ICBEC

International Co-operative Business Education Consortium

The International Co-operative Business Education Consortium (ICBEC or the Consortium) was initially launched in 2013 and grew to include 30+ organizations from 24+ countries in the years that followed. A 2014 mapping helped to provide an overview of the types of organizations offering co-operative business education.

In 2021, with support from diverse actors in the global co-operative sector, the International Co-operative Business Education Consortium (ICBEC, the Consortium) is connecting 150+ institutions from 40+ countries around the world – and counting.

Purpose

To serve as a global network from which actors in co-operative business education (CBE) can better understand each other’s programs and mandates, collaborate where mutually beneficial, avoid overlap where possible, and ensure program relevance to the needs of co-operative and mutual enterprises globally.

Who Should Participate 

Full and Associate Members are institutions and centres that focus on the provision of business education programs on the co-operative, credit union, and/or mutual enterprise model. The programs represented by the Consortium offer education and/or training. This includes formal degrees, diplomas, certificates, and professional development programs. Programs may be at the undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate level, as well as non-credit professional development programs. The target audience for the education programs may be managers, executives, or elected representatives (e.g., delegates and board directors). Education on social enterprise and ESOPs is not specifically within the scope of this Consortium. However, we recognize that some members may train and educate on cooperative enterprise among other organizational models (including social enterprise and ESOPs).

Supporter Members play a critical role in providing financial and in-kind support, plus maintaining a strong connection with the co-operative sector more broadly. As an example, Sistema OCB pledged early support for the Consortium’s 2021 relaunch, alongside other sector leaders.

Co-operative Business Education 

· Educating or re-educating co-operative managers, leaders, entrepreneurs

· Co-operative business model focus (ICA aligned)

· Oriented towards management and governance oriented (leadership, strategy, innovation)

· Improving enterprise performance while safeguarding co-operative features

More Information

An international Working Group is guiding the consortium in conjunction with support from a Secretariat, currently administered jointly among the Co-operative Management Education Co-operative (CMEC, Canada), the International Centre for Co-operative Management (Saint Mary’s University, Canada), and EURICSE (Italy).

For more information or to join the Consortium, please contact Karen Miner at karen.miner@smu.ca