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Written by Admin, 2019-10-05 13:51:02

The
2017 ICA General Assembly passed the resolution calling on cooperators to
explore the potential of platform cooperatives. Following this, the ICA reached
out to its members and experts from its structures as well as members of the
academia with a simple survey on Platform Cooperatives (PC). The results of the
survey will determine interests at large in advancing PC, and the role ICA can
play in defining and supporting the model. ICA is expected to establish a
working group (WG) comprised of its representatives and experts to further the
work after the results are analyzed.Thequestions in the survey are part of a
paper titled “Digital Democracy? Options for the ICA to advance Platform
Cooperatives” and written by a team led by Ed Mayo, Vice President of
Cooperatives Europe and Secretary General of Cooperatives UK, who also
introduced the motion at the 2017 General Assembly. This paper gives a broad
yet comprehensive picture of the state of affairs in platform cooperatives
along with examples.Excerpt from the accepted motion: “a new generation of
businesses are emerging online,and we are concerned that the extraordinary
potential for cooperative models rooted in participation and equality is not
being realized because of a narrow focus in these markets on investor-led
models of business. We applaud pioneers of democratic business in digital
markets, including emerging models of platform cooperatives operating in line
with core international values and principles. We encourage and welcome efforts
by cooperatives actively to support the risk-taking of this new generation of
cooperative entrepreneurs, through information sharing, promotion and
appropriate finance and business partnerships”.You can take your survey and
pass it to friends who would be interested: Take Survey