The Hub

A resource library and learning platform designed with OCDC members in mind, The Hub houses a collection of assets that are carefully curated to aid and inform the success of your cooperative development programming. Many of the resources collected within are directly about cooperatives and cooperative activities, but some – while not directly about cooperatives – provide unique insight that is relevant and applicable to cooperative success. These articles have been curated by the ICRG for the use of those working in international cooperative development. Many focus on cooperatives. Others include approaches, principles and experience that may be extrapolated to cooperative development program design or implementation.

May 23rd, 2022 | FinanceFinancial ServicesGlobalReport

Inclusive Insurance: Closing the Protection Gap for Emerging Customers. A joint report from the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and the Institute of International Finance

Emerging consumers present a promising market for inclusive insurance, and creative insurance companies have been developing promising models to reach this market for years. Since the 1990s, the microinsurance movement has demonstrated the benefits of insurance for low-income people, as well as exploring new business models to serve these customers profitably in frontier and emerging Read More

May 23rd, 2022 | Climate ResilienceCommunity Development & InfrastructureEnergyGlobalGovernancePartnershipsProject CycleResilience

Guides for Electric Cooperative Development and Rural Electrification

NRECA International produced this publication to advance the basic understanding of rural electrification development for policymakers, donor organizations, and practitioners. The publication leads the reader through 10 self-contained modules covering the organizational, legal, technical, and financial aspects of rural electrification project design and implementation and electric cooperative development. The entire collection can be accessed here: Read More

May 23rd, 2022 | AfricaCommunity Development & InfrastructureCOVID - 19Gender Equity

A spotlight on Women-led businesses in Africa: Applying a Gender Lens to Post-Covid Recovery.

For many African nations, women head up the SMEs that make up the fabric of communities and economies. These women-led businesses have found ways to keep their revenue flowing despite the crisis. But for many others, customers have dried up, and businesses are struggling to stay afloat. More must be done to help keep their Read More

May 23rd, 2022 | ArticleGlobalResilience

What Makes Rural Cooperatives Resilient in Developing Countries

Rural Cooperatives: this article reviews the literature, particularly with respect to sub-Saharan Africa, that co-operative organizational resilience centres on co-operatives’ multidimensionality and the development of collective capability in five mutually reinforcing areas of activity. These are membership, networks, collective skills in governance, innovation and engagement with governments. Together, they strengthen co-operatives’ resilience, but where lacking, Read More

April 2nd, 2022 | Best PracticesCommunity Development & InfrastructureGovernanceManual / HandbookMonitoring & EvaluationProject CycleResilienceTraining & Tools

Measurements for Tracking Indicators of Cooperative Success (METRICS): New Challenges and Opportunities in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Date of Publication: 2009 | Author: Dr. John W. Mellor | Journal/Publication: US Overseas Cooperative Development Council and the United States Agency for International Development. Link: https://ocdc.coop/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Metrics.pdf Measurements for Tracking Indicators of Cooperative Success (METRICS) is the third major OCDC initiative. It addresses the question: What characteristics produce the greatest probability of a cooperative surviving and Read More

January 12th, 2022 | Climate ResilienceGlobal

Green Economy: Cooperation for the transition to a Green Economy – Global Thematic Research Report – ICA-EU Partnership – September 17th, 2021.

The thematic research publication “Cooperation for the transition to a green economy” provides an innovative overview on how cooperatives are acting to protect the environment, as well as mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation while transitioning to a green economy. With a specific focus on how principle seven on Read More

November 8th, 2021 | ArticleCOVID - 19GlobalResilience

2020 – Cooperatives and wider SSE enterprises respond to COVID-19 disruptions, and government measures are being put in place.

This article summarizes the cooperative, wider SSE enterprises, and government response to COVID-19 disruptions. Cooperatives, in partnership with governments, around the world are being affected by – and responding to – COVID-19 in various ways in immediate and short terms. This article covers a variety of sectors and summarizes the actions taken by cooperatives and Read More

November 8th, 2021 | AgricultureGlobalLatin AmericaResilience

2020 – A participatory framework for feasibility assessments of climate change resilience strategies for smallholders: lessons from coffee cooperatives in Latin America

This resource identifies effective cooperative-led solutions that could be applied in different situations to boost coffee yields, with a particular emphasis on climate change resilience. Coffee farmers are already experiencing the impacts of climate change, yet recommended resilience strategies are often cost-prohibitive for smallholder producers and/or maladapted to local conditions and contexts. We collaborated with Read More

