The event will provide an opportunity for scholars in co-operatives to come together and share their research. This year’s theme is exploring the role and potential of co-operatives as inclusive, collaborative and responsible businesses. A range of speakers will explore these issues in theory, policy and practice.
The conference will feature a keynote presentation by Claude Menard, Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris (Pantheon-Sorbonne). A co-founder of the International Society for New Institutional Economics, he co-edited the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization from 1998 to 2011 and is currently director of the Advances in New Institutional Analysis series by Edward Elgar Publishing.
Prof Menard’s research is centred on the economics of organisations and institutions. In Stirling he will explore how to capture variety in organisation and governance, focusing on the contribution of transaction cost economics.
John Swinney, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for Education in the Scottish Government, will deliver a speech on Inclusive and Responsible Economic Development.
Also addressing the conference are Charles Gould, director general of the International Co-operative Alliance, and Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK. Alliance president, Monique Leroux, will join them remotely for a session on Policy Perspectives on Inclusive and Responsible Business.
Members of the Alliance’s Committee on Co-operative Research will then analyse Key Developments in Cooperative Theory and Research, and Rufus Olins from the UK’s Co-operative Group will talk about Inclusive and Responsible Business in Practice.
The main conference starts on 21 June, but emerging scholars will be able to attend a pre-event including presentations from Prof Johnston Birchall from the University of Stirling, Iain McDonald, former Director General of the Alliance, and experts from the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS).
