INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE-ASIA AND PACIFIC

ICA-AP RESEARCH COMMITTEE

10TH ICA ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE

(05-06 NOVEMBER, 2015 – VAMNICOM, PUNE, INDIA)

CALL FOR PAPERS

VAIKUNTH MEHTHA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

CO-OPERATIVE MANAGEMENT, PUNE, INDIA

The ICA-AP Research Committee invites paper proposals for the 10th ICA-AP Research Conference, which will be held on 05th and 06th November 2015 at Vaikunth Mehtha National Institute of Co-operative Management, Pune, India (www.vamnicom.gov.in).  The conference is organized under the auspices of ICA-AP Research Committee.

CONFERENCE THEME

GOVERNANCE OF CO-OPERATIVES: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The ICA Blueprint for Co-operative Decade, a roadmap for strengthening the co-operative movement across the globe, seeks to make co-operatives “the acknowledged leader in economic, social and environmental sustainability, the model preferred by people and the fastest growing form of enterprise” by 2020.  The first key objective of the Blueprint is to ‘elevate participation and governance within membership to a new level’. This is based on the assumption  that “co-ops are better because they give individuals participation through ownership, which makes them inherently more engaging, more productive, and both more useful and more relevant in the contemporary world”.   

Over the years we have witnessed governance failure, especially in some large co-operatives.  Bankruptcy, loss of member capital base, individual vested interests overtaking member interest, etc. was witnessed in the co-operative sector as well. Cooperatives need to learn from these experiences.  Good governance is a prerequisite for co-operatives to prove their significance in the global economy.

Governance is said to be a process of ensuring transparency, accountability, participation and the rule of law. Cooperatives, being organizations of civil society needs to be effectively governed not only for their own sustainability and well being of their members, but also to set governance benchmarks for the state and the corporate world to follow.  With this backdrop the conference seeks to explore varied dimensions of governance structure and process vis-à-vis co-operatives.

SUB THEMES:

Within the broad framework of the main theme, the sub themes of the conference include the following;

Ø  Theories and models of governance

Ø  Structure and processes of governance

Ø  Political and economic democracy

Ø  Member participation

Ø  Women and youth participation

Ø  Legal environment affecting governance

Ø  Role of board and executive

Ø  General body powers and limitations

Ø  Co-operative leadership

Ø  Any other topic relevant to the main theme

Papers on any of the sub-themes and/or the interconnected issues, are welcome. 

ABSTRACTS:  Those seeking to present their papers in the conference need to submit an Abstract of not more than 600 words that should broadly include the research question,  methodology, likely contribution to the field of knowledge and some relevant literature.  Poster proposals may also be sent especially by young researchers, postgraduate and doctoral students. All abstracts should reach Mr. Ashok Kumar Taneja, Secretary, ICA-AP Research Committee at taneja@icaroap.coop on or before 7th July, 2015

NOTE:

a.       Abstracts received after this date will not be considered;

b.      Abstracts will be selected for presentation through a blind review process;

c.       Authors would be notified of the selection of abstract in late July 2015.

d.      Apart from sending the soft copy of the paper by email the participants should bring with them 20 printed copies of their paper for distribution among participants;

e.       It is highly recommended that authors send their full papers, which should not exceed 7000 words, be typed in Times New Roman font, size 12, double line spaced and be complete with notes and                         references, citations and bibliography following APA6.  Authors should necessarily send their presentation ppt on or before 25th October 2015;

f.       There is no registration fee for the conference;

g.      All paper presenters will be provided with lunch and mid-session tea during the seminar;

h.      The cost of Travel, Accommodation and Dinner will have to be met by the participants themselves;

i.        The decision of the organizers is final in all matters;

CONTACT:

Mr. Ashok Kumar Taneja, Secretary, ICA-AP Research Committee, ICA-AP Office, 9, Aradhana Enclave (Ring Road), R.K. Puram, Sector-13, New Delhi-110066, India Tel: +91-11-2688 8250, E-mail: taneja@icaroap.coop

Dr. T. Paranjothi, Professor, Vaikunth Mehtha National Institute of Co-operative Management, Ganeshkhind Road, Near Pune University, Pune 411007, Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune, Maharashtra 411007, India. Tel: 020-66221404/422 and email id as paranjothi.t@gmail.com, tparanjothi@vamnicom.gov.in.