November 3rd, 2021 | ArticleGlobalGovernance

“Co-Operative Governance Fit to Build Resilience in the Face of Complexity”

Co-Operative Governance: this comprehensive publication includes several articles covering a variety of topics pertaining to the unique ability for cooperatives to build stronger resilience in the face of complex challenges and obstacles – in particular because of their governance structures. The Table of Contents are as follows: Statement on the Cooperative Identity Foreword by Pauline Read More

November 2nd, 2021 | ArticleGovernancePartnershipsProject Cycle

2012 Keystone Development Center Cooperative Development Checklist

The Keystone Development Center has a check list that we follow when working with groups forming cooperatives. Any errors are not Jerry’s but are the responsibility of KDC. It is presented in the form of questions we ask ourselves. If the answer to the question is no, the recommended action is included. If the answer Read More

November 2nd, 2021 | ArticleGender EquityGlobal

2018 Study Guide for Cooperative Principles: Fostering Racial and Economic Equity in Cooperatives

Author/Publication: Patricia Cumbie, Jade Barker, Bill Gessner, Carolee Colter and Thane Joyal, Columinate This article is a discussion guide to strengthen the relationship between the cooperative principles and fostering racial and economic equity in cooperatives. From the authors: Discussing each principle and value through the lens of racial and economic equity will provide a starting Read More

November 2nd, 2021 | AfricaArticleGlobalResilienceWomen's Empowerment

“Supporting Women Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency Response and Economic Recovery.”

Author/Publication Info: African Gender Innovation Lab, World Bank This article highlights evidence from the Africa Gender Innovation Lab and other promising research to protect the lives and livelihoods of women and girls – in diverse topics such as household, firms and farms, and adolescence – to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, Read More

November 2nd, 2021 | AfricaAgricultureArticleGlobalResilience

“Agricultural Cooperatives and COVID-19 in Southeast Africa. The Role of Managerial Capital for Rural Resilience.”

Author/Publication Info: Francesconi, Nicola, Fleur Wouterse, and Dorothy Birungi Namuyiga. Sustainability 13 (3): 1046. This article hypothesizes that collective or organizational resilience is especially significant to smallholders when idiosyncratic risk coping strategies fail. By using pre- and during-shock data from agricultural cooperatives in Southeast Africa, the authors analyzed the resiliency of these smallholder-owned organizations. Many Read More

November 2nd, 2021 | AfricaArticleGlobal

2020 – Applying a Gender Lens to Post-Covid Economic Recoveries: A Spotlight on Women-Led Businesses in Africa

Author/Publication Info: Naoko Koyama, Madjiguene Soc, Katrina Kwan, Dalberg. For many African nations, women head up the SMEs that make up the fabric of communities and economies. This article summarizes the particular difficulties and challenges that African Women-led SMEs face and how they have responded to such obstacles. This article also provides short term and Read More

November 1st, 2021 | AfricaAgricultureArticleGender Equity

2013 – Measuring the Benefits of Smallholder Farmer Membership in Producer-Controlled Vertical Value Chains: Survey Findings From a Development Project in East Africa.

Author/Publication Information: David John O’Brien, Lloyd Banwart, and Michael L. Cook. Poverty & Public Policy. A Global Journal of Social Security, Income, Aid, and Welfare. Vol. 5 No 4, December 2013, pp. 399-416 Why people decide to join, or not to join a cooperative? What are the benefits of membership as compared to non-membership-based organizations? Read More

November 1st, 2021 | COVID - 19GlobalReportYouth Engagement

2020 – Global Youth Development Report.

Author/Publication: The Commonwealth. Given continuous concern of cooperatives and how to attract and engage new generations of members, this material may be of particular interest. The Commonwealth is an association of 54 independent countries aiming at international consensus building. Is Secretariat provides technical assistance and advisory services to members, helping governments achieve sustainable, inclusive and Read More

May 19th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGlobalGovernanceHealthResearch

2017 Cooperatives UK – The Governance of Large Co-operative Businesses; A research study by Professor Johnston Birchall

This is the second edition, comprehensively revised, of a research study which has been widely recognized as the first comprehensive research into how co-operative businesses worldwide operate in terms of their governance. The report stands alone, to be read afresh. The research focused on sixty of the largest co-operatives across a range of sectors, an Read More

May 19th, 2021 | CommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGlobalGovernanceHealthProject CycleTraining & Tools

