1. 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

2. I. The Cooperative Model and Government Policy

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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.

6. 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.”

7. 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

8. 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

9. II. The Cooperative Model and Democracy Building

10. 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

11. 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.”

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

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

14. 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

15. 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).

16. 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

17. Cooperative Values Self-help Self-responsibility Democracy Equality
Equity
Solidarity

18. Ethical Values Honesty Openness Social responsibility
Caring for others

19. 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

20. 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