Community Co-operatives

Introduction 

There is no one definition of "community co-operative." At the most basic level, everyone who attempts a definition agrees that community co-operatives are controlled and owned by a specific community. However, some see the community involved as specifically small and rural while others see it as any geographic community or even a community of interest.

There are two basic types of community co-operative:

1. Umbrella organisations: Phillis Winnington-Ingram argues that while co-operatives have traditionally focused on achieving a particular end, such as providing childcare, housing, or retail opportunities, community co-operatives provide a new model of co-operation. They are formed to address a general need-usually the need for social and economic development in a community that is going through a period of change-rather than a specific end. Winnington-Ingram, who developed the "Win-Ing" Community Co-operative Model, sees community co-operatives as addressing specifically rural problems. They bring community members together to assess their current situation and develop a strategy for dealing with the challenges they face.

   While they may start out with one particular project, community co-operatives, by this definition, are ultimately multi-purpose umbrella organisations that work with government and other organisations to develop their communities socially and economically. They allow people to stay in small communities that they otherwise might have had to leave to search for jobs.

   For more detailed information on this model, see:

   • Winnington-Ingram, Phyllis. "The Community Co-operative Model."
   • Winnington-Ingram & Associates. (2002). "'Win-Ing' Community Co-operative Model." Bracebridge, ON.
2. Any co-operative that plays an important role in its community: Many common definitions of community co-operatives are less precise than that of Winnington-Ingram. Community co-operatives are often simply described as co-operative organisations or businesses that are owned by and provide one or more services to a geographic community or community of interest. Their services are open to anyone in the community. They could include, but are not limited to, the type of umbrella work that Winnington-Ingram sees community co-ops as providing. These definitions often add that community co-operatives help their communities by creating employment and training opportunities for community members or improving the area in other ways. Some people believe that profit must be re-invested in the co-op or used to benefit the community; others argue that it can also be distributed to members.

   This definition is an amalgamation of short descriptions of community co-operatives on the following web sites:

   • Cattell, Charlie. Paper on worker and community co-operatives. [BROKEN LINK]
   • CDA. "Community Co-operatives: An Introduction." (PDF file)
   • Leicester and County Co-operative Development Agency. "Types of Co-operative."
   • National (Australia). "Co-operative, Collective and Creative
   • Sundance. "Types of Co-operatives."

While Winnington-Ingram's model is a useful one and has proved successful in several Ontario communities, her definition of community co-operatives creates too firm a boundary between community co-operatives and other co-operatives and exaggerates the novelty of the needs-based approach to co-operation. As John Pearce notes, "the Rochdale Pioneers in 1844 were essentially a community co-operative in aspiration and in structure, and only became a consumer co-operative as that single aspect of their activities came to predominate in later years" (At the Heart of the Community Economy, cited by Charlie Cattell)[BROKEN LINK]. The second definition, in contrast, is almost too broad; many different types of co-operatives provide services, and all are meant to enhance their communities by meeting social and/or economic objectives.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next