The Training Needs of Cooperatives Report · In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organised

Güçlü Eğiticiler Güçlü Kooperatifler Projesi/Educated Trainers, Stronger Cooperatives (2016-1-TR01-KA204-034770)

The Training Needs of Cooperatives

Report


The Training Needs of Cooperatives

Report

Introduction

Educated Trainers Stronger Cooperatives Project is a project funded by the Turkish National Agency

under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for Adult Education (KA2). The project has been

implemented between September 2016 and August 2018 under the coordination of Ankara

Development Agency. The partners of the project are the Cooperative College from UK, Legacoop

Puglia from Italy, and Deutscher Genossenschafts und Raiffeisen Verband (DGRV) from Germany

along with Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, Provincial Directorate of Commerce as well as District

Governorships of Beypazarı and Nallıhan in Turkey. The project aims at strengthening the capacity of

the cooperatives according to the needs of their regions and global market. The main intellectual

outputs of the project are:

1) The Project Website

2) The Training Needs of Cooperatives Report

3) The Education Plan

4) The Education Toolkit and Manual For Trainings

5) Good Practices Video

6) Best Practices Book


Section 1: Introduction to Cooperatives

According to The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) definition, ‘A co-operative is an autonomous

association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs

and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.’

Co-operatives are enterprises, active in every sector of economy, everywhere:

Cooperatives are businesses owned and run by and for their members. Whether the

members are the customers, employees or residents they have an equal say in what the

business does and a share in the profits. As businesses driven by values not just profit, co-

operatives share internationally agreed principles and act together to build a better world

through co-operation. Successful co-operatives around the world are allowing people to work

together to create sustainable enterprises that generate jobs and prosperity and provide

answers to poverty and short term business practices (ICA).

As businesses driven by values not just profit, co-operatives share internationally agreed principles

and act together to build a better world through co-operation.


Co-operative values

Co-operatives are based on values. Their economic activity is strictly driven by these values.

The co-operative values are:

Self-help

The members of co-operatives help each other by working together for mutual benefit.

Self-responsibility

In co-operatives, individuals are responsible for their actions and decisions.

Democracy

In co-operatives, members can vote for their representatives and each member has the same

right to vote – ‘one person, one vote’.

Equality

Each member of the co-operative has equal rights and conditions.

Equity

Members are treated justly and fairly.

Solidarity

Members help each other and co-operatives support and help other co-operatives.

Cooperatives are also based on the ethical values of Honesty, openness, social responsibility and

caring for others.


Co-operative principles

Through co-operative principles, co-operators put values into practice.

The co-operative principles are:

1. Voluntary and Open Membership

Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to

accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious

discrimination.

2. Democratic Member Control

Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in

setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are

accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one

member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.

3. Member Economic Participation

Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least

part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive

limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate

surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up

reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their

transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the members.

4. Autonomy and Independence

Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into

agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources,

they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative

autonomy.


5. Education, Training and Information

Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers,

and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They

inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and

benefits of co-operation.

6. Co-operation among Co-operatives

Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by

working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

7. Concern for Community

Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved

by their members.

The members of a co-operative can be:

The employees: people who work in the co-operative. In worker co-operatives, members are both

workers and owners and, each member, like in other co-operatives, contributes to the capital with

their shares and participates on a ‘one member/one-vote’ basis and not in proportion to their equity

contribution. A co-operative means working together to create value for the same members (following

the mutual interest principle), as well as for customers/clients with the main objective of reinvesting

a part of the profits to make the co-operative stronger and long lasting.

The customers: People who buy products from the co-operative.

The retailers: The owner of business commercial activities.

The producers: If they sell their products to co-operative (as in agricultural co-operatives, where

members are producers)

The residents: If they are the owners of property (the case of the housing co-operative). In this case

the co-operative owns property, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of

housing tenure.


The history of the co-operative

movement

In 1844 the Rochdale Pioneers founded the modern co-operative movement in Lancashire, England,

to provide an affordable alternative to poor-quality and adulterated food and provisions, using any

surplus to benefit the community.

Since then, the co-operative movement has extended across the globe. Today co-operatives are

active in all sectors of economy.

