What are Co-operatives?
 A co-operative is a form of business
enterprise different from private &
public enterprises
 Co-operatives are a separate legal
structure
• Registry of Co-operatives (NSW)
• Department of Fair Trading (NSW)
• Federation of Co-operatives (Victoria)
What are Co-operatives?
 Co-operatives are
• owned & controlled by their member
different because they are democratic,
participatory, open, voluntary & community
based
• reflect and reinforce co-operative values &
principles
 Many different types of co-operatives
exist
Types of Co-operatives
 Agricultural - fishing, forestry, producer, supply
. & marketing co-operatives
 Community service - aged care & child care
. co-operatives
 Consumer co-operatives – provide consumer goods
. for sale to members (& non-members)
 Credit - financial service co-operatives
 Education - school, student & supply
. co-operatives
 Housing - community settlement & housing
 .
co-operatives
Types of Co-operatives
 Media - newspaper, radio station,
telecommunications, television station, video
production & publishing co-operatives
 Recreational - game park & urban camp
cooperatives
 Store - bookshops, food, hardware, clothing &
other merchandise co- operatives
 Transport - bus, courier & taxi co-operatives
 Utility co-operatives - energy, telephone &
water service co-operatives
Definition
“A co-operative is an autonomous
association of persons united voluntarily
to meet their common economic, social &
cultural needs & aspirations through a
jointly-owned & democratically
controlled enterprise”
(Victorian Federation of Co-operatives, 2006)
Definition
 Characterised by participative
ownership & control, democratic
structure & use of capital for mutual
benefit
 Their unique structure is based on
explicit values & principles in the
International Co-operative Alliance's
Statement.
Co-operatives
Investor-owned
companies
Purpose
Service driven
Capital driven
Ownership
The member users
Investor shareholders
Control
Majority of members.
Members elect board
on basis of one vote
per member
Majority of shares.
Investor shareholders
control the company
based number of
shares they own
Use
Users of co-operatives Users are not usually
are its members
the majority of
shareholders
Shareholding
Shareholding & nonshareholding. Limited
number & interest
Shareholding limited
number and interest
Values
 Based on values of self-help, self
responsibility, democracy, equality,
equity & solidarity
 Co-operative members believe in the
ethical values of honesty, openness,
social responsibility & caring for others
Principles
 The co-operative principles are
guidelines by which cooperatives put
their values into practice.
 Seven principles defined in the
International Co-operative Alliance's
Statement on the Co-operative Identity
(1995)
Seven Co-operative Principles
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1) Voluntary & open membership
2) Democratic member control
3) Member economic participation
4) Autonomy & independence
5) Education, training & information
6) Cooperation among co-operatives
7) Concern for community
Co-operatives as a
Means of Organising
 A process not just an outcome
 Pooling energy & resources to effect change
for a common benefit
 Cooperation provides strength by bringing
people together mutual aims & interests
 Mutual collective not individualist benefit
 Co-ops as a political form of organising
 Decentralised, participatory democracy not
centralised hierarchy
 Autonomy, responsibility & freedom
Community, Social Capital
& the Change Agent
 A co-operative is about & is its members
 Formed for serving needs of members &
the community not just the investment of
capital
 Food co-operatives are not for profit
 Social capital, capacity building & the third
economy
 Bill Moyer & the four roles of activism
• Food co-ops & the role of the change agent
What are Food Co-ops?
 Food co-ops consist of a group of people
(members) cooperating to take back
control of their food
 Take into consideration how & where it is
produced & under what conditions
 Provide accessible, affordable
environmentally, socially & ethically
responsible food & household products
 An alternative to stupormarkets
How do Food Co-ops work?
 Food co-ops stock a range of products
bought according to their buying principles
& factors
 Open to community, staff, students &
members
 Bulk, minimally packaged products
 Avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle
 BYO containers & DIY
 Engaging people with their food
How do Food Co-ops work?
 Membership, shares & discounts
 Mostly volunteer run, members who
volunteer get greater discounts than
non-working members
 Coordinators, roles, Management
Committee & decision making
 Differences between campus based &
community based food co-ops
Buying Principles & Factors
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Organic
Biodynamic
Chemical free
GE free
Irradiation free
Fairtrade
Vegan/vegetarian
Cruelty free
Wholefoods or
healthiness
 Food miles / Localness
 Minimally packaged &
bulk
 Ethics
 Availability
 Price
 Social/community
component
 Supplier type
 Producer type
Juggling a Balancing Act
 Buying principles & the problem of
internal contradictions & tensions
• It isn’t always possible to tick all the boxes
• Which principles & factors are more
important & why?
• How is the decision made?
 Examples
• Organic vs Food miles
• Organic vs Insecticide free vs price
Australian Food Co-ops
 Northern Territory
• POD (Darwin)
 Queensland
• Griffith Uni Food Co-op (Brisbane)
• Community Foods (Cairns)
 South Australia
• Flinders Uni Food Co-op (Adelaide)
• Goodwood Goodfood Co-op (Adelaide)
• Clarence Park Community Food Co-op (Adelaide)
Australian Food Co-ops
 Victoria
•
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Wholefoods (Monash Uni Food Co-op, Melbourne)
Melbourne Uni Food Co-op (Melbourne)
La Trobe Food Co-op (Melbourne)
RMIT Food Co-op (Melbourne)
Friends of the Earth Food Co-op (Melbourne)
St Kilda Organic Food Co-op (Phillip Bay)
 Tasmania
• Hobart Organic Food Co-op
NSW & ACT Food Co-ops
University/Campus based
Community based
Broadway Food Co-op (UTS)
Manly Food Co-op
Sydney Uni Food Co-op
Alfalfa House (Newtown)
Thoughtful Foods (UNSW)
Katoomba Food Co-op
ANU Food Co-op*
ANU Food Co-op*
Sustenance (Newcastle Uni)
Green Tucker Store
(Forestville)
Happy Bellies
Angophora Food Co-op
(University of Wollongong)
(Blue Mountains)
Seasons Food Co-op (Uni of
Beanstalk Organic Food Co-op
(Newcastle)
. Western Sydney Hawkesbury) .
Armidale Food Co-op
(University of New England )
Project Aims
 Construct a profile of NSW & ACT food co-ops
• What, where, how & why, structure & decision
making process, member involvement, SWOT
analysis
• Register of existing co-ops & ordering people
• Identify existing buying policies, principles &
factors
 Identify buying principles & factors
• Analyse values, reasoning, beliefs & politics on
which they are based
 Create a stock database with all variables
Project Aims
 Compare & contrast buying principles & factors
• Identify variations
• Analyse how & why buying principals & factors
. & their relative importance varies
• Compare & contrast between food co-ops
 Develop a hierarchy of buying principles
• Compare & contrast within & between food .
. co-ops
• Analyse the extent of variation - how & why
. this exists
Project Aims
 Identify internal tensions & contradictions
 Analyse how tensions are reconciled
 Develop a Decision Tree
 Analyse member knowledge, input into &
understanding of buying principles
 Incorporate findings into a decision making
tool?
 Report back on findings
 Action research approach
Research Outcomes
 Profile of food co-ops in NSW & ACT
 Buying principles & factors paper
 Stock database
 Hierarchy of buying principles for each
food co-op & an overall hierarchy table
 Decision Tree
 Analysis of results
 ? Decision making tool