In May 2014, the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network and the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives hosted an international conference on tools to measure cooperative impact. Building upon discussions initiated at the conference, the two organizations have released a new book, Cooperatives for Sustainable Communities, which delves into themes of statistics and data collection; co-operative principals in practice; community impact; member and stakeholder engagement; and reporting practices. The authors suggest opportunities for cooperatives to build their cooperative identity and advocate for a transition to values-based evaluation tools rather than traditional profitability measures.

Editors: Leslie Brown, Chiara Corini, Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Lou Hammond-Ketilson, Elizabeth Hicks, John McNamara, Sonja Novkovic, Daphne Rixon and Richard Simmons.

Download a free electronic version online.