The earliest record of a co-operative comes from Scotland where, in 1761, in a barely furnished

cottage, local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker’s whitewashed front room

and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers’ Society.

The Rochdale Pioneers are generally regarded as the prototype of the modern co-operative society

and the founders of the co-operative movement in 1844.

The Rochdale Pioneers

The Rochdale Pioneers are regarded as the founders of the first modern cooperative business and

Cooperative Movement. They were a group of 28 artisans working in the cotton mills in the town of

Rochdale, in the north of England under miserable working conditions and for low wages. They

established the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1844 as an attempt to provide basic goods at

a lower price for the weavers who could not afford the high prices of basic goods. For that purpose,

they decided to pool their scarce resources and work together. They were selling only flour, oatmeal,

sugar and butter initially in their shop which was open only two nights a week. As their business had

grown, their working hours have been longer and product range has been extended.


The Pioneers decided it was time shoppers were treated with honesty, openness and respect, that

they should be able to share in the profits that their custom contributed to and that they should have

a democratic right to have a say in the business. Every customer of the shop became a member and

so had a true stake in the business.1

The co-operative movement today

The principles and values accepted by cooperatives today have evolved from these early ideas.

Although they have been revised and updated, it is possible to say that they are essentially the same

as those practiced by the Pioneers in 1844.

Today the cooperatives around the world are estimated to have around 1 billion members. They

directly or indirectly employ 250 million people around the world. The world’s top 300 co-operatives

have an estimated global turnover of 2.53 trillion USD (2533,1 Bn), as revealed by the 2016 World

Co-operative Monitor.2

1 History of the Co-operative movement, International Cooperative Alliance, www.ica.coop

2 The World co-operative monitor - 2016 edition. Retrieved from https://ica.coop/en/media/library/the-world-co-

operative-monitor-2016-edition

https://ica.coop/en/media/library/the-world-co-operative-monitor-2016-edition

https://ica.coop/en/media/library/the-world-co-operative-monitor-2016-edition


Why should be foster cooperatives?

Cooperatives increase the economic power of small and medium size companies

They encourage qualified service and production

They provide qualified and sustainable employment opportunities

They increase labor force participation of disadvantaged groups


Types of co-operatives

According to the type of members and their mutual exchange, there are different sorts of co-

operatives:

Worker co-operatives are businesses which are owned and democratically governed by the

employees.

Important Factors to Foster

Cooperatives

Trust and social capital

Income equality

Good governance

Good business environment

Tax advanteges

Tailor designed education

programmes

Access to market and capital


Consumer co-operatives are owned by consumers who buy goods or services from their co-

operative. Through consumer cooperatives, members usually buy better quality goods or

services for cheaper prices.

Producer co-operatives are owned by people who produce the same type of goods. Producer

cooperatives can provide a wide range of services for its members such as buying farm inputs

and equipments for cheaper prices, marketing and advertising more efficiently, operating

storage and processing facilities for members and supporting the transportation of the goods.

Retailer co-operatives employ economies of scale on behalf of their retailer members.

Retailer co-operatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers

and often share marketing expenses. A retailer co-operative is essentially a group of

independently owned businesses that engage in joint promotion efforts.

Housing co-operatives are owned by the residents. This can range from a single house to

apartment complexes with thousands of units. It also includes co-housing projects, in which

dozens of homes are co-operatively owned3.

Sometimes there are hybrid forms of co-operatives that are a combination of co-op types, where

people with common interests band together. Multi-stakeholder co-operatives are co-operatives

whose members represent more than one typical co-op ownership group, such as ‘producers’,

‘consumers’ or ‘workers’.

New forms of co-operative are spreading:

Community co-operatives generally operate in small villages or communities. Their members are the

members of that community, like citizens. Co-operatives that are managed by the members/citizens

offer essential services that are interesting for all members of the community, and not only for

members (health care, transport, energy…). They are managed with the explicit aim to provide

advantages to people other than members, and services of general interest. Community co-

operatives should be able to interest and include (as members) citizens and the whole community.

