August 31, 2006

Cooperative Business Journal Highlights CLARITY Report, Co-Authored by ACDI/VOCA

The July/August 2006 Cooperative Business Journal showcased the report “Enabling Cooperative Development: Principles for Legal Reform,” written by ACDI/VOCA and seven other organizations. The report provides guidelines for co-op leaders to use as they try to influence their own governments’ cooperative standards and regulations. CLARITY was created by the eight cooperative development organizations that are members of the Overseas Cooperative Development Council, with support from USAID. The CLARITY report gives impetus to the evaluation and reform of co-op laws and regulations, which are often so complex that they prevent co-ops from forming or operating effectively. As one of the implementing organizations of USAID’s Cooperative Development Program, ACDI/VOCA has helped to create principles that are depicted in the report for developing nation governments to follow regarding their treatment of cooperatives and their examination of the role that co-ops play in civil society. Visit NCBA’s website to read the article.