2019 International Labour Organization – Start.coop A Step-by-step tool to start-up a Cooperative

This is basic start up material/guide for cooperatives. Start.COOP is a low-cost, easy to use tool for those interested in starting and launching a cooperative in a participatory manner. It draws on technical content from existing materials in different ILO cooperative training tools. It also uses a peer-to-peer, activity-based learning methodology from the ILO’s Community-Based Read More

May 19th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGlobalHealthManual / HandbookResearchYouth Engagement

2021 International Co-operative Alliance – Young People and Cooperatives

The report presents a number of practical examples of youth cooperation and identifies ways that engagement between young people and cooperatives can be improved. 420 responses from young people were collected and analyzed for the research, which surveyed both young cooperators and young people less familiar with the cooperative model. The five chapters, which can Read More

May 19th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGlobalHealthManual / HandbookPeacebuilding

2019 International Co-operative Alliance – Cooperative and Peace: Strengthening Democracy, Participation and Trust.

Cooperatives Europe’s research showcases twenty case studies from more than fourteen countries, covering different types and stages of conflicts. This thematic research, carried out within the ICA-EU partnership for international development, demonstrates what cooperatives around the globe are doing in favour of peacebuilding and conflict resolution, in particular how they can be a tool for Read More

May 18th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGender EquityGlobalHealthHousingManual / HandbookTransport

2018 UNESCO Digital inclusion for low-skilled and low-literate people: a landscape review

The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of knowledge societies and digital economies around the world. Underpinning these changes have been the proliferation of mobile devices, increased sophistication of computers, and cheaper and more widely available internet access. The digital revolution has changed the way almost half the world lives and works, learns and socializes. Read More

May 18th, 2021 | Financial ServicesGender EquityGlobal

2018 Women’s Financial Inclusion And The Law. [in] Women, Business And The Law 2018, World Bank

Description. Legal reform is a crucial element that needs to be embedded in broader strate¬gies to advance women’s financial inclu¬sion. According to surveyed members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the main barriers identified for women are financial literacy (75%), collateral require¬ments (66%) and the sociocultural envi¬ronment. Regulatory requirements can prevent women from accessing financial Read More

May 17th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGender EquityGlobalHealthHousingManual / HandbookTransport

2014 – IFAD; Strengthening Female Leadership in Farmers’ Groups and Cooperatives; Empowering women for better participation and decision making

Description. The materials contained in the training package will assist the trainer(s) in conducting the female leadership training program. The aim is to strengthen the competencies of existing female leaders, women office bearers and other potential women leaders in leading their respective farmers’ group and cooperative. The training should be able to provide necessary leadership Read More

May 17th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGlobalHealthManual / Handbook

2021 – USAID Delivering Gender Equality: A Best Practices Framework for Male-Dominated Industries.

USAID increases women’s participation in the global workforce to strengthen economies, fuel economic growth, and catalyze social development. Through its Engendering Utilities program, USAID identified the employee life cycle as a key entry point to effecting long-lasting and impactful change within partner organizations. From attraction and talent outreach to separation and retirement, there are numerous Read More

May 17th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGender EquityGlobalHealthHousingTraining & ToolsTransport

2017 – The UN Women Gender and Economics Training Manual

Description. The manual introduces participants to economics in general and presents feminist approaches to macroeconomics, microeconomics and international economics. It exposes participants to critical analyses of global and regional economic trends, including those related to economic crises. The manual also enhances the skills of participants in formulating gender-responsive economic policy for program implementation, policymaking, and Read More

May 17th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunicationsCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsEnergyFinancial ServicesGender EquityGlobalHealthHousingManual / HandbookTransport

2012 – ACDI-VOCA Gender Analysis, Assessment and Audit

Description. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide guidance to ACDI/VOCA staff and consultants on how to conduct gender analysis studies, assessments and audits. It is intended for individuals who are either commissioning or leading the gender study. The toolkit provides useful tools and methods for these studies, and guidance on how to operationalize Read More

February 24th, 2021 | AgricultureBest PracticesGender EquityGlobalTraining & Tools

2015-FAO-IFAD-Promoting the Leadership of Women in Producers’ Organizations. Lessons from the Experiences of FAO-IFAD.

This paper explores aspects of promoting rural women’s leadership in producers’ organizations (POs). Despite the vast amount of work that women perform in the agriculture sector, their role remains largely unrecognized. The concerns and issues of women farmers are scarcely heard at the local, national, and global levels. One reason for this silence is that Read More

February 24th, 2021 | AgricultureGender EquityGlobalManual / Handbook

2018-IFAD-How To Do. Design of Gender Transformative Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation Programmes. Gender and Climate Change Adaptation.