3 www.cultivate.coop, Types of cooperatives

http://www.cultivate.coop/


The community become a collective entrepreneur. Community co-operatives could be an example of

multi-stakeholder co-operatives.

Freelancers co-operatives are special worker co-operatives owned by freelance workers.

Freelancers make up a large part of the workforce, and that number is expected to grow in the

coming years. Freelancers consider the co-operative model a way for coming together, harness their

collective power, create economies of scale, and ensure reliable livelihoods. Such co-operatives can

serve as platforms to help freelancers find clients, to provide insurance and other services to

freelancers, and to advocate for policies that stabilise the freelancer economy4.

Social co-operatives are specialised in the provision of services of general interest or in the

reintegration, through work, of disadvantaged and marginalised workers (disabled, long-term

unemployed, former detainees, addicts, etc.). A large number of such cooperatives have been set up

in Italy but also in other EU countries. Most of them are owned by their workers while offering the

possibility or providing for the obligation (according to the national laws) to involve other types of

members (users, voluntary workers, etc.).5

4 www.co-oplaw.org A collaborative legal resource library created by the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC)

and the Green-Collar Communities Clinic (GC3). 5 CECOP Definition

http://www.co-oplaw.org/


Section 2 Cooperatives in Turkey

There are about 53.000 cooperatives with 7.422.000 members in Turkey. The cooperatives are

under three ministries. These are Customs and Trade; Food, Agriculture and Husbandry and

Environment and Urban Development. The most common types of cooperatives are housing,

agricultural development and transportation cooperatives

Types of Cooperatives

Agricultural Sales Cooperatives

Women’s cooperatives

Agricultural development cooperatives

Transportation cooperatives

Tourism development cooperatives

Turkey has a strategy document named Development of Cooperatives Strategy and Action Plan: 6

1-) Reorganization of the Public Agencies and Procurement of Services to the

Cooperatives

2-) Development of the Activities on Training, Consultancy, Information and Research:

3-) Increasing the Organizational Capacity and the Cooperation among Cooperatives:

4-) Strengthening of the Capital Structure and Access to Loans and Financing

5-) The Total Revision of the Internal and External Audit Systems:

6 https://english.gtb.gov.tr/commerce/cooperatives/cooperative-development-strategy-and-action-plan-of-turkey-

20122016


6-) Increasing Institutional and Professional Management Capacity:

Cooperatives in Ankara

There are 438 active cooperatives in Ankara with more than 68.000 members. The most

common type of cooperatives under the Ministry of Customs and Trade are management

cooperatives, tradesmen and artisans credit cooperatives.

Cooperatives under Ministry of Customs and Trade

287; 21%

1057; 79%

Active

Inactive




When we look at the types of the cooperatives, we see that the business cooperatives have the

biggest with 62 cooperatives. After business cooperatives, there are 46 tradesmen and credit

cooperatives and 44 motorized vehicles cooperatives in Ankara. Also, consumption and tourism

development cooperatives have a high number in Ankara. On the other hand, cooperatives such as

women’s cooperatives, production and marketing cooperatives and agricultural sales cooperatives

are on the rise.

Cooperatives in Districts

Çankaya district of Ankara has the highest number of cooperatives with 114 cooperatives.

Yenimahalle follows Çankaya with 37 cooperatives and Altındağ with 29 cooperatives. In terms of

number of members again Çankaya has the highest number with 27.975 members, Altındağ follows

with 15.382 and Yenimahalle with 6.543 members.

