Guides and Instructional Publications
Looking to start a co-op? Or improve the business practices/outlook of an existing one? Co-operative researchers have developed many resources to assist you. You will find some of these listed below.
BCICS Publications:
Effective Practices in Starting Co-operatives: The Voice of Canadian Co-op Developers
- Lyn Cayo and Joy Emmanuel (editors)
- Section One: Guideposts for the Journey; Section Two: Financing Co-ops; Section Three: Working Together to Make Co-ops Work; Section Four: Collaborative Strategies for Addressing Specific Needs; Section Five: Co-operating into the Future; Case Studies; Tools
Co-operatives by Design
- Sol Kinnis (Editor)
Business planning guidebook
Contains 8 modules to assist with starting up a co-op: Getting Started; Researching the Potential; Developing a Marketing Strategy; Developing an Operations Strategy; Financial Planning; Writing a Business Plan; Incorporating the Co-op; Getting Going
Practical Dreamers
- Kevin Wilson
Youth Re-inventing Co-operatives
- Julia Smith, Robin Puga and Ian MacPherson (editors)
Other Publications
North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) NASCO Development Services
A comprehensive guide to creating group-equity housing cooperatives. The Handbook is an essential resource for the student or community organizer focusing on housing issues; also an informative and illuminating read for progressive people concerned about affordable housing and college accessibility.
Cooperatives in Ontario: Guide to Setting up a Co-operative
-published by Financial Services Commission of Ontario; 27 pages
Co-operatives Secretariat, Government of Canada
The 7 Steps in Forming a Co-operative
Creating a Co-operative: An Information Guide - on-line information kit
Canadian Co-operative Association
Producer Adaptation to the New Agriculture: Application of the Co-operative Model to Changes in Market Specification, Regulation, and Service Access
by Kim Sanderson and Murray Fulton, Center for the Study of Cooperatives, University of Saskatchewan
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)Guide to Co-operative Housing
Includes information about forming and running a co-op, provincial and territorial fact sheets and legal aspects of co-operative housing; updated 2003.
Co-operative Research Farms: CRF Rabbit Management Guide
The Feeding and Care of a Successful Rabbitry
CRF Layer Management Guide
The Care and Feeding of a Successful Layer Operation
The following links also provide useful educational resources:
The Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto
Association of Co-operative Educators (ACE)
The Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC)
The Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan
Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia
The Society for Co-operative Studies (UK)
British Columbia Institute for Co-operative Studies
Center for Cooperatives, University of Wisconsin
Rural Cooperatives Center, University of California, Davis
European Community of Consumer Co-operatives (Euro Coop)
Overseas Coop Development Center (USA)
Centre for Co-operative Studies, University College Cork, Ireland