This How to Do Note is intended to provide guidance on how to design smallholder agriculture adaptation programs that consider the differential impacts of climate change on women, men and youth smallholder farmers. This includes recognizing program interventions – from design to staffing to capacity development of beneficiaries and local organizations – need to consider Read More

February 24th, 2021 | Best PracticesCommunity Development & InfrastructureGender EquityGlobalHealthManual / Handbook

2015-World Bank, Government of Japan and FAO-A Good Practices Brief. The Voluntary Guidelines and The World Bank: Increasing Women’s Access to Land, Approaches that Work.

The brief highlights practical approaches that respond to these themes (policy making, legal issues, land tenure governance, technical issues, and communication strategies) and recommendations to increase women’s access to land from a range of projects. The analysis shows that mainstreaming gender into land programs can be achieved—the case studies presented in the brief predominantly utilize Read More

February 24th, 2021 | AfricaAgricultureArticleFinanceGender EquityLatin AmericaPartnerships

Root Capital-Applying Gender Lens to Agriculture. Farmers, Leaders and Hidden Influences in the Rural Economy.

“In this issue brief, the authors share the experience of applying a gender lens to work in smallholder agricultural finance. Through the Women in Agriculture Initiative, Root Capital has been able to better understand the areas in which women receive support (as farmers, agro-processing employees, and leaders). This work has also identified new areas for Read More

February 24th, 2021 | AfricaArticleCommunity Development & InfrastructureGender Equity

2020 M.J. Lodiaga. The Cooperative Difference in Kenya.

The paper focuses on assessing the role of co-operative societies in empowering the women and changing the traditional powerbase in societies where they operate. It describes how women owned and managed cooperatives hold potential to empower women and to transform gender relations as a path to achieving gender-just peace goal. Peace and social well-being are Read More

February 24th, 2021 | AgricultureCommunity Development & InfrastructureCredit UnionsFinancial ServicesGender EquityGlobal

2018 USAID-Promoting Gender Equitable Opportunities in Agriculture Value Chains

This Handbook presents the “Integrating Gender Issues into Agricultural Value Chains” (INGIA-VC) approach. It was developed to bring together concepts from different technical areas in development, specifically gender, agriculture, microenterprise development, and value chains. Written by gender practitioners, it provides readers with an understanding of agricultural value chains from a gender perspective. The Handbook helps Read More

February 24th, 2021 | Best PracticesCommunity Development & InfrastructureFinanceFinancial ServicesGender EquityTraining & Tools

2020-AFI-Lessons On Enhancing Women’s Financial Inclusion Using Digital Financial Services.

Across the globe, a billion women still remain financially excluded, while a gender gap of nine percent stubbornly persists in developing countries. This financial inclusion gender gap is a key barrier to economic growth and stability that has persisted despite overall significant gains in financial inclusion. The objective of this study is to underscore the Read More

February 24th, 2021 | Gender EquityHealthTraining & Tools

2014-USAID Toolkit for Management and Monitoring of Gender-Based Violence Internentions

This document supports non-GBV specialist humanitarian actors to identify COVID-19, GBV-specific risks in their sectors, and take actions to mitigate those risks. It contains an initial summary of potential options for adapting established good practice to this unprecedented situation. It is a working document that will be refined as the situation and the response evolves. Read More

February 23rd, 2021 | Best PracticesCommunity Development & InfrastructureCOVID - 19Gender EquityGlobalHealthManual / HandbookProject Cycle

2020 – USAID – Guidance establishing remote monitoring and management of Gender-based programming in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This guidance brief aims to provide support to national, local and civil society organizations on the frontlines of gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response on how to set up remote monitoring and management of their interventions. As the COVID-19 pandemic reaches new corners of the globe, its impact is compounded on already overstretched humanitarian operations Read More

October 1st, 2020 | PartnershipsTraining & Tools

Building Partnerships Map

Support your understanding of the Building Partnerships Map tool from the DIY Toolkit and how you can use it to work with others who share your vision. This DIY Learn Building Partnerships Map module begins with a set of Learning Outcomes. These highlight what you should expect to know and be able to do as a Read More

October 1st, 2020 | AgricultureLearning & AdaptingPartnershipsTraining & Tools

6. Training module on partnership building

What is partnership? Partnerships are intended for joint solving of problems, resource exchange, cooperation, coordination and coalition building. The relationship among partners can be temporary (local bodies, including government, grassroots NGO’s) or permanent. A partnership brings together institutional capabilities and human resources in the form of skills, experiences and ideas to tackle common problems that Read More

