Held in Montreal from 8 to 11 July 2025, the ICA CCR Global Research Conference brought together over 300 cooperative researchers and practitioners from around the world to exchange knowledge on emerging and urgent issues shaping the present and future of cooperative research.
The event, which was organised under the auspices of the International Cooperative Alliance’s Committee on Cooperative Research (ICA CCR), was developed in partnership with the Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE) and the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC) and hosted by the Institut International des coopératives Alphonse-et-Dorimène-Desjardins (IICADD).
Themed “Intercooperation for Our Common Futures”, the conference featured thought-provoking sessions across 17 different research streams, covering topics such as the circular economy, cooperative governance, ethics, renewable energy communities, and more.
These sessions were enriched by expertly curated plenaries, which offered a space for dialogue on key themes such as the future of cooperatives in times of geopolitical change. The conference also featured keynote contributions on transition pathways and foresight methodologies for cooperative and societal transformation. Participants also had the opportunity to join “coop tours”: local visits to innovative cooperative initiatives which highlighted Québec’s rich tradition of cooperativism.
The conference featured a workshop on ‘Reporting and Disclosure on Sustainability’ on 10 July 2025, which was an opportunity for participants to find out more about the International Cooperative Alliance and European Commission’s new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA II).
During the workshop, Paula Arzadun of the Americas presented a research paper on cooperatives’ impact on specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Titled “The Role of Cooperative Organisations in Facilitating Sustainable Development Goals Implementation at Global, National and Local level”, the paper was well received as a global review of case studies showcasing the significant positive impact of cooperatives and cooperative organisations on specific SDGs, with a specific focus on SDG 1 – No poverty, 2 – Zero hunger, 5 – Gender equality, 8 – Decent work, 12 – Responsible consumption and production, 13 – Partnerships for the SDGs. The research officers working to implement the #coops4dev programme in the regions of Europe (Paola Rosatelli) and Africa (Erick Obongo) presented some regional case studies during the workshop.
The presentation was followed by questions from the audience on the decreasing financial support for international cooperative development and remarks highlighting the need to establish ad-hoc indicators to provide measurable data that would facilitate a shared understanding of the overall contribution of cooperatives and cooperative organisations to the 2030 Agenda.
In another presentation, ICA Director of Legislation, Santosh Kumar, presented the main findings of the ICA-EU Legal Framework Analysis 2017-2021, funded by the European Commission under the #Coops4Dev ICA-EU partnership.
The second ICA-EU #Coops4Dev partnership aims to build on these findings by revising and updating the existing LFA reports and producing reports on countries that were not mapped during the first partnership.
The first stage of the analysis will focus on acquiring general knowledge of the national cooperative legislation and of its main characteristics and contents. The second stage will involve evaluating whether the national legislation in place supports or hampers the development of cooperatives.
The third stage will involve examining what changes in the current legislation would be necessary to improve its degree of “cooperative friendliness”.
As part of the project, the research team will also seek to explore trends in enabling environments 2012-2025 and take into account the changes in the world and the international cooperative ecosystem.
The project will be launched in September 2025 and the implementation will take place between 2025 and 2028.
The ICA CCR Conference featured 72 parallel sessions comprising three plenary sessions, 179 individual presentations and 20 panel discussions.
During a side meeting, FFPA research officers and the CCR Executive Committee discussed ways to deepen collaboration and develop a working relationship between the ICA and the CCR.
Photo credit Cooperateur
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ICA CCR 2025 Global Research Conference
The Institut international des coopératives Alphonse-et-Dorimène-Desjardins ...
