The Institut international des coopératives Alphonse-et-Dorimène-Desjardins (IICADD) at HEC Montréal and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the sharing, accessibility and dissemination of knowledge on cooperatives and mutuals worldwide.
At the heart of this collaboration is PortailCoop, the digital platform developed and managed by the IICADD to support access to and the sharing of knowledge and research on cooperatives and mutuals. PortailCoop currently provides access to more than 37,000 resources in 36 languages, covering over 150 years of cooperative history and drawing on content from 84 countries. The platform currently brings together resources from more than 4,100 organizations, including over 10,000 organizational reports, more than 500 practical tools and around 900 audio and video resources. Registration is free and open to all, giving users access to the platform’s resources simply by creating an account.
Through this MOU, IICADD and the ICA, including through its Committee on Cooperative Research (ICA CCR), will encourage researchers, educators, practitioners and cooperative organizations to contribute to and share knowledge through PortailCoop, while also seeking to strengthen connections between knowledge produced through research and the experience and expertise of cooperative practitioners worldwide.
Building knowledge for a stronger cooperative movement
This collaboration closely aligns with the ICA’s 2026–2030 strategy, "Practice, Promote, and Protect," particularly with regard to its data-related initiatives. The strategy recognizes the importance of data, knowledge, evidence, and research in strengthening the cooperative movement, supporting informed decision making and increasing its visibility and influence.
By connecting knowledge from researchers, practitioners, and cooperative organizations across countries and sectors, this collaboration will help make existing resources more visible and accessible to the cooperative community, while encouraging greater exchange between research, education, and practice.
“Sound research is the cornerstone of building a cooperative body of knowledge based on evidence and rigorous methodologies. Cooperative education and management depend on it. The ICA Committee on Cooperative Research, a cross-cutting thematic committee of the ICA which is present across the globe and in all four regions, welcomes the role that PortailCoop will play in consolidating accessible cooperative knowledge and research.”
--Cynthia Giagnocavo, Global Chair, ICA Committee on Cooperative Research (ICA CCR)
“PortailCoop was created to make knowledge on cooperatives and mutuals more visible, accessible and shared. By bringing together research, resources, and the achievements and experiences of cooperative organizations from around the world, the platform helps connect knowledge with those who can use it in practice. Through our collaboration with the ICA, we hope to broaden the reach of this knowledge and foster even greater exchange across the cooperative movement worldwide.”
— Inmaculada Buendia Martinez, Director of PortailCoop, IICADD
Contribute to PortailCoop
Researchers, educators, practitioners, and cooperative organizations around the world are invited to contribute research, publications, reports, and other resources to PortailCoop, helping make cooperative knowledge more accessible and strengthening the connections between research and practice.
Register on PortailCoop to start contributing.
Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
