The Division for Social Policy and Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) organized a capacity-building workshop on promoting evidence based policies for cooperatives within United Nation 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda acknowledges “the role of the diverse private sector, ranging from micro-enterprises to cooperatives to multinationals, and that of civil society organizations and philanthropic organizations in the implementation of the new Agenda.” The collection and synthesis relevant and quality data and related research on statistical information are keys for formulating and monitoring evidence-based policies that promote economically viable and socially responsible co-operative enterprises. Cooperation among co-operatives at local, national, regional, and global levels is seen to facilitate the promotion of common initiatives such as the collection of relevant social and economic data.
The workshop held from 23–25 May 2017 at the UN ESCAP conference centre in Bangkok, brought together government officials responsible for promoting entrepreneurship and cooperatives, representatives of international and regional organizations, UN Agencies as well as members of co-operatives from Mongolia, Thailand, Cambodia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Dominica, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Mr. Mohit Dave and Mr. P. Santosh Kumar represented the Asia Pacific Unit of the ICA-EU Partnership.
The workshop provided an opportunity for strengthening capacity of co-operative practitioners for implementing the SDGs and for the exchange of ideas on the role of co-operative data in helping to achieve the United Nations SDGs. An outline for guidelines on generating such basic information and data by co-operatives will be drafted and shared by UNDESA. The results will serve to raise awareness on the challenges faced by the co-operative enterprise model to generate, manage, and use data on the contributions of the co-operative enterprise model. The ICA-AP will engage with the workshop participants from the region in addressing the pressing need for co-operative data and research, and building capacities of movements on the subject.
