Project CIDA

Models for Inter-Cooperation in the Americas

IRECUS International Projects (Part 1)

Network of the Americas

-	Partners
	-Université de Sherbrooke -Universidad du Costa Rica -Pontificia Universidad Javeriana -Universidade Federal Rural de Permambuco -Universidad de Chile

14 participating “associate” universities

3 monitoring universities

A $10,170,000 project; 5 million supplied by CIDA, 3 million by partners, and 2 by the Université de Sherbrooke

From April 2002 to March 2007

Projects and Partners

Projects and Partners

Three Issues: Development

Poverty remains a major problem

-	Poverty afflicts 46% of the population in the Americas
-	22% cannot satisfy basic needs
-	With an annual 2% population increase , a 4% rate of economic growth must be attained if Latin American countries are to effectively reduce poverty

Business: bankruptcies resulting from the opening of markets, interest rates, and unavailability of credit or technology

Informal Sector: represents 32% of jobs, but unprofitable and poor productivity

In the Americas, poverty remains a major problem

-	Strong economic growth is essential but alone cannot ensure fair and lasting development
-	In Latin America, “a quarter of the regions’ wealth is held by only 5% of the population..it stands as the most important source of injustice and instability in our hemisphere.” (Maria Minna)

The main challenge is to ensure that growth be beneficial to all, and by so doing, attain fair and sustainable growth, and thus reduce inequities

Three Issues: The Co-op

By its very nature, the co-op evolves in a local setting, firmly anchored to the needs of the community. Its membership and production are entirely local, while its commercial activities are pursued as much on local and national levels, as on an international one. The dynamics may differ according to size, sector or membership, but the basic reason for its existence remains unchanged: the creation of use value and community wealth by and for its members through sustainable exploitation of community resources

“The co-op is after all a partnership based on trust and social cohesion, and is a corporation that conducts business… With this aim, must we organize our co-ops with rigor and professionalism. Make them competitive and efficient like any other business launched into the market. We must move in that direction quickly, without losing sight of the principles and values that make us unique, it is imperative that our businesses adopt procedures that allow for mergers and incorporation in order to reduce costs. They must also forge strategic alliances with a view to adding value to their products and services, as well as find partners and establish trans-national co-ops.” (Roberto Rodriguez, ICA President)

In regards to the issue of development and equitable growth, co-ops create a triple effect :

-	Through their internal dynamics, they facilitate community and individual empowerment;
-	Through their external dynamics, they increase a community’s social capital
-	By their very mission, they become powerful market activity regulators

The co-op of the Americas answer the challenges of development and global competition, while retaining their identity in the face of local/continental challenges

Three Issues: University

The basic role of education in the development process is widely recognized. “Education is at the heart of economic growth and poverty reduction.”

In general, governments in the Americas agree on the three main priorities in education

-	Education as a motor for the development of human resources capable of participating in economic growth
-	Education as a factor of social cohesion to promote democracy
-	Education as a factor in the reduction of social inequity and poverty

From these priorities evolve the following recognized objectives :

-	Improving the quality of training
-	Developing training better suited to economic and social realities
-	Increasing the availability of training and stimulating innovation in education, particularly through the use of information technologies

For more than a decade now, partner universities have contributed in a special way to the development of abilities and of training programs that address the needs of their national co-ops. It had until quite recently been the priority

But the economic, political, social and technological environments, particularly in respect to the timeline for the economic integration of the Americas, have considerably evolved and now present co-ops with new challenges. Consequently, our partners have now put the onus on the development of new training skills for co-op management and development in the local/continental dynamics that are unique to co-ops

IMPACT

In a continental integration context, local inhabitants, through their co-ops and universities, have worked together with greater economic, social and environmental efficiency, and so ensured improvement of their living conditions

8-	Increased cooperation allows co-ops to better answer the challenges of globalization and sustainable development

7-	Co-ops improve performance, and new inter-co-op alliances surface

6-	With people sharing a common vision for continental co-op development, co-ops increase efficiency

5-	People in general, particularly the young, acquire a better understanding of co-ops and development

4-	Universities have recognized academic expertise in inter-cooperation to address the local/continental challenges facing the development of co-ops in the Americas

3-	By way of a comprehensive academic approach and multi-national teams, universities offer training programs and publications that integrate models of inter-cooperation

2-	Universities master the use of new information technologies (NIT) and innovate by developing new pedagogical tools

1-	Universities improve their ability for network teamwork, as well as their ability for working with co-ops

The 6 Aspects

1-	Academic Aspect: to develop expertise by offering innovative quality training

Training

-	Participative -Research

-	Services d’extension

-	Internationalisation

2 results

-	Publication
-	Course content

2-	Technological Aspect: to master NITs for networking and better distribution

3-	Inter-Co-op Aspect: Co-op people and students: partners in inter-cooperation

4-	Development of Education Aspect: For a better understanding of Canadians

5-	Administration and Management Aspect: academic process and managerial/administrative process

6-	Continuous Follow-Up and Evaluation Aspect: organizational training support

Main Activities

-	Direction Committee
-	Academic Committee (Professors from at least 3 universities/countries according to a methodology with two integrated results)
-	Post graduate studies
-	Co-op participation
-	Student participation
-	International seminars
-	Acquisition of equipment