District Number of

Cooperatives

Number of

Members

% of Population

Akyurt 5 116 0,4

Altındağ 29 15.382 4,2

Ayaş 2 677 5,3

Bala 3 551 2,5

Beypazarı 9 1.623 3,4

Çamlıdere 1 196 3,0

Çankaya 114 27.975 3,0

Çubuk 10 1.716 2,0

Elmadağ 6 412 0,9

Etimesgut 6 777 0,1

Evren 0 0 0,0

Gölbaşı 8 2.170 1,8

Güdül 3 428 5,1


Haymana 1 513 1,8

Kalecik 2 191 1,4

Kazan 4 1.600 3,1

Keçiören 5 582 0,1

Kızılcahamam 5 576 2,3

Mamak 6 3.851 0,6

Nallıhan 9 1.447 5,0

Polatlı 9 4.157 3,4

Pursaklar 1 245 0,2

Sincan 8 1.723 0,3

Şereflikoçhisar 4 965 2,9

Yenimahalle 37 6.543 1,0


27.975

15.382

6.543

4.157 3.851 2170 1723 1716 1623 1600 1447

0

5.000

10.000

15.000

20.000

25.000

30.000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120


Survey on Cooperatives in Ankara

Questionnaire has been done with 23 cooperatives

Questionnaire and interview has been done with 8 cooperatives in Beypazarı and

Nallıhan districts

The findings are as following:

Distribution of cooperatives participated to the survey can be seen follow:

It can be seen that this distribution is in line with overall distribution of cooperatives in Ankara. Also,

particularly cooperatives which can benefit from the education programme have been selected since

they are the primary target group.

3

1

1

18

3

Production and Marketing

Irrigation

Business Management

Agricultural Development

Women


When the establishment reasons of the cooperative investigated it is seen that the primary reason is

to sell the products they produce for better prices. Moreover, benefiting from state grants and

increasing the local potential are other aims when establishing new cooperatives.

The most common reasons for establishing cooperatives are;

Selling products for higher prices

Benefiting from state supports

Increasing the local potential

18

8

11

3

9

5 4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Sell theproducts atbeter prices

Buy cheaperinputs

Benefit fromstate grants

Easy access tofinance

Increase thelocal potential

receivetechnical

assistance

Other


Together with these reasons, among women’s cooperatives, encouraging women to participate into

the labour force, supporting formal production process by registering women and products produced

at home or informally by women, promoting decent work are other relevant aims.

Half of the cooperatives were established after 2007.

Average member number is 73. And half of the cooperatives has between 50-99 members.

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

1996 and before1997-2006

2007-2017

32,3

19,4

48,4


Women member number is very low. As can be from the following graphic about 55 percent of the

cooperatives has between 0-4 members. This situation is parallel with the general trends in Turkey.

We see that only women’s cooperatives which is by law required to have most of its members women

are the only exceptions of this situation.

32,3

51,6

12,9

3,2

1-49

50-99

100-199

200 and above

54,8

12,9

32,3

0-4

5-9

10 and above


The educational status of members is low, 35 % are primary school graduates, 16 % are middle

school graduates. This situation is related with the fact that most of the cooperatives are situated in

rural areas and in rural areas of Turkey the educational status is low. This situation can create some

disadvantages for cooperatives. Cooperative in cities is getting more popular with the rise of social

cooperative movement, on the other hand.

Average age of members is between 45-64 ages. This can be regarded as a high age average and

inferred that young people do not have a strong presence within the cooperatives.

35,5

16,1

38,7

3,2 6,5

Primary School

Elemantary School

High School

Tertiary School

University


Participation to general assemblies is high on average. This is considered good since general

assembly is one of the important tools of the participative democracy. Other than the general

assembly meetings, on the other hand, there are no periodic meetings done between the members.

This is also one of the areas that needs improvement.

25,8

32,3

32,3

9,7

35-44

45-54

55-64

65 and above

12,9

29,0

58,1

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

Low Medium High


The main sources of income in cooperatives are member fees, business profits and

donations. In general cooperatives complain from not having enough financial resources to

realize their missions. But it can be seen that cooperatives are depending on classical

sources of income and try not innovative means to generate income.

On the other hand, access to technology among cooperatives is very low. In addition to following

routine business transactions, access to computers and internet is important for following

development in related fields, making national and international connections and using e-commerce

channels. However, only 3 of the cooperatives participated to the survey stated that they have

computers and use these computers only for using some accounting programmes.

30

25 7,5

5

15

15 2,5 Member fees

Business profits

Renting income

Sales

Grants

Donation

Bank credits


Needs for Education and Training Programmes

12 cooperatives stated that they have participated to various training programmes, whereas 16

people have never participated to training programmes before.

