Events Archive

Previous Conferences and Workshops held at the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and Materials from Presentations Made by Faculty and Staff of the Centre

The Social Economy Regional Workshop – Saskatchewan / November 19, 2010

Researchers, students, and community partners gathered at Wanuskewin Heritage Park at a meeting co-ordinated by our local project partner, the Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR).  There were research presentations, an opportunity to share practical lessons learned, and a forum to review project goals and define directions for future research.  The wonderful poster presentations and the discussions they inspired were particularly memorable.

The Future of Co-operatives – A Presentation by Lou Hammond Ketilson / October 28, 2010

On October 28, 2010, Lou Hammond Ketilson, director of the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, presented to the Co-operative Network of Regina.

Her presentation title was “The Future of Co-operatives” and the PowerPoint slides from her presentation can be viewed here.

Building Community: A Conference Reflecting on Co-operative Strategies and Experiences / May 19, 2010

It is the result of carefully planned strategies that develop and sustain strong organizations and vibrant enterprises. Community building is most effective when initiatives are deliberately inclusive of all segments of the population and engage citizens in a genuine and meaningful fashion. This one-day conference featured presenters from leading co-operative organizations in Canada’s retail, finance, health-care, and insurance sectors. Speakers  explored how the co-operative model currently addresses the most pressing social and economic issues.

Read more about the conference and view the final report, which includes summaries and key points of all the presentations.

Co-operatives and Innovation: Influencing the Social Economy / May 28 to June 1, 2007

We were pleased to be involved with the planning of the 2007 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, where we hosted the International Co-operative Alliance Committee on Co-operative Research (ICA), the Association for Cooperative Educators (ACE), and the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC). The Social Economy was a central theme of the Congress, featured on Thursday, May 31, 2007. See the conference website for more detailed information, including audio (English, French, and Spanish) and video of many of several of the presentations as well as pdfs.

New Models for Rural and Remote Telecommunication Services / March 22, 2000

Recent developments in the telecommunications industry have triggered considerable interest in the future of the telecommunication services in Saskatchewan. Due to our long interest in rural issues and development, the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives sponsored this one-day symposium.

Co-operatives in the New Agriculture: Meeting the Challenge / February 18, 1999

The agricultural landscape is changing dramatically. Mergers and acquisitions are commonplace; traditional commodities are giving way to specialized niche products; biotechnology is becoming mainstream; information technology is part of almost every segment of agriculture; governments are rethinking their role; and the agricultural system is becoming more and more co-ordinated. Agricultural co-operatives are responding and reacting to this change. Farmers are forming and joining co-operatives so they can own part of a food processing company; they are using co-operatives to help manage the information that is increasingly vital to success; and they are using co-operatives to help lower input costs.

The conference began with a presentation on the “New Agriculture” and its implications for farmers and co-operatives. This was followed by examples of how different co-ops in Canada and the United States have evolved to meet the changes in agriculture and responding to the challenges posed by technology and the growth of the multinationals. The conference also included an overview of the formation of New Generation Co-operatives, a discussion of how Saskatchewan Wheat Pool is adapting its structures to meet current conditions, and a lunchtime address by the Honourable Janice MacKinnon, Minister of Economic and Co-operative Development.

The conference was organized by the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan, the Co-operative Chair in Agricultural Marketing and Business at the University of Alberta, and the Agribusiness Chair in Co-operatives and Group Marketing at the University of Manitoba.

Networking for Success: Strategic Alliances in the New Agriculture / February 17, 1999

There has been a lot of talk about the “new” agriculture, in which each segment of the industry is becoming less independent from the other segments and more interdependent. At the same time, each segment is more specialized. How can increased specialization be pursued along with increased interdependence? One way is through the use of networks, or strategic alliances. Strategic alliances have been important in the general business world for some time. The same economic pressures and global influences that have made these effective strategies for business are increasingly coming to bear upon agriculture. This one-day workshop helped participants understand why strategic alliances are utilized, and the impact of strategic alliances and networking on agriculture. It introduced them to the idea of forming alliances in the new agriculture and how they can contribute to business success.

In association with the workshop, a booklet and website were produced. To purchase the booklet, contact the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.

The Components of Online Education: A Roundtable Discussion / September 10, 1998

For many years, the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives has been a leader in the use of technology to support the work of community development with the worldwide co-operative movement. As part of its mandate to provide resources to support co-operative organizations, the Centre has researched and developed models for online collaboration, and has explored the capabilities of the World Wide Web. For more than a year, one of the Centre’s researchers, Byron Henderson, has worked with the Educational Object Economy (EOE), first while it was hosted by Apple Computer, and now as a researcher with the EOE Foundation. His work has been directed to bringing the social, organizational, and theoretical experience of the Centre to the EOE’s work with online communities, and advances in educational technology to co-operative organizations. The EOE Foundation is a nonprofit research institute organized to explore and implement online learning communities, which allow their members to jointly create and improve shared resources for educational and business transformation.

The 10 September 1998 Roundtable on Online Learning was the first held by the EOE Foundation outside the United States. It was an opportunity for people from industry, government, and higher education to hear about trends in online learning, learning communities, and the new alliances that are bringing online learning to higher education. The speakers, including Byron Henderson and other senior members of the EOE Foundation and the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, covered a variety of subjects including: components of online education, learning communities for the information age, multisector collaboration for the information age, alliances, networks, and knowledge creation, and changes occurring in education—online and offline.