is relevant for NZ cooperatives on matters of management, governance and benchmarking performance.

International Journal of Cooperative Management
This journal, edited by Dr Peter Davis of the University of Leicester, is now published by New Harmony Press, a worker-cooperative publisher.

It contains three types of material: academic papers, executive reports and reports on research in progress, and book reviews and dissertation extracts.

As from February 2007 current issues and back issues are now available at: http://www.newharmonypress.com/.●

— from the April/May 2007 Cooperatives News