The Cooperative Model Government Policy and Democracy Building

The Cooperative Model, Government Policy and Democracy Building Martin J. Lowery Executive Vice President, External Affairs National Rural Electric Cooperative Association ACI-Americas XVI Conferencia Regional San José, Costa Rica July 25, 2008

I. The Cooperative Model and Government Policy

Co-ops Affect All Sectors of the U. S. Economy • • • Agriculture Childcare Energy Financial services Food retailing and distribution • • • Health Care Insurance Housing Purchasing Telecomm

U. S. Cooperatives Today • Cooperatives today serve 120 million members in the United States (4 in 10 people) • Government has often played a role (and should)

The First Co-op in the United States • Philadelphia Contributorship for the Insurance of Homes from Loss of Fire (1752) • Organized by Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the U. S.

President Theodore Roosevelt, 1909 to the U. S. Congress “The cooperative plan is the best plan of organization wherever men have the right spirit to carry it out. Under this plan … every man has one vote and only one vote; and everyone gets profits according to what he sells or buys or supplies. It develops individual responsibility and has a moral as well as financial value over any other plan. ”

A History of U. S. Government Commitment and Support • United States Department of Agriculture – Cooperative Business Services – Rural Electrification Administration • National Credit Union Administration • United States Agency for International Development – Cooperative Development Program

Guiding Principles • Government should enable and support cooperative development • Government should not exercise direct control over cooperatives • The autonomy and independence of cooperatives must be respected

II. The Cooperative Model and Democracy Building

Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet Jeffrey Sachs, Director Earth Institute, Columbia Univ. Top Three Global Sustainability Challenges: • Elimination of Poverty • Slowing Exponential Population Growth • Addressing Global Climate Change and the Loss of Biodiversity

Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet • “Our very methods of … governance are not well suited to the challenges of sustainable development. ” • We need a “new model of twenty-first century cooperation” and “an increased role for businesses and civil-society organizations. ”

The GAIT Program (Ghana) Using the cooperative principles and values as a means of building democratic grassroots advocacy programs

The GAIT Program (Ghana) “Government Accountability Improves Trust”

Cooperatives in Ghana • 2, 328 cooperatives in Ghana today – 1214 agriculture – 720 industrial (weavers, distillers, etc. ) – 273 services organizations (e. g. transport) – 121 financial services • The Adikan Co-operative Society, Ghana’s first cooperative, was formed in 1921 by cocoa farmers

GAIT Program Objectives • Increase the capacity of local civil society organizations to achieve their objectives and advocate for the interests of their members to local government; • Increase government responsiveness to citizens at the local level; and • Promote accountability, transparency and anti -corruption in the District Assemblies (DAs).

Civic Unions • Voluntary grouping of civil society organizations, primarily cooperatives • Provide advocacy for and support to local community priorities • CLUSA teaches the cooperative principles and values as a basis for civic unions

Cooperative Values • • • Self-help Self-responsibility Democracy Equality Equity Solidarity

Ethical Values • • Honesty Openness Social responsibility Caring for others

Lessons from the GAIT Program • Begin with government commitment and support for cooperative development • Encourage the success of cooperative industry sectors • Use the cooperative principles and values to build an understanding of grassroots democracy and advocacy

What If There Is No History? • Demonstrating the unique value of the cooperative model is a time-consuming education process • Government desire for control of the new entity is common • All parties must have a sincere desire to build democracy