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Innovations
By listening to members, carrying out community programmes and adopting flexible management, co-operatives are always able to react and to develop initiatives. Co-operation has set as a target the opening of new paths corresponding to tomorrow’s realities.
Better responding to market changes
Being grouped in a co-operative makes it possible to counter irresponsible relocations towards areas with low labour costs and to better resist major multinational groups. Co-operatives’ local presence is a true engine of development.
Innovations
The sharing of experiences and resources, which is an essential part of the co-operative spirit, stimulates the development of initiatives.
Co-operatives from various sectors concerned by the same product may join forces to offer a guarantee of quality. Co-operative banks anticipate the development of community services. New forms of work such as employment co-operatives are experimented with.
A national innovation prize is awarded each year.
Technology
Co-operative businesses have learned to master modern technology. They know how to anticipate the future, through their research units, aimed at improving current tools and developing new techniques. For instance, agricultural co-operatives participate in agronomic and agribusiness research, upstream and downstream of their activity, in order to enhance the quality of their production. Some co-operatives are even pioneers in their fields, such as Acome, a Scop specialised in the cable sector, which has developed insulation materials used in many industrial sectors.
Networking
Co-operatives are pioneers in the art of networking
By creating federations and confederations, co-operatives have set forth the means for making their voices heard by public authorities and for developing technological and commercial synergies.
They have created common services for legal matters and professional training and have developed funding facilities.
Avoiding the isolation of small structures or individual businesses, networking increases effectiveness, and encourages exchanges, decision-making and action during conferences and general meetings.
This has led to the emergence of co-operative groups fostering adaptation to the market while maintaining the co-operatives’ identity.
New types of labour
The world of labour is going through massive changes. While employment is becoming precarious, more and more individuals are taking initiatives to create their own economic activity. New types of labour are emerging: remote services (services provided through telecommunication tools), community services, etc. Co-operatives may provide a structure for these professions, which are often practised independently or through small associations. In Quebec, there are already co-operatives of autonomous workers, mostly bringing together teleworkers for which they provide practical and legal support.
New activities
In the health sector, in response to the many changes implemented by public authorities in Europe and the problems brought about by a longer life expectancy, co-operatives, as a gathering point for professionals and consumers, provide a place where new solutions may be defined. In Italy, the movement of « social co-operatives » has quickly grown to include social services for young people, retired citizens and handicapped citizens. In France, some Scops are offering new activities adapted to the local environment, such as assistance to elderly or sick people, environmental services, or as done by the « Maison de l’Initiative », assistance to women in poor neighbourhoods.
New tools
Co-operatives share common values with mutual organisations and associations : freedom of membership, democratic management, independence. They constitute one of the great strengths of the associative and co-operative movement. The Union d’Economie Sociale, a legal structure created by the law of 1983, facilitates the achievement of the common projects of cooperatives, associations, and mutual organisations.
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