liability insurance problems. (Vogelsgang 1999, referring to Selsky 1991)
The DVCA case study highlights several key recommendations relevant to the
Cooperation Among Cooperatives project, including:
members.
network, because not all members will derive the same benefits. (Vogelsgang
1999, referring to Selsky 1991)
Program
The first step in the program was to conduct research to identify the barriers to increased
cooperation and the preferred strategies for increasing cooperation.
The type of study conducted was exploratory research. The concept that was measured is:
interest in cooperation among cooperatives, and in particular interest in several given
options for cooperation. The variables that helped measure the degree of interest in
cooperation were: attitudes toward cooperation, interest in purchases from other
cooperatives, and interest in and willingness to pay for given cooperation tools. Other
variables of interest included cooperatives' geographic location, membership, and
purchasing composition. (See Appendix 1: Final Survey Questionnaire)
The assessment of cooperative organizations took place between spring and fall of 2004.
An electronic survey was disseminated through cooperative networks and a few
state/regional associations. After an initial period, the need to contact a greater number
and variety of cooperatives necessitated the use of staff time to pursue responses more
insistently. The final tally of responses was 75. The full report of survey responses is
attached as Appendix 2.
The results of the research were presented to the membership of Cooperative Life at the
Annual Meeting on December 16, 2004 (see Appendix 3). The research was conducted
by Noémi Giszpenc, the youth representative on the Board of Directors of Cooperative
Life, with the aid of other members of the Cooperative Life Board, the staff of the
Cooperative Development Institute, and interested members of cooperatives, who helped
by reviewing the questionnaire, providing feedback, and helping to access relevant
stakeholders. Invaluable aid in setting up the electronic survey was also provided by a
volunteer technical consultant, Paul Fitzpatrick (Noémi Giszpenc's fiancé).
The membership of Cooperative Life agreed upon recommended action steps following
the presentation of survey results in December 2004. The most preferred strategies
indicated by the survey included a directory of cooperatives and a means of posting
announcements for the purposes of joint purchasing, direct transactions, and networking.