Most Needed Training Topics are;

Marketing

Production Development

Resources and Funding

Publicity and Promotion

12

16

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Participated to Trainings Not Participated to Trainings


Some points regarding the organization of training are as follows;

Trainers should have field knowledge and have experience working with cooperatives

Examples and applications should be used more widely

Field visits should be included

Trainings should be differentiated according to the age and education status of

trainees

13

10

7

6 2

10

10

7

6 Marketing

Promotion andCommunication

Administration and LegalProcedures

Accounting

HR

Production Development


Recommendations for Trainings

The trainings for cooperatives should aim to make difference in 4 problem area:

Management

Vision

Strategy

Colloboration

Environment

Laws and Regulations

Audit

Cooperation

Awareness Raising

Finance

Operating Income

Fundraising

Specialization

Human Resources

Mmuhasearketing and Branding


It can be seen that cooperative members should enhance their knowledge on governance and good

governance. Corporate governance is as important in co-operatives as it is for any other business. So

it’s vital that co-ops ensure their governing bodies are working effectively for the benefit of their

members. This learning resource is designed to teach you more about what this means in practice,

and how to manage the challenges effectively.

Other important aspect is pre-feasibility studies for the sector. Cooperatives are established without

analyzing the market, trends in sector and taking into account demand-supply in the sector. Business

planning is very important in that aspect. The business plan provides an insight into risks and

opportunities, and whether the business idea is realistic and promising. Moreover, it indicates, what,

how long and how much money is needed to develop the Business Model idea and turn it into reality.

A useful business design tool is the Business Model Canvas (BMC). This tool uses visual language

with the purpose of creating and developing successful business strategies. In fact, the BMC is based

on the idea that a business model can be represented on a ‘canvas’. It is formed by nine basic

building blocks that show how a co-operative plans to create, to distribute and to capture value for

customers.

Another important missing point is strategic planning. Strategic planning in co-operatives is a process

where the organisations assess where there are and where they want to go as an organisation in

respect of their goals, objectives as well as abilities and resources. By strategic planning, you try to

envision what your co-operative will be like in 3 or 5 years and determine your roadmap for your

envisioned future. The plan will reflect the values and principles of the organisation, inspire change

towards the desired outcomes and define the steps for achieving success.

In addition to planning, team work is very important to have effectively functioning cooperatives.

Though participation to general assemblies is high in many cooperatives, it can be observed that

active participation among the members is low. Co-operatives governance is a democratic form of

governance and allows members to participate directly to decisions and to the life of the enterprise.

This means that co-operatives have to protect interest of members and of the whole community, and

assure the maintenance of members’ control. Corporate governance is as important in co-operatives

as it is for any other business. So it’s vital that co-ops ensure their governing bodies are working


effectively for the benefit of their members. This learning resource is designed to teach you more

about what this means in practice, and how to manage the challenges effectively.

In reality we see that the chairs of the cooperatives have a strong say in taking major decisions. This

makes the success of the cooperatives dependant on certain individuals and creates resistance

towards change. To avoid these negativities, subjects like team work, leadership, and self-

assessment should be included to the training programmes. However, it is important to note that

these trainings on these subjects should go beyond theoretical trainings and include applied

methodologies.

On the other hand, legislation and cooperatives’ main contracts constitute the foundations of

cooperatives. However, details of the contracts and legislations are not known by members or the

administrations. Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Trade give some training on the subject.

The most widely training programme for cooperatives are being implemented by the Vocational

Training Centres. The Cooperatives Development Educational Programme has been developed by the

support of Ministry of Customs and Trade. However, the number of qualified trainers is very low and

this significantly affects the quality of the trainings.

On the basis of this framework the trainings should include;

Cooperative principles

Laws and regulations regarding the cooperatives

Strategic plan preparation principles and methods

Business model generation workshops and guidance

Marketing and branding

Communication and Promotion

Resources, Finance and Fundraising

Trainings should employ applied exercises and group studies should be made


The training should not exceed 3 consecutive days

Trainers should have the experience of working together with cooperatives

New training materials should be prepared

Best practice stories and videos should be showed to people


Documents

The Training Needs of Cooperatives Report · In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organised