Cooperative Development Program Overview

Cooperatives (co-ops) are member-owned, democratic, community-based businesses. As such, they allow for increased economic benefits and the ability for members to direct and control their own development.

USAID supports cooperative development overseas implemented by U.S. cooperative development organizations (CDOs) through its Cooperative Development Organization (CDO) Program, a competitive grants program that responds to the needs of local cooperatives and other group-based businesses by utilizing the expertise and resources of long-established U.S. cooperative organizations, their members, and volunteers. The program focuses on developing, implementing and extending workable solutions to key problems, including:

• Restrictive cooperative law and regulation
• Policy-based governance
• Raising member equity participation as a major element in self-reliance
• Achieving scale consistent with quality
• Reducing dependency that can result from external assistance
• The program's public outreach also helps raise U.S. cooperative and member awareness of international development efforts.

Program Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the Cooperative Development Organization (CDO) Program is to strengthen the development of cooperative systems overseas by:

• Promoting the growth of cooperative systems in developing countries and emerging democracies
• Enhancing cooperative performance through technical assistance, training, and advisory services
• Encouraging the establishment of long-term partnerships between U.S. CDOs and host country cooperatives
• Expanding support for international cooperative development activities from U.S. cooperatives and their members
• Broadening the U.S. CDO development resource funding base and encourage long-term sustainability of cooperative development activities overseas

Current programs focus on credit, housing, agribusiness, technology transfer, democratic institutions, rural telecommunications and electrification, private enterprise development, and insurance protection sectors. The current program began in mid-1997 and will end in 2004.

Contact Person:
Tom Carter, Technical Advisor, Cooperative Development Program, Office of Private Voluntary Cooperation - American Schools & Hospitals Abroad (PVC-ASHA), Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID E-Mail: thcarter@usaid.gov

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