ICA Research Conference: Oxford 2-4 September. 2009

People before profit: the response of co-operatives to the global financial crisis and economic recession

Further Details and Call for Papers
Venue: Queens College, Oxford University.
Queen’s College was foundedin 1341, and is a delightful venue in the Centre of Oxford.  Conferencerooms are set in traditional surroundings but all modern facilities areprovided.  All bedroom accommodation is ensuite. See: http://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/
Location and Transport: Queen’s College is in the Centre ofOxford, about 15 minutes walk from the railway station.  There is afrequent (and rapid) bus service from Heathrow Airport which stopsopposite the College.  If driving it is advisable to park on theoutskirts of Oxford and take the park-and-ride service.  
Registration: Registration will be set up on our website soon (http://technology.open.ac.uk/cru/).The registration fee covers 2 nights bed and breakfast, lunch anddinner; a reception on first evening; a CD-Rom of papers sent inadvance.
Early bird Registration fee before 15th June 2009:              £350
Later Registration fee (must be before July 31st)               £400

Call for Papers
TheChair of the International Co-operative Alliance Committee onCo-operative Research, Lou Hammond Ketilson, is pleased to announcethat the 2009 ICA Research Conference will take place in Oxford, onSeptember 2-4.
Conference Themes
Since we met last year, theworld has been thrown into a financial crisis caused by short-termismand greed on the part of bankers, fuelled by huge bonuses, facilitatedby financial instruments nobody understands, and accompanied bycomplete regulatory failure on the part of governments. The financialcrisis has caused a ‘credit crunch’ that has propelled the globaleconomy into recession, with rising unemployment and home repossessionsalready affecting millions of people. Governments have ‘mortgaged ourfuture’ by borrowing hugely to bail out banks and failing industries.Among governments, a rather narrow discussion has begun on how toregulate the banks so this can never happen again. Among citizens, abroader discussion has begun on how to create more sustainable, fairer,and more people-centred economies. Researchers into co-operatives cancontribute a lot to both discussions, and this conference will enableus to share what we know and to create new knowledge to meet thechallenges of these extraordinary times. Here are some of the questionswe want to consider:
Declining trust – governance and regulation innovations:Are financial services co-operatives such as co-operative banks,building societies and credit unions weathering the crisis better thantheir investor-owned counterparts? If so, what lessons can they teachgovernments about good governance and bank regulation? Can they providea viable alternative, or will they suffer from over-regulation asgovernments that do not understand the ‘co-operative difference’tighten up on all banking institutions?
Unemployment and social cohesion: With rising unemployment, what role can employee-owned and other co-operatives play in generating new jobs?
Declining state services: as the state faces dramaticallyincreasing budgetary demands, and is turning more to market solutions,how can co-operatives help fill the gap and be both distinctive andcompetitive?  
Support Needs: What is the role and potential of co-operativedevelopment agencies?  How can federal bodies and consorzi strengthenthe sector?
Housing crisis: With rising home repossessions, can housingco-operatives provide a people-centred alternative? What kinds ofgovernment policies are needed to enable housing co-operative sectorsto expand to meet the affordability gap? Are there specific models suchas limited or shared equity co-ops that can combine individual homeownership with collective security?  
Local-global tensions - With a shrinking global economy, what isthe role of co-operatives in sustaining local economies? Are theremodels that can be replicated, such as consumer/farmer partnerships inlocal food strategies, or shared service co-ops for local businesses?
North-South issues - With falling demand for products fromdeveloping countries, what is the role of consumer co-operatives inincreasing fair trade? What can we learn from existing north/southpartnerships, and can these be replicated?
This list of themes is not exhaustive. Submissions that analyze other topical issues concerning co-operatives are also welcomed.

The title of the paper and abstract in English should be submitted (by e-mail only) no later than April 30th 2009, to the following address: Johnston.Birchall@stir.ac.uk
All abstracts should beprepared in A4 MS Word format (Times New Roman, Size 12 font,single-spaced) and ideally be no more than 500 words in length.Author(s) full title, name, address, organization and email addressshould be included at the end of the abstract.

Conference Venue and Programme
The conference will be held in an Oxford College which will provide accommodation, meals and meeting rooms.
Participants will arrive on 2nd September, and register.  A receptionwill be organised for early evening followed by a meal.  The mainprogramme will be on 3rd and 4th September, finishing late afternoon.Further details and a registration form will be posted later.
Participants may be interested in joining the Society of Co-operativeStudies Conference which begins midday Saturday 5th September, andfinishes midday Sunday 6th September – see their website forregistration and programme details which will be published later:
http://www.co-opstudies.org/

Schedule for abstracts, papers and registrations:  
April 30th    Deadline for submitting abstracts  
May 15th    Decision made regarding accepted abstracts
July 30th Completed papers submitted and final date for registrations and full payment
[Later registrations may be accepted but these participants will beresponsible for booking their own accommodation in hotels, etc.]

Scholarships may be available for presenters coming fromdeveloping and transforming countries. We will provide more informationon availability and application procedures together with theregistration forms.

Scientific Committee
Johnston Birchall(chair)
Roger Spear
Lou Hammond-Ketilson
Yohanan Stryjan

Organization Committee
Roger Spear
Lou Hammond-Ketilson
Hanho Choi (ICA Support Staff)

Roger Spear
Open University,
Board Member of EMES (European Research Network on Social Enterprise): www.emes.net <http://www.emes.net>
Member of the " CIRIEC International Scientific Commission "Social and Cooperative Economy"
Most recent research project: Governance and social enterprise.
See: "ttp://www7.open.ac.uk/oubs/research/project-detail.asp?id=85