October 1st, 2020 | Monitoring & EvaluationPartnershipsTraining & Tools

The Collaboration Quick Scan (CQS)

Do you work with partnerships for sustainable development? Check out this CQS tool. How can the CQS help your partnership? Get the most out of your collaboration with Collaboration Quick Scan. The idea of cross-sector partnerships is to achieve greater impact through bringing together resources and aligning your action. This is easier said than done. Read More

October 1st, 2020 | Design & ImplementationManual / HandbookPartnerships

Tools for Innovation Programming – Step 2: Secure Partners & Funding

About the USAID U.S. Global Development Lab. USAID’s legacy of developing and implementing innovative breakthroughs-from the seeds of the green revolution, to microfinance and oral rehydration therapy-has saved lives, created economic opportunity, and advanced human development. For the first time in history we have the scientific and technological tools to put an end to extreme Read More

October 1st, 2020 | Community Development & InfrastructureDesign & ImplementationNorth AmericaPartnershipsTraining & Tools

The Partnership Toolkit: Tools for Building & Sustaining Partnerships

Prepared by the Collaboration Roundtable Spring 2001 with Funding from Involve, BC, Ministry of Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers and Community Liaison Division, Ministry of Multiculturalism and Immigration. Very many individuals and agencies helped prepare this tool kit. Th Collaboration Roundtable wishes to thank: members of the Collaborations Roundtable Steering Committee for offering insightful comments Read More

October 1st, 2020 | AgricultureDesign & ImplementationPartnershipsTraining & Tools

Strengthening partnership and networks in agricultural research for development

Strengthening partnership and networks in agricultural research for development. A learning Module. (Version 1.0) Trainer’s guide. Session 4: Partnership typology and key research partnerships. Purpose. To enhance the capacity of agricultural researchers to forge effective and efficient partnerships with other relevant stakeholder in the agricultural innovation system for achieving greater impacts. Authors. Ponniah Anandajayasekeram and Ranjitha Puskur Read More

October 1st, 2020 | Best PracticesYouth Engagement

A Systematic Review of PYD Programs

This systematic review is the result of a collaborative effort by the YouthPower Learning team. It was prepared by Making Cents International, the International Center for Research on Women, Results for Development Institute, University of Melbourne, and University of Washington, under the authorship of Dr. Gina Alvarado, Dr. Chisina Kapungu, Ms. Caitlin Moss, Mr. Daniel Read More

October 1st, 2020 | Best PracticesDesign & ImplementationNorth AmericaPartnerships

Building Partnerships. A Best Practices Guide

To make the concept of building partnerships somewhat easier to visualize, we use the analogy of farming – preparing the ground, sowing the seed, and nurturing the growing plants with the right tools to ensure a good harvest. There are no blueprints for building and maintaining partnerships, but it is useful to have an understanding Read More

September 15th, 2020 | EuropeManual / HandbookMonitoring & EvaluationPartnerships

Successful Partnerships: A Guide

Hundreds of partnerships have been formed worldwide during the past two decades. Some of them lasted only a short period; others have been operating a long time. Some concentrate on narrow local targets while others ambitiously try to co-ordinate broad policy areas in large regions where millions of people live and work. There are partnerships Read More

September 15th, 2020 | Design & ImplementationManual / HandbookPartnerships

NGOs & Risk: Managing Uncertainty in Local-International Partnerships

In humanitarian emergencies where access is limited and risk is high£ people’s ability to obtain vital assistance often depends on partnerships between national and international aid organizations.In recent years£ driven by the Syrian conflict in particular£ significantly larger portions of international humanitarian aid have been implemented with and through national and local entities. In addition£ Read More

September 15th, 2020 | Community Development & InfrastructureDesign & ImplementationManual / HandbookPartnerships

Platforms for Partnership: Emerging good practice to systematically engage business as a partner in development

The question of how countries can systematically scale up the engagement of business as a partner in development was the subject of the ‘Roadmap’ report,1 launched in April 2014 by the UK Secretary of State, Justine Greening, at the GPEDC high-level meeting in Mexico City. Developed with extensive consultation with business, government and civil society Read More

September 15th, 2020 | Community Development & InfrastructureDesign & ImplementationPartnershipsTraining & Tools

Building Better Partnerships to Advance Children’s Rights and Equality for Girls

Plan International is outward-looking, and recognises that we cannot achieve sustainable development outcomes by working alone. This requires us to build relationships with a variety of organisations, institutions and other actors (including the corporate sector), who have an impact on the changes we are seeking. In order to meet our global purpose and achieve the Read More